Martin Scorsese and Lala Kent‘s ex-fiancé Randall Emmett seem like unlikely partners, but the pair have been working together since 2016’s Silence.
Emmett shared with L.A. Business First in January 2017 that collaborating with Martin Scorsese was a challenging yet rewarding experience. He expressed how he transitioned from being a student of film to feeling like a partner and friend to Scorsese after working on projects together. This transformation made him proud of their work.
Even though their second film, The Irishman, received an Oscar nomination, their initial collaboration faced difficulties. In April 2025, Emmett faced backlash when their potential movie, Wall of White, encountered casting issues due to allegations of misconduct involving his previous projects.
The Writers Guild of America West accused Emmett of owing over $700,000 in compensation to WGA writers, leading to a call for a boycott of the project. This boycott prevented WGA members from participating in the film. Emmett responded by stating that he was actively working to resolve the matter with the WGA.
Scroll down to see Scorsese and Emmett’s relationship from the beginning:
2016
Emmett first teamed up with Scorsese to produce 2016’s Silence starring Adam Driver, Andrew Garfield and Liam Neeson. The movie was the brainchild of Scorsese, who had been trying to make it for years before Emmett signed on. Scorsese was the director as well as a producer and writer on the project. Emmett was a producer.
“I flew to New York and sat with him. It was a very simple interview. He said, ‘Well, tell me about you,’” Emmett recalled to HuffPost Entertainment in 2017 of how he got the gig. “I said, ‘I went to film school about 20 blocks from here. It’s an honor to be in the room with you.’ What else am I going to say?”
After Scorsese asked Emmett’s opinion on the movie, he responded, “All I have to say is one thing: ‘Whatever you want, you can have. I just want to be side by side with you. It’ll be like my graduate film school.’” Emmette remembered Scorsese laughing and saying, “‘I like this kid.’ The rest is history.”
2017
Following the release of Silence, Emmett had nothing but nice things to say about working with Scorsese, whom he now considered a friend.
“It’s the pinnacle for any actor or producer or financier. For me, going to film school, I don’t think I ever thought in my mind I would make a Martin Scorsese movie,” Emmett told HuffPost Entertainment in December 2017. “The moment came, and it was surreal.”
The High Rollers producer remembered being in awe of Scorsese once he was seated in front of him brainstorming their project.
“There were these moments in the south of France when we were sitting after doing the work all day. It’s 6 or 7 o’clock at night and we’re having a glass of wine, and he starts talking about film preservation and restoration. It’s just surreal,” Emmett gushed. “The greatest filmmaker talking about movies and making Raging Bull. It’s overload.”
2019
When Emmett signed on for Silence, he was also bookmarked to reunite with Scorsese on The Irishman. The gangster film premiered on Netflix in November 2019 and starred Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci. Scorsese was once again the director on the project and both he and Emmett were producers. The Irishman was nominated for 10 Oscars.
2021
Working alongside the legendary director inspired Emmett when he made his directorial debut with Midnight in the Switchgrass. Emmett recalled learning how to lead from his time on Scorsese’s sets.
“He really made me feel like family, and he didn’t have to do that,” Emmett told Variety in July 2021 of Scorsese. “I want to be that kind of filmmaker, I want everybody to feel part of the journey. When you make a film, it takes a whole village of all of us together. And Marty taught me that you need everybody; everybody’s important. I’m really grateful that I got to learn that from him.”
2023
During Emmett’s relationship with Vanderpump Rules alum Kent, the couple spent time with Scorsese. Following their 2018 engagement, Kent exclusively told Us Weekly that Emmett was in “such a different world than I am. It’s like, while I’m filming a reality TV show, he’s producing movies with Martin Scorsese.”
In addition to the name drop, the duo were photographed with the Goodfellas director at an Oscars after party in 2020 before Kent and Emmett called it quits in November 2021.
Despite parting ways, Kent and Emmett appear to both have a connection to Scorsese. “He actually said to me, ‘You do great work,’” Kent told Rolling Stone in May 2023, while reflecting on Scorsese’s love of her Bravo reality show. “His producing partner at the time was a Vanderpump fanatic, so it could have been shown to him that way as well.”
She teased, “I don’t know if he’s tuning in every Wednesday to catch the new episode of Vanderpump Rules, but Martin Scorsese knows that Vanderpump Rules exists. And that is good enough for me.”
2025
Emmett and Scorsese’s third project, Wall of White, hit a roadblock in April 2025 when the Writers Guild of America West slammed Emmett via social media. The Writers Guild of America west coast affiliate revealed via X that Emmett, who founded Convergence Entertainment Group, “has been on the WGA/Unfair List since 2020.”
The union claimed that two companies Emmett founded “failed to pay over $700,000 in compensation, P&H contributions and interest due to WGA writers.” As a result of the alleged misconduct, the union told its members they are forbidden to work on Wall of White.
“Emmett has a long history of refusing to honor obligations to writers and the Guild has filed numerous arbitration claims against companies owned by Emmett over the last decade,” the email sent by the union claimed, according to the Los Angeles Times, adding that the guild prohibits “members from working for or selling literary material to companies or individuals who are on the Strike/Unfair List.”
Emmett responded to the accusations in April 2025, issuing a statement to The Times. “We are fully financing this movie, and we have every intention to settle this dispute in the coming weeks,” the statement read. “Our representatives will be reaching out to the Writers Guild so we can put this matter from six years ago behind us.”
Us Weekly reached out to Scorsese for comment at the time.
