At the Tribeca Festival, Brian Williams attempted a challenge: interviewing Robert De Niro.
Williams sat down with the actor Saturday as part of Tribeca’s “Directors Series” talks. De Niro is a famously difficult interview, but Williams was eager for a chance to face-off with a personal idol.
He was warned of De Niro’s sphinx-like reputation. Introducing the event, Jane Rosenthal, who co-founded Tribeca with De Niro and has long been his producing partner, said she was surprised at Williams’ request.
“Great idea, but have you seen Bob’s interviews?” said Rosenthal, recalling her reply.
The NBC News anchorman said that he wanted to interview De Niro “as a fan.” While De Niro often answered Williams’ questions with typical recalcitrance, the two managed a good conversation with only an occasional sigh from Williams.
At one point, Williams’ attempts for a more conversational interaction broke down when De Niro stymied him. “Did I answer the question?” asked De Niro, when there hadn’t been one.
But the two still had common ground. Asked if he watches his old movies when they air on TV, De Niro said he doesn’t.
“I don’t do that, Brian. I watch the news and I watch the ‘Today’ show,” said De Niro, drawing a laugh from the crowd. “I’m very set in my ways.”
De Niro said it was actually TV that helped inspire him to be an actor.
“I used to look at television and say, ‘Well, if that person can do it, then I can certainly do it,” recalled the 67-year-old actor.
And De Niro said TV is again frequently on his mind when he’s filming.
“Whenever I have a big dramatic scene, I always think: ‘What are they going to do with this on ‘Saturday Night Live’?” said De Niro, who has hosted the sketch comedy show and spent much of his later years making comedies.
The Tribeca Film Festival, which is celebrating its 10th incarnation, runs through May 1.
Oscar Nominees Delve Into The Art Of Editing At ACE Session
You couldn’t miss Sean Baker at this past Sunday’s Oscar ceremony where he won for Best Picture, Directing, Original Screenplay and Editing on the strength of Anora. However, earlier that weekend he was in transit from the Cesar Awards in Paris and thus couldn’t attend the American Cinema Editors (ACE) 25th annual panel of Academy Award-nominated film editors held at the Regal LA Live Auditorium on Saturday (3/1) in Los Angeles. While the eventual Oscar winner in the editing category was missed by those who turned out for the ACE “Invisible Art, Visible Artists” session, three of Baker’s fellow nominees were on hand--Dávid Jancsó, HSE for The Brutalist; Nick Emerson for Conclave; and Myron Kerstein, ACE for Wicked. Additionally, Juliette Welfling, who couldn’t appear in person due to the Cesar Awards, was present via an earlier recorded video interview to discuss her work on Emilia Pérez. The interview was conducted by ACE president and editor Sabrina Plisco, ACE who also moderated the live panel discussion. Kerstein said that he was the beneficiary of brilliant and generous collaborators, citing, among others, director Jon M. Chu, cinematographer Alice Brooks, and visual effects supervisor Pablo Helman. The editor added it always helps to have stellar acting performances, noting that hearing Cynthia Erivo, for example, sing live was a revelation. Kerstein recalled meeting Chu some eight years ago on a “blind Skype date” and it was an instant “bromance”--which began on Crazy Rich Asians, and then continued on such projects as the streaming series Home Before Dark and the feature In The Heights. Kerstein observed that Chu is expert in providing collaborators with... Read More