The ways of the Internet are sometimes inscrutable, especially they involve a form of disinformation with a fandom. In recent years, a meme has become so popular on the Web that fans of Martin Scorsese have made a film that does not exist into a cult work, and even for some the filmmaker’s best feature. Recently, the post in question, which originally appeared on Tumblr, again inflamed social networks, so much so that Martin Scorsese himself responded with a tone of humor, to better revive the rumors. Today, we explain the origin and the (false) mysteries behind Goncharov, the gangster film that Martin Scorsese never directed – or anyone – and for which he is still credited as a director on Wikipedia. he story is worthy of a creepypasta without the horrifying aspect of these crazy stories created on the Internet. In 2009, a certain zootycoon-archive (the page no longer exists today) posted a seemingly innocuous photo of boots on Tumblr. But if we look closer, we can see the mention “Martin Scorsese presents” followed by the enigmatic name of the film Goncharov. In reality, it’s a mistake (deliberate or not, depending on which caption you prefer): the film in question is Matteo Garrone’s Gomorrah, released in cinemas in 2008, which at the time had been supported by the director of Casino and Les Affranchis for broadcast in the United States, as the Hollywood Reporter recalls.“The greatest mafia movie ever made”Also see on Konbini by Matteo Garrone has turned into “Matteo JWHJ0715”, just to cover things up. Some time later, artist Alex Korotchuk imagines a fictitious poster of the… fictitious film, and the legend is born. The precision of the illustrator is such that everything suggests that Goncharov is a film by Martin Scorsese: a work of mobsters, the filmmaker’s favorite genre, a trio of impressive actors (Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Harvey Keitel) as headliners and a very rewarding quote, “the greatest movie in history on the mafia”. The meme quickly goes viral, is the subject of false articles of analysis on its plans, its tone and its themes , so much so that the Web and in particular the cinephiles of Tumblr seize it and continue to grow the mythology around Goncharov. For example, the film is said to have been released in 1973, the same year as the masterpiece Mean Streets, before being snubbed the following year at the 46th Academy Awards. We repeat it to be sure but everything is false, even if Goncharov continues to regularly go up in the trends and to be hailed as the unjustly forgotten film of Scorsese. On TikTok, Francesca Scorsese, the daughter of the director, added a layer with a hilarious video in which she asks her father for the end of the story. Rather than dismantling the meme and the conspiracy behind it, Martin Scorsese laughs it off and takes it all the way, as evidenced by his message in the video: “Yes, I made this movie years ago now.” Joking aside, the good news is that the filmmaker will be back for real in 2023 with Killers of the Flower Moon, adaptation of the eponymous novel by David Grann, with a luxury cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Jesse Plemons, Brendan Fraser, John Lithgow…
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