Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Tensions Between Some Tahoe Residents and Wildlife Workers Become Unbearable

15 hours ago

California Republican Leader Calls for ‘Two State Solution’ Amid Redistricting Fight

16 hours ago

Three Dead in Minneapolis Shooting, Including Shooter, Justice Department Official Says

17 hours ago

Israeli Tanks Close in on Gaza City, Trump to Chair Meeting

18 hours ago

Trump Says Soros and His Son Should Be Charged With RICO

18 hours ago

Wall Street Opens Muted in Countdown to Nvidia Earnings

18 hours ago

Fresno Leaders Voice ‘Full Support’ for Pismo’s Restaurant Manager in ICE Custody

1 day ago

Poll: Katie Porter Holds Early Edge in California Governor’s Race

2 days ago

Just 38% of Americans Support Trump’s Use of Troops to Police DC, Reuters/Ipsos Poll Finds

2 days ago

California Farming Couple Seeks $300 Million for Aspen Estate

2 days ago
Springsteen, Scorsese Talk Catholicism, Films and Creativity
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 6 years ago on
May 6, 2019

Share

LOS ANGELES — With a friendship going back to a fateful meeting at The Roxy in 1975, Bruce Springsteen and Martin Scorsese shared the stage in Los Angeles Sunday night for a wide-ranging conversation about everything from their Catholic upbringings and maturing faith to Flannery O’Connor, concert documentaries and the role of an audience.

“All my work was informed by my years in Catholic school. All that redemption, damnation, all the Martin Scorsese films. … As I got older I stopped fighting against it. Now I draw on it and enjoy it. There’s no greater well to draw on than myths of Catholicism. Everything is in there.” — Bruce Springsteen 

The Netflix-hosted event was in support of the Emmys campaign for his one-man show “Springsteen on Broadway” at the streaming service’s FYSEE (a riff on “for your consideration”) space in the heart of Hollywood.

An earnest Springsteen laughed at himself as he prepared to close out the evening and charm the crowd with an acoustic performance of “Dancing in the Dark” that he was “here today begging complete strangers for votes.”

But what better way to do so than with a nostalgic performance and a heartfelt chat about creativity and faith with one of the greatest living filmmakers. And they didn’t waste time getting to the heavy stuff.

“All my work was informed by my years in Catholic school,” Springsteen said to the intimate crowd of Emmy voters and press at the start. “All that redemption, damnation, all the Martin Scorsese films. … As I got older I stopped fighting against it. Now I draw on it and enjoy it. There’s no greater well to draw on than myths of Catholicism. Everything is in there.”

He said “Mean Streets” in particular was on point for “An altar boy like myself.”

They Both Find Inspiration in the Stories of Flannery O’Connor

Scorsese responded that even his upcoming Netflix film, “The Irishman,” deals with the same thing, “Trust, loyalty, betrayal and faith.”

The two said they both find inspiration in the stories of Flannery O’Connor (Scorsese recommended her letters to The Boss) and Springsteen said he’s always found that, “the darkness is more interesting than the light.” He connected it to other artists he finds interesting, from Hank William, to Bob Dylan and Robert De Niro, who he said has a “two-hour face.”

“It’s, ‘What’s bothering that guy? Something is bothering that guy,’ ” Springsteen said. “Those are the things that keep us watching. That’s why you can watch Bob De Niro’s face for two hours, not 15 minutes. It never gives up its secrets.”

Scorsese added that audiences are often looking for answers, but the art he goes back is the kind that doesn’t provide them, which they both found similar to how they experience faith as they mature.

The two eventually got around to discussing “Springsteen on Broadway,” which was born by accident, after President Barack Obama asked him to play at the White House in the last few weeks of his administration. Springsteen decided to combine performances with storytelling — he’d just written a memoir after all and it was fresh — and that’s what would eventually become the Broadway show and the film.

As with Scorsese’s “The Last Waltz,” ”Springsteen on Broadway” does not cut away to the audience. The director, Thom Zimny, didn’t even want one at first, but Springsteen protested.

“I said, ‘Well who’s going to laugh at my jokes?’ ” he said.

They compromised on half of an audience.

Using Monologues and Stories to Help Contextualize the Songs

“(We) didn’t want to telegraph to the viewer what you’re supposed to feel,” Springsteen said.

The film was taped across two nights, the first night of which Springsteen admitted he botched because he was on stage, “Thinking about what I was doing … When you’re too completely self-conscious you’re not in it.”

And he was striving for De Niro’s “two-hour face,” or, something that would keep the audience interested even though at the heart of it, it’s just, “One old guy and an acoustic guitar.”

He also used monologues and stories to help contextualize the songs that the world knows so well already and “give them renewed meaning.”

“As the songs come out of the monologues it’s as if you’ve never heard them before,” Scorsese said.

Springsteen dedicated his performance of “Dancing in the Dark” to his mother, who just turned 93 and is nine years into Alzheimer’s and doesn’t speak, but she still loves to dance.

