Robert De Niro 1998 News

1998 NEWS

Update:September 12th,1998

Robert De Niro has reached out to the original Raging Bull. Boxing champ Jake La Motta, who lost his son Joseph in the Swissair Flight 111 disaster, tells us he got a condolence call from the actor who played him in Martin Scorsese's 1980 film. La Motta says De Niro left a message saying, "I'm very sorry about what happened, Jake. I'm thinking about you. God bless you. I love you." La Motta, who's suing Swissair and Boeing for $50 million, also got a "nice card" from Scorsese

 

Update:September 2th,1998

Charlton Heston doesn't think Robert De Niro and Jack Nicholson do a very good job of picking their parts. Heston, who considers De Niro among the best in the business, says he spotted the actor in a restaurant a while back and told him he should stretch himself by doing some Shakespeare. Heston said De Niro seemed irritated by the advice. it's ridiculous for an actor that good to keep playing Las Vegas hoods, Heston told the New York Daily News. As for Nicholson, Heston says with the exceptions of A Few Good Men and Five Easy Pieces, Nicholson's characters are essentiallythe same.

Update:August 23th,1998

Lenny Bruce: Swear to Tell the Truth : Robert De Niro will narrate Lenny Bruce: Swear to Tell the Truth, which will receive a two-week, Oscar-qualifying theatrical run in New York starting Oct. 21. De Niro, known more for his menacing characters than his comedic touch, is apparently a fan of the controversial funnyman: He agreed to work on the film for scale. "Lenny Bruce saw through the pretense and hypocrisy of his times," Sheila Nevins, HBO's senior VP of original programming, tells the trade. "He was blacklisted and driven to despair by higher powers, and this film provides an intense microcosm of how his life was destroyed." The 100-minute documentary was made by Robert B. Weide, who spent 12 years compiling footage, including interviews with Bruce's ex-wife, manager, daughter, mother, and others. You'll recall that Bruce's story has been brought to the big screen before: Dustin Hoffman received a Best Actor nomination for his portrayal of the blue-talking, much-arrested comedian in the 1974 Bob Fosse-directed film Lenny. The doc will debut on cable in August of 1999, the 35th anniversary of the comedian's death from a heroin overdose. And in other De Niro news, the New York Daily News reports that an emergency medical crew was called to the actor's Tribeca penthouse Wednesday night. No word on why the medical team was on hand, but a friend of De Niro's tells the paper that it "wasn't Bob" in need of assistance. The friend added that the entire incident "was a big nothing." "A person with an injury was treated and released at the scene," an EMS spokesman tells the News. "They refused medical aid." Source : New York Daily News

 

Update:August 17th,1998

Ronin Official Site is at http://www.mgm.com/ronin or click Official Site and picture page (Ronin) updated.

 

