Screen icons like Al Pacino and Robert De Niro shouldn’t need advice from your humble movie blogger, but their recent screen choices say otherwise.
It’s getting harder to understand why these two acting giants are wasting their golden years with movies far beneath their talents.
“Righteous Kill?” “88 Minutes?” “Meet the Fockers?” “Two for the Money?” “City by the Sea?” And that’s a partial list.
Enough, already.
Aging actors simply don’t have the box office clout they used to, unless their names are Eastwood or Nicholson. It’s that simple. The plum mainstream roles go to Hanks, Cruise, Smith … not De Niro and Pacino.
They’re left to sift through a secondary pile of scripts they wouldn’t so much as glance at 30 years ago.
But they take ‘em anyway. It’s still a paycheck, and they get to have their names above the title. The on-set ego stroking is an added bonus.
“Gosh, I worked with Pacino on ‘88 Minutes’ and it was a-maz-ing!’”
Here’s my two cents. Skip the mainstream entirely. You’ve done it, and your legend is secure. Hit the film festival circuits, and not just the biggies like Sundance. Work the smaller ones, where young filmmakers bursting with talent are waiting for a name actor to help them greenlight their projects. That’s your best chance at making more great movies.
Working festivals would also provide the requisite ego boost.
Imagine Pacino walking around the Stars Film Center in Denver during its upcoming festival. We’re talking mob scenes.
So how about it, Robert and Al? Do you still have the hunger, or are you satisfied with paycheck parts which chip away at your legendary status?
(Photo: Rober De Niro stars in the middling cop thriller “Righteous Kill.”)
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Good advice. But it reminds me of the oft repeated criticism of Sir Laurence Olivier in his later years – taking minor roles which were beneath his dignity. For the pay check or for fear of attaining irrelevance? Who knows? One actor I can think of who avoided this fate is Ian Holm – fabulous talent with the ability to mentally and physically inhabit any role. I don’t have his filmography in front of me but if memory serves he basically took your advice, without the “visiting festivals” part. The Judi Denschs, John Hurts and Ian Holms will find work into their old age and make the most of it. The De Niros and Pacinos will only find “look-at-the-aging-movie-star” work because they can’t hold a candle to the real acting skill of the Brits mentioned above. We can see they only really filled a niche acting market, now closed due to structural weakness.
Well thought out, Boqueronman. The John Hurts and Ian Holms of the world are still going strong, but they were never ‘name above the title’ superstars, so their transition to character parts was easier. Still, they’re aging well on screen — being choosy about their parts and nailing them when called upon.