The Wolf of Wall Street: Book vs. Movie
Martin Scorsese’s 2013 film The Wolf of Wall Street is adapted from Jordan Belfort’s 2007 book of the same name. Both follow Belfort’s rise through Wall Street and the fraud, excess, and fallout surrounding it.
From Books Adapted
What changed from the book
Donnie Azoff combines several people
The movie adapts the main rise-and-fall story from Belfort's memoir, compressing the timeline and combining characters. Jonah Hill's Donnie Azoff is one of those combinations.
Terence Winter said Donnie incorporates Danny Porush, Belfort's business partner, along with other people. He was not intended as a direct portrayal of Porush under a different name.
How it was adapted
Belfort's asides become narration and direct appeals to the audience
The book tells the story in Belfort's voice, including digressions about drugs, money, and his behavior. Winter wanted to keep those passages, although they did not naturally fit conversations between characters.
Voice-over carries some of them into the movie. At other points, Belfort looks into the camera and addresses the audience. Winter and Scorsese agreed on that approach early in the adaptation.
Belfort performed a sales speech for the writer
Winter went beyond the memoir to develop the office scenes. He brought Belfort to a conference room at Creative Artists Agency, filled it with young assistants, and asked him to recreate a motivational speech.
Winter also interviewed Belfort's parents, his former wife, former employees, and the FBI agent who arrested him.
About the book and the movie
- Author
- Jordan Belfort
- Year
- 2007
- Pages
- 522Buy book
- Audiobook length
- 20 hr 21 minGet audiobook
- Narrator
- Eric Meyers
Jordan Belfort recounts his rise from ambitious stockbroker to the wealthy head of Stratton Oakmont. Fueled by fraud, drugs, and reckless excess, his empire begins to collapse as authorities close in.
- Director
- Martin Scorsese
- Writer
- Terence Winter
- Year
- 2013
- Runtime
- 3 hrWatch on Amazon
- Cast
- Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Margot Robbie, Matthew McConaughey
- Genre
- biographical, black comedy, Comedy, comedy drama, Crime, crime drama, Drama, epic
- IMDb
- View on IMDb
Stockbroker Jordan Belfort builds a fortune by selling questionable investments and turning his firm into a den of unchecked excess. His lavish lifestyle starts unraveling when federal investigators target the fraud behind it.
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