Martin Scorsese is mourning the loss of his longtime friends Rob and Michele Reiner!
A week after the tragic death of the couple, the Oscar-winning director has broken his silence in an emotional guest essay for The New York Times.
The filmmaker described their deaths as “an obscenity, an abyss in lived reality,” after they found dead in their Los Angeles home on December 14.
Scorsese reflected on his decades-long friendship with Rob, recalling the early 1970s when he first met the When Harry Met Sally… director and his then-wife Penny Marshall at comedian George Memmoli’s gathering.
“Right away, I loved hanging out with Rob,” he wrote, adding, “We had a natural affinity for each other. He was hilarious and sometimes bitingly funny, but he was never the kind of guy who would take over the room. He had a beautiful sense of uninhibited freedom, fully enjoying the life of the moment, and he had a great barreling laugh.”
The filmmaker also shared his admiration for Rob’s work on iconic films, naming Misery as his favorite and calling This Is Spinal Tap “in a class of its own.”
He fondly remembered working with Rob on The Wolf of Wall Street, highlighting a tender father-son scene with Leonardo DiCaprio that left a lasting impression on him.
“I was moved by the delicacy and openness of his performance when we shot it, moved once again as we brought the scene together in the edit and moved as I watched the finished picture,” recalled Scorsese.
He further added, “Now, it breaks my heart to even think of the tenderness of Rob’s performance in this and other scenes.”
He concluded with a heartfelt wish to one day hear Rob’s laughter again and relive the joy of his company.
Rob and Michele’s son Nick has been charged with first-degree murder in connection with their deaths and is due back in court on January 7.