Update:June 15th,1998

De Niro's Domestic Dispute Robert De Niro's neighbors in Montauk aren't being such goodfellas about his plans to build onto his oceanside house — despite the best efforts of the tough-guy actor's mom. De Niro's mother, Virginia Admiral, went around over a year ago asking neighbors whether they'd mind if her son built an extension. According to De Niro's architect, Frank Hollenbeck, they all said, "Fine." But now that they've gotten a gander at De Niro's proposal to tack on more than 4,000 square feet — including a deck with hot tub — the neighbors are bridling. They say the construction would endanger the bluff that rises above the property. So far, the East Hampton Zoning Board of Appeals has agreed — voting on June 9 to deny De Niro's request for variances. Twelve years ago, local officials shot down De Niro's bid to build a studio where his father, the late artist Robert De Niro, could paint in peace. Small wonder the actor has been spending more time at a new house in Ulster County. His architect tells us the star hopes to return to Montauk "when he has a really nice house. Now, it's just an empty disaster."   De Niro's Wedding Blues? Robert De Niro and Grace Hightower mark their first wedding anniversary next week - and some friends say the couple is having a tough time together. The actor and his wife are said to have come close to splitting in the last few months. It "looked imminent for awhile there," says one source close to the "Raging Bull" star. Says another pal: "They had a beef and made up. But who knows how it will end?" Word is that Hightower wishes De Niro would spend more time with her and their son, Elliot, who was born in March. De Niro is known to be an attentive dad, but he's also a workaholic whose films take him all around the world. One friend of Hightower observes: "She knew his behavior patterns before she got married to him." Still, one source believes the actor has been "trying to make himself scarce. It's like he and Grace lead separate lives." Hightower is said to have discussed the couple's pre-nuptial pact with friends who have legal and financial expertise. De Niro, meanwhile, has made plans to rent two apartments in a luxury building near the couple's Tribeca loft. Ostensibly, the new digs are temporary lodging while their current place undergoes renovation. But some suspect De Niro also wants the extra space as a buffer zone or an escape hatch. Right now, a truce seems to be in effect while De Niro stays in New York shooting "Analyze This." Even so, the strong-willed Hightower is said to remain at odds with some of her husband's inner circle of friends and assistants. Hightower also apparently doesn't approve of the nannies who take care of the twin boys De Niro fathered with ex-girlfriend Toukie Smith. "She doesn't want those nannies taking care of Elliot," says a friend. "It's perfectly natural from a mother's point of view. But not from De Niro's." De Niro's spokesman, Stan Rosenfield, declined comment. Hightower couldn't be reached.

 

Update:May 22th,1998

De Niro Wins The Battle The Oscar-winning actor won a round in his battle to restore his reputation after a civil court in Paris ruled that a French newspaper defamed him and invaded his privacy when it published two articles that linked him to a Paris prostitution ring. The France-Soir daily must cough up $13,400 in damages to De Niro and publish the court's ruling. The trouble started in early February, when Paris cops hauled the 54-year-old tough guy actor, who was in the City of Light to film the John Frankenheimer thriller Ronin, down to the station for nine hours of questioning. Investigators wanted to know what relationship, if any, De Niro had with a woman involved in the call-girl operation, which reportedly charged an international clientele upwards of $8,000 a night. After the incident, the enraged star, whose name had leaked to the press in connection with the probe, vowed never to return to France, to shun the Cannes Film Festival, and to hand back his Legion of Honor medal. De Niro's attorney, Georges Kiejman, alleged that French investigating magistrate Frederic Nguyen was starstruck, and "the name of Robert De Niro is like a jewel for a judge." De Niro filed suit against Nguyen, accusing him of "violation of secrecy" requirements and "obstruction of freedom of movement" during the interrogation. De Niro, whom his spokesman has described as a minor witness in the investigation, has denied any involvement in the ring, and denies ever paying for sex, "and even if I had, it wouldn't have been a crime," he told Le Monde. Prostitution is legal in France.

  Update:May 10th,1998

De Niro's new film Ronin New Trailers "Ronin" Lo-Rez 6fps Trailer (2.8 Mb, Mov) "Ronin" High-Rez 12fps Trailer (2.8 Mb, Mov) "Ronin" Official Trailer (1.8 Mb, Mov)

Update:May 4th,1998

De Niro's new film Flawless Robert De Niro has signed to star as a retired security guard who suffers a stroke and is prescribed singing lessons as a means of rehabilitating himself, in writer&director Joel Schumacher's Flawless. The twist? The voice lessons are provided by De Niro's neighbor, who just happens to be a drag queen. No word yet on who will play the dolled-up vocal coach. Schumacher wrote the script for Flawless on spec, and when he failed to find support for the project at his home studio, Warner Bros., he shopped it at MGM, where a deal was hammered out tout de suite. The Batman &Robin director will co-produce the pic with De Niro and Jane Rosenthal's Tribeca Prods., which recently churned out the critically acclaimed star vehicle Wag the Dog on a modest $15 million budget in less than 30 filming days. It's expected that Flawless will follow a similarly lean and mean production budget and schedule. Shooting on the film will commence this September in New York. Source: Mr.Showbiz

