Having just seen Scorcese's The King of Comedy - long overdue, and I would rank it amongst his very best, brilliant film - it strikes me how even more relevant the ending is for today than it was in the 80s.

The open-ended debate is whether the fame and fortune ending was real or all in Rupert's head - for me it was a fantasy that he imagined, but the ironic point is that especially in today's age, that's how so many people gain fame and fortune - not because of real talent, but because there is something of general-interest enough for them to be famous for. Yeah you've had this all throughout America, but especially in today's age, you have killers or suspected killers who write books and make money off that, reality TV show stars, celebs who are just famous for being rich, popstars with virtually no talent but good-looking enough to market....it's all absurd if you take a step back and take look at pop culture. And then these famous-for-being-famous celebrities get rewarded with lavish lifestyles and fortunes that could feed a small country for months. Not only that, but they can also secure the futures of their relatives and family for generations ahead. Compared to all of them, Rupert was rather likeable - at least he really was dedicated to his art and lived and breathed it day and night.

Don't know if Scorcese really had precisely that in mind, but to me it's a highly prophetic movie.