OVERLAY REPORT

Based on internal knowledge of the production of *The Wolf of Wall Street*, the answer is **yes**. Rob Reiner, who played Jordan Belfort’s father, Max Belfort (nicknamed "Mad Max"), heavily improvised many of his lines and reactions. Martin Scorsese is well-known for encouraging a high degree of improvisation on his sets, particularly in his collaborations with Leonardo DiCaprio and Jonah Hill. Rob Reiner, being an experienced director and comedic actor himself (with deep roots in improvisation from projects like *This is Spinal Tap*), fit naturally into this environment. Here are specific details regarding his improvisation in the film: ### 1. The Banter with Jonah Hill (Donnie Azoff) One of the most notable areas of improvisation involved the friction between Max Belfort and Donnie Azoff. In the scenes where Max is attempting to act as the "voice of reason" (or at least the voice of financial restraint) in the office, Reiner and Jonah Hill riffed extensively. Specifically, the scene where Max is yelling about the excessive spending on credit cards and the "sideshow" atmosphere of the office was largely developed through spontaneous back-and-forth. ### 2. The "Mad Max" Outbursts Reiner’s character is defined by a hair-trigger temper. Many of the specific insults and the high-pitched "Mad Max" screams were not strictly scripted. Reiner has noted in interviews that Scorsese would often let the camera roll and simply tell Reiner to "get angry" or "react to their stupidity." This led to the repetitive, sputtering rage that became the character’s trademark. ### 3. The Domestic "Shaving" Scene There is a scene where Max is sitting in his robe, complaining about the cost of things and his general lifestyle while Jordan (DiCaprio) talks to him. Much of the dialogue regarding the trivialities of their daily lives—such as Max’s complaints about a "shave" or the price of items—was improvised to establish a "lived-in" father-son dynamic. DiCaprio and Reiner spent a significant amount of time "riffing" on the absurdity of the Belforts' wealth versus Max’s old-school, frugal mindset. ### 4. The Chemistry with Leonardo DiCaprio Because DiCaprio and Reiner developed a strong rapport, Scorsese allowed them to talk over one another, which is a hallmark of the film's frantic energy. In the scenes where Max is criticizing Jordan's legal troubles or his marriage, the overlapping dialogue—where Max interrupts Jordan with insults or dismissive "un-huhs"—was created on the spot to make the relationship feel more authentic and dysfunctional. ### Summary of the Method While Terence Winter wrote a highly detailed script, the "Scorsese Method" used on *Wolf of Wall Street* involved: * Performing the scene as written once or twice. * Allowing the actors to "go off the script" for several long takes. * Editing the best improvised "beats" back into the structured narrative. Rob Reiner’s performance is considered one of the highlights of the film specifically because his improvisational background allowed him to keep up with the high-energy ad-libbing of DiCaprio and Hill.