“She dances to survive,” Springsteen said. “So lace up your dancing shoes and get going.”

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Israeli Official Accused of Nevada Sex Crime Ordered to Appear in Court via Zoom

DON'T MISS

Think You Can’t Afford College? Go Online and Get a CalKIDS Scholarship

DON'T MISS

US CDC Director Ousted Weeks Into Job

DON'T MISS

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Mario Garcia

DON'T MISS

Shooter Kills Two Minneapolis Schoolchildren in Church, Injures 17

DON'T MISS

Did Fresno Restaurateur Bobby Salazar Commit Arson? Feds Lay Out Their Case

DON'T MISS

Hanford Police Arrest Two Teens After Shootouts Leave 17-Year-Old Wounded

DON'T MISS

US CDC Director Being Ousted Weeks Into Job, Washington Post Reports

DON'T MISS

Israeli Foreign Minister Saar Says There Will Not Be a Palestinian State

DON'T MISS

All UN Security Council Members, Except US, Say Famine in Gaza Is ‘Man-Made Crisis’

UP NEXT

Lil Nas X Pleads Not Guilty to Felony Charges of Assaulting Police

UP NEXT

From Visalia to the Big Leagues: Dave Flemming’s Journey to Giants’ Broadcast Booth

UP NEXT

Hollywood’s Biggest AI Debut? Las Vegas Sphere’s ‘Wizard of Oz’

UP NEXT

Singer Lil Nas X Arrested After Charging at Officers, Police Say

UP NEXT

Find Out How You Can Watch Sold Out 72-Hour Film Race

UP NEXT

Fresno Hosts Giddy Up N’ Groove Country Festival Before Dog Daze Fest

UP NEXT

International Rapper Derrick ‘Aesop’ McElroy Who Called Fresno Home Dies at 51

UP NEXT

ESPN Won’t Air Spike Lee’s Docuseries on Colin Kaepernick, Citing ‘Creative Differences’

UP NEXT

CMAC Will Award Cash Prizes at 72-Hour Film Race Screening

UP NEXT

‘Friends’ Star Matthew Perry’s Drug Dealer to Plead Guilty in Overdose Death

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Mario Garcia

11 hours ago

Shooter Kills Two Minneapolis Schoolchildren in Church, Injures 17

11 hours ago

Did Fresno Restaurateur Bobby Salazar Commit Arson? Feds Lay Out Their Case

11 hours ago

Hanford Police Arrest Two Teens After Shootouts Leave 17-Year-Old Wounded

11 hours ago

US CDC Director Being Ousted Weeks Into Job, Washington Post Reports

12 hours ago

Israeli Foreign Minister Saar Says There Will Not Be a Palestinian State

12 hours ago

All UN Security Council Members, Except US, Say Famine in Gaza Is ‘Man-Made Crisis’

12 hours ago

Trump’s Tax Bill Expands 0% Capital Gains Eligibility in 2025

13 hours ago

Second-Highest Unemployment Rate Still In California

13 hours ago

Trump Holds Gaza Policy Meeting With Blair and Kushner, White House Official Says

13 hours ago

Israeli Official Accused of Nevada Sex Crime Ordered to Appear in Court via Zoom

An Israeli official accused of trying to meet a 15-year-old girl for sex outside Las Vegas has been ordered to appear via videolink next wee...

10 hours ago

The flag of the U.S. state Nevada is seen in this illustration taken, August 21, 2024. (Reuters/Dado Ruvic/Illustration)
10 hours ago

Israeli Official Accused of Nevada Sex Crime Ordered to Appear in Court via Zoom

10 hours ago

Think You Can’t Afford College? Go Online and Get a CalKIDS Scholarship

Susan Monarez, U.S. President Donald Trump's nominee to be director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, testifies before a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 25, 2025. (Reuters File)
10 hours ago

US CDC Director Ousted Weeks Into Job

Mario Garcia is Valley Crime Stoppers' Most Wanted Person of the Day for August 27, 2025. (Valley Crimes Stoppers)
11 hours ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Mario Garcia

Law enforcement use K-9 dogs to search a nearby neighborhood, after a shooting at Annunciation Church, which is also home to an elementary school, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S. August 27, 2025. REUTERS/Tim Evans
11 hours ago

Shooter Kills Two Minneapolis Schoolchildren in Church, Injures 17

Bobby Salazar motorcycle gang fire restaurant Blackstone fresno insurance fraud
11 hours ago

Did Fresno Restaurateur Bobby Salazar Commit Arson? Feds Lay Out Their Case

A 17-year-old boy was shot and wounded in Hanford, and police arrested two juvenile suspects in connection with the shootings. (Hanford PD)
11 hours ago

Hanford Police Arrest Two Teens After Shootouts Leave 17-Year-Old Wounded

Susan Monarez, U.S. President Donald Trump's nominee to be director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, testifies before a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 25, 2025. (Reuters File)
12 hours ago

US CDC Director Being Ousted Weeks Into Job, Washington Post Reports

Search

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Send this to a friend