Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro graced the Beacon Theater to talk about their upcoming film The Irishman. As part of the Tribeca Film Festival's Director Series, the iconic 75-year-old actor played as the interviewer and asked the legendary director about the movie.
Although De Niro and Scorsese didn't say much about the film's details, they revealed The Irishman carries borrowed themes from the director's classic movies. The director himself admitted it includes "borrowed elements," as they talked about his other films like Mean Streets, The Last Waltz, Raging Bull, Casino, King of Comedy, The Wolf of Wall Street, and Silence.
The Irishman is based on Charles Brandt's 2003 novel I Heard You Paint Houses, which De Niro read for the film. "You really felt the heart of this character and this situation," Scorsese told his frequent actor, via The New York Times.
The film is about organized crime and Jimmy Hoffa, an American labor union leader who served as the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) union's president. Scorsese continued to say The Irishman represents material from his mobster movies like Goodfellas and Casino. However, he said "he thinks and hopes from a different vantage point."
According to Scorsese, The Irishman deals with who the people are and not the "trappings around them." It follows the story of Frank Sheeran (De Niro), a union official who has a connection with the mafia that is believed to be involved in Teamster boss Hoffa's (Al Pacino) murder.
Producer Jane Rosenthal, on the other hand, compared The Irishman to another Scorsese classic, Goodfellas. "The Irishman is very funny, much like Goodfellas was funny," she said, per IndieWire.
Rosenthal added Scorsese is a genius, especially in the way how his shots move. Watching The Irishman on the big screen instead of doing it at home will give viewers a different experience and see the famed director's shots. However, with today's generation and trend, people have more power on how they want to watch movies.
Observer reported The Irishman has $140 million budget. It is also pegged to be nominated at the 2020 Academy Awards. The film is set to be out in both theaters and on Netflix this fall. Aside from De Niro and Pacino, the movie boasts other stellar casts like Stephan Graham, Bobby Cannavale, Harvey Keitel, Anna Paquin, Jesse Plemons, Domenick Lombardozzi, Kevin Kane, Paul Ben-Victor, and Joe Pesci, among others.