Update:March 26th,1998

RONIN : Robert De Niro's new film trailer available now. "Ronin" Full Trailer (5.4Mb, MOV)

Update:March 20th,1998

It's a Boy for Robert De Niro Finally, there's some happy news for Robert De Niro. The Oscar-winning actor, who recently became embroiled in an international call girl ring investigation while filming Ronin in Paris, is once again a proud pop. The New York Daily News reports that De Niro's wife, forty-two-year-old former flight attendant Grace Hightower, gave birth to a baby boy on Wednesday. No word yet on the little bundle of boy's weight or name. The fifty-four-year-old Wag the Dog star has four other children: two-year-old twin sons, Aaron and Julian, whom he had via a surrogate mother with ex-girlfriend Toukie Smith; and twenty-one-year-old son, Raphael, and thirty-year-old daughter, Dreena, with his ex-wife, actress Diahnne Abbott. De Niro and Hightower were wed last June 17 after a year-long engagement. Source: Mr.Showbiz

Update:March 3th,1998

De Niro Dropped from Pope's Poetry Reading  There's more fallout from Robert De Niro's link to a Paris police probe into an international prostitution ring. The Oscar-winning actor, who has played priests on-screen in such movies as Sleepers and True Confessions, was asked late last year to participate in a CD project featuring stars reading the poetry of Pope John Paul II. But after British tabloids revealed that De Niro had told investigators he had an unpaid affair with a woman tied to the call girl ring, the Vatican rescinded the offer. "In view of the news, De Niro's participation no longer seems such a good idea," Father Giuseppe Moscati, who is coordinating the project for Edizioni Musicali Terzo Millenio, tells Variety. "These are poems written by the Pope, after all, and it appears that the image we had of De Niro when we made the proposal is far from the truth." Dustin Hoffman and Gregory Peck have been approached to lend their voices to the Pope collection, but neither has confirmed. Last week, a furious De Niro, who has vehemently denied ever paying for sex, said he will never return to France and will give back his Legion of Honor medal.  Source : Mr.showbiz

 Update:February 26th,1998

De Niro Fumes, Will Return French Award  Don't look for Robert De Niro to appear in any tourism ads for Paris. The fifty-four-year-old Oscar-winning actor, fuming after being linked to a police investigation into an international prostitution ring, says he'll avoid the country in the future. "I will never return to France," he says in an interview published in Tuesday's Le Monde. "I will advise my friends against going to France." De Niro is so angry about his name being dragged through the mud that he's decided to return his prestigious Legion of Honor medal, which he received last year from the French government, and boycott the Cannes Film Festival. "I don't see any reason why I should hang onto that thing which comes from a country which flouts its own motto 'liberty, equality, and fraternity,'" he raged to the paper, "I'm well beyond what one might call furious." But perhaps not even De Niro can resist the lure of France. On Tuesday, the actor relented from his anti-France stand, saying on a television show that he would likely be back in the country this fall to attend an exhibit of his father's art work. He made the statement after Guillaume Durand, the host of Nulle Part Ailleurs, called him "one of the greatest actors in the world" and issued an apology in the name of France for the "difficult incident." De Niro told reporters at the Berlin Film Festival last week that seven or eight policemen burst into his room at the high-class Bristol Hotel in Paris on February 10 to haul him in for what turned out to be nine hours of questioning. In Paris to shoot the thriller Ronin, the actor reportedly knew one of the women under investigation, but he says the entire ordeal was "totally unnecessary" since he had already offered to appear as a prosecution witness. De Niro tells Le Monde that he has never paid for sex, "and even if I had, it wouldn't have been a crime." Prostitution is legal in France, although pimping is not. De Niro claims that investigating magistrate Frederic N'Guyen is running a "witch hunt" and targeting him simply to draw publicity to the case. "I don't know what his problem is, but he really has one," he tells the paper. "He talks about rich and famous people like he's obsessed. . . . Even the police seem embarrassed about his way of doing things." De Niro has filed a privacy-violation complaint against N'Guyen and he says the entire incident has caused an unnecessary strain on his pregnant wife, Grace Hightower, and his mother: "I've been forced to explain to my family that I'm the innocent victim, but there is always that bad saying'where there's smoke, there's fire.'" Sorce :Mr.Showbiz

