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In September, reports claimed that progress on Robert De Niro and director Martin Scorsese's mob drama The Irishman was moving forward and that Al Pacino, and Joe Pesci were looking to join the movie. Based on the book I Heard You Paint Houses, which chronicles the life of mafia hitman Frank "The Irishman" Sheeran, Scorsese confirmed to Digital Spy earlier this week that the project is "going through financing" and could begin production as early as next year.
With The Irishman confirmed, the question remained whether the movie would be split into two. De Niro mentioned the possibility of shooting two movies simultaneously to MTV in August, as word on the project was beginning to spread. De Niro revealed that screenwriter Steven Zaillian had written the Irishman script (then still titled I Heard You Paint Houses), but that the idea of making a "two-part type of film" was made by screenwriter Eric Roth (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button). De Niro's explanation at the time was anything but understandable.
DeNiro (sort of) explains >> Posted 12.17.10 by Ryan -
Call it Martin Scorsese's The Expendables. The Goodfellas director is lining up an all-star cast for his next movie, the mob drama The Irishman, starting with Robert DeNiro, Al Pacino, and Joe Pesci. Deadline reports that DeNiro and Scorsese have been working together on the movie, which is based on the book I Heard You Paint Houses that chronicles the exploits of mob hitman Frank "The Irishman" Sheeran.
more on the possible reunion >> Posted 09.14.10 by Ryan -
Leave it to writer-director Lars von Trier to attract a firestorm of media controversy. According to Variety, the 53-year-old Danish provocateur may collaborate with Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro on a follow-up to Scorsese's landmark 1976 movie Taxi Driver.
It's unclear whether the project would be a re-hash, a sequel, or (heaven forbid) a prequel, and although the whole idea is currently an unsubstantiated rumor, that hasn't stopped the Berlin Film Festival from making some noise.
The idea follows in the footsteps of The Five Obstructions directed by Jørgen Leth. Von Trier was the genesis behind that project as well; he challenged Leth to remake his 1967 movie The Perfect Human five times with five different restrictions. For example, one of the five had to be completely animated.
We doubt Scorsese would remake Taxi Driver once, let alone five times, and we can only hope this is a prototypical Von Trier stunt designed to gain him as much attention as possible.
Apparently, the media hoopla got started when one of Von Trier's business partners said he could neither confirm nor deny the rumor. "There will be a statement coming shortly," he later said.
UPDATE: The Playlist reports that Von Trier's business partner has denied the rumor, saying, "I have seen it [the story] in the Danish film magazine and what is written there is not true."
Posted 02.16.10 by reelz -
Even Roger Corman admits that his name was unlikely to be associated with an Academy Award. Yet the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has decided to give Corman an honorary lifetime achievement Oscar, nonetheless. Corman told The Associated Press that he was surprised by the announcement.
I predicted that I would not win because I make low-budget films, and I felt the Academy would not give an award to someone who made low-budget films. I was truly surprised when I got the call.
Corman began his career producing and directing low-budget fare like 1955's Swamp Women and Monsters from the Ocean Floor, Corman quickly found that what he did best was provide opportunities to young director and actors like Martin Scorsese (1972's Boxcar Bertha), Jack Nicholson (1960's Little Shop of Horrors), Robert De Niro (1970's Bloody Mama), Francis Ford Coppola (Dementia 13), and Ron Howard (1977's Grand Theft Auto). Sylvester Stallone starred in two Corman movies, 1975's Death Race 2000 and Capone, and told Entertainment Weekly that he owes his career to Corman.
If I hadn't done those parts I probably wouldn't be here today. He provided a forum for a lot of us to grow. We were the seeds and he owned the farm. If you look at those early movies with Jack Nicholson, you can see it — that he was building his rhythm back then. You can see that he had it. He would allow out-of-the-box people like Scorsese and De Niro to flourish. He didn't go with the status quo. He was a master at spotting talent.
It was his eye for finding talent that Corman is the most proud of.
I know that they all would have achieved the same level if they had never met me, but I think what I was able to do was to give them a start and help them a little bit in their careers, and I take great pride in that.
Corman receives his Honorary Oscar at a ceremony today.
Posted 11.14.09 by Ryan -
Are there no good dramatic roles left in Hollywood? Harvey Keitel has signed on to star in Little Fockers opposite Robert De Niro, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Remember the '70s, when Keitel and DeNiro were starring in edgy, challenging movies like Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver? Now, both seem to be confined to less-than-original comedies. Thankfully, at least DeNiro has a role in Robert Rodriguez's upcoming Machete.
And how about Dustin Hoffman? Is a possible appearance in Little Fockers the best he can expect? We recently overheard the tour-guide of a museum refer to Hoffman as "the guy from Meet the Fockers." Our thoughts: Anyone who knows Hoffman only from that movie should immediately be sent home with copies of The Graduate, Midnight Cowboy, and Little Big Man.
Posted 11.13.09 by reelz