The King of Comedy (film) The King of Comedy (film) The King of Comedy is a 1982 American satirical black comedy film directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Robert De Niro, Jerry Lewis, and Sandra Bernhard. Written by Paul D. Zimmerman, the film focuses on themes including celebrity worship and American media culture. 20th Century Fox released the film on February 18, 1983, in the United States, though the film was released two months earlier in Iceland. Production began in New York on June 1, 1981, to avoid clashing with a forthcoming writers' strike, and opened the Cannes Film Festival in 1983. Rupert Pupkin (Robert
Robert De Niro to fully realize the character being portrayed. He is praised for his commitment to roles; he gained 60 lb (27 kg) and learned how to box for his role as Jake LaMotta in "Raging Bull", ground his teeth down for "Cape Fear", lived in Sicily for "The Godfather Part II", worked as a cab driver for a few weeks for "Taxi Driver", and learned to play the saxophone for "New York, New York". He again put on weight for his performance as Al Capone in "The Untouchables". De Niro's brand of acting includes employing whatever extreme tactic he feels is