Martin Scorsese almost quit making movies after working with Harvey Weinstein: 'I decided it was over'

foxnews.com:

Legendary director Martin Scorsese came close to quitting Hollywood during a peak time in his career in the early 2000s. In a recent GQ interview, the director revealed working on 2002’s "Gangs of New York," starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Cameron Diaz and Daniel Day-Lewis, left him frustrated due to interference from disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein. "I realized that I couldn’t work if I had to make films that way ever again," Scorsese told the outlet. "If that was the only way that I was able to be allowed to make films, then I’d have to stop.

Because the results weren’t satisfying. It was at times extremely difficult, and I wouldn’t survive it. I’d be dead. And so I decided it was over, really." Weinstein’s company, Miramax, had the rights to "Gangs of New York," a long-time passion project for Scorsese, and the two reportedly clashed behind the scenes. "There were reports of numerous points of friction, such as Weinstein turning up on set and harrying Scorsese to work faster; or that Weinstein was unhappy with Day-Lewis’s less-than-attractive get-up in the film, which he claimed just wouldn’t look good on a poster," according to a report in The Independent last year.

It reportedly got so heated Scorsese flipped over a desk during a meeting about the name of the gang in the movie, the Dead Rabbits, which Weinstein didn’t like.

According to The Independent, the film’s executive producer, Michael Hausman, warned Weinstein's team not to bring up the name, "but during a meeting with Weinstein’s assistant, the topic came up." "When the meeting started, the first thing out of his mouth was that Harvey doesn’t like the name, Dead Rabbits" Hausman said. "Marty went over and threw a desk upside down – with a PA’s computer on –.