ENDING- Real or Fantasy?

I think it could be real. Another early scene in the film is purposely exaggerated when Rupert imagines his audience in a white room with a cutout of the audience on the wall. Now, with that ending, he got his chance, by committing an action that was so insane and unrealistic that people would be interested in his return to stand-up. I also sense that he might have had his fifteen minutes and then be forgotten.

Jerry at the Movies
http://jerrysaravia.blogspot.com/

I really hope it was fantasy, that's the way I like to think of it. No way he'd get his own tv show, if it's meant to be real then that's an awful ending to a great film.

Having just seen the movie, I absolutely loved it. And the ending was brilliant.

I do believe it's supposed to be left up for interpretation, though I think thematically it fits more with the narrative that it was all in his head, and fantasy.

However, ironically...that is also how in real life, especially in today's age, so many people actually become rich and famous - not for any real talent, but because of something bad they've done that just makes them famous. Suspected killers who come out with bestselling books, reality TV show stars....I mean it's endless really. In this way the movie is even more relevant today than it was in the 80s. Fantastic work by Scorsese.







Arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice: www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhBWDzkqEPY

I still believe that regardless of whether the ending is Rupert's fantasy or not, the movie itself is being a little too cynical. I don't think that in real life, our world, that Rupert could become famous by kidnapping Jerry.

In 2010 when Jay Leno stole the Tonight Show back from Conan O'Brien, Conan's fans got crazy angry. A mob of fans gathered at the studios to show support (when Scorsese was the guest on the show, ironically), and millions gathered online. I STILL hate Jay. Letterman fans STILL hate Jay too. True, ardent fans never forget it when someone hurts their favorite guy.
Rupert had come close to hurting Jerry, did endanger him, and those mobbing fans we saw at the start of the film wouldn't allow Rupert to get away with something like that.

IRL, most fans aren't like Rupert, Masha, and the old lady with the phone. We're just normal folks.

I'm trying to look at this from a 1982 standpoint, and not 2017, where people now become "celebrities" for something as simple as a Youtube video. To answer the question, I think it's a little bit of both. I do believe Rupert gets a book deal out of this, and I think there's a little publicity about his release from prison. But to me, that's where it ends...

The TV special and audience's wild applause are about as "real" as the scenes with him and Jerry laughing it up like two old pals. I think Jerry would've done everything he could to blacklist Rupert upon his release, and make sure he didn't book any comedy clubs within 100 miles of NYC or LA.

That said, I also think Rupert gets a little bit of fame touring the country on small speaking engagements. Nothing major, and nothing close to what we see at the end of the movie. And to Rupert, that's OK because "it's better to be king for a night than schmuck for a lifetime." He got to be on the most popular talk show in America, even if it meant kidnapping the host. He lived the dream on his demented terms, so in his mind, he won.

I think it's real. Another guy said earlier, Rupert is just kinda standing there at the end, frozen up, because tbh he has nothing really more to say to his audience won by viral fluke. And this is the biggest clue imo, if it were a fantasy why would he freeze up like that he'd be fully prepared and his show would start perfectly