Update: February 24, 1998

De Niro Stands up for Clinton  Robert De Niro says he sympathizes with President Clinton about the allegations involving Monica Lewinsky, Reuters reports. The star of "Wag the Dog," which tells the story of a U.S. president whose aides orchestrate a war to divert attention from a sex scandal, alluded to his recent run-in with French police over a call girl ring. De Niro, 53, said Clinton was being treated unfairly by a media titillated by salacious stories. Of the media frenzy surrounding the incident, De Niro said, "I think that's ridiculous, what is happening with Clinton. He didn't do anything that is so terrible. We have more important things to worry about."

 Update:February 12th,1998

Robert De Niro's Lawyer Goes on Offensive  Robert De Niro's lawyer insists that just because the actor may be acquainted with young women with questionable occupations, that doesn't mean that he's involved in any way with a high-priced international prostitution ring. On Wednesday, Georges Kiejman charged that the French investigating magistrate is using De Niro's name to draw attention to the case. He says he has filed a complaint against Judge Frederic N'Guyen for "violation of secrecy involving an investigation" and "obstruction of freedom of movement."  On Tuesday, police picked up De Niro at his luxury hotel in Paris for questioning after his name reportedly turned up in an address book seized during the probe. Kiejman didn't deny that such a book could exist. "It's possible," he told reporters, "If you know the number of women who are pretty and ravishing who have his phone number . . ." But he insists there are ulterior motives at work in questioning his client: "The name of Robert De Niro is like a jewel for a judge."  The fifty-four-year-old actor, in the City of Lights to film the John Frankenheimer-directed thriller Ronin, was reportedly questioned for several hours on Tuesday, but was released without being charged. De Niro was quizzed about his relationship, if any, with a woman involved in a call-girl ring that allegedly catered to wealthy men and charged up to $8,000 a night. But Kiejman said that De Niro told investigators "he had never paid a young woman," and added, "It is evident that Mr. De Niro has nothing to do with any pimping case."  De Niro's spokesman, Stan Rosenfield, says the actor is a "minor witness" in the ongoing investigation, not a suspect. Kiejman called the interrogation a "non-event," saying that De Niro was "not anxious. He's a little angry, but he wants to forget. Though he's not ready to forgive." For the record, prostitution is legal in France, but pandering is not.  Source: Mr.Showbiz

Update:February 11th,1998

Picture Area,Sound Area Updated  Visit Now!!!!!   De Niro Questioned in Prostitution Investigation  The Oscar-winning actor was reportedly questioned  by police in Paris as a witness in connection with  an international prostitution ring catering to the rich and  famous. De Niro, in the land of wine and cheese to film the thriller Ronin  for director John Frankenheimer, was picked  up by police at the tony Bristol Hotel in central Paris.Tuesday afternoon and questioned for several hours on a warrant issued by investigating magistrate Frederic N'Guyen, with whom he also met. Investigators said that the fifty-four-year-old actor, whom they had been trying to locate since last Friday, did not object to being brought in. Still no word on why exactly police want to speak to De Niro, although sources tell the Associated Press that his name was in an address book seized during the investigation. Stan Rosenfield, De Niro's Los Angeles-based spokesman, said the actor was wanted as a "minor witness" in connection with the probe. According to Reuters, De Niro was questioned for more than nine hours but was released without being charged. His lawyer, former French Justice Minister Georges Kiejman, told reporters that the actor was asked about his relationship with a prostitute connected to the ring.  Kiejman, apparently unhappy with De Niro's treatment, said that he planned to sue N'Guyen for violating secrecy during an investigation and for unlawfully restraining De Niro's movements. He claims