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 Temptation of Christ", he explained on at least two different occasions: In addition, De Niro has played a number of Catholic characters in his movies, including a Catholic penitent in the 1986 film "The Mission". De Niro initially supported the inclusion of the controversial documentary about an alleged vaccination coverup, "Vaxxed", at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival. He explained his interest in the film resulted from his family experience with an autistic son. De Niro withdrew his recommendation after discussion with the scientific community. He said he was pressured by some festival filmmakers to remove "Vaxxed" from the festival line-up.