I am not f***ing leaving (b&w)

I AM NOT FXXXING LEAVING
Los Angeles, California - 2022

Over the last three years, we have undertaken two different homages to Martin Scorsese’s wonderful black comedy - The Wolf of Wall Street and on both occasions worked with the real wolf, Jordan Belfort. Pleasingly they have been hugely popular pieces.

In 2022, we returned to a dealing room to film the most challenging of the ideas; the “I am Not Fxxxking Leaving” scene. The concept was clear in my head, but I was wrestling with the execution, as, in a still image, it is impossible to have both the speaker and the crowd facing the camera. The idea of the back of Jordan’s head being at the front of the frame had no appeal, meanwhile excluding him from the picture altogether would weaken the narrative.

But the crowd was simple to preconceive; an energy charged orgy of 1994 brokers celebrating the defiance of their leader. I wanted explicit references to the excesses of the era and the film and this demanded a testosterone jammed dealing floor hosting flying dollars, ticker tape, rubber dolls, call girls and marching bands. I always think that it is counter intuitive to downplay parody. We even managed to sneak in a Steve Madden shoe box.

The trick with Jordan was to have him on a big TV screen facing the same way as everyone else, this way the full story could be told without valuable inches being occupied by the back of Belfort's head. The ticker on CNBC reminds us how much the DOW has risen since those crazy days of Stratton Oakmont.

I want to thank Josh and Matt Altman and their team from The Altman Brothers for fully embracing their roles as extras. They brought exactly the energy that was needed that morning. Everyone had to play their role to perfection, otherwise the vibe was lost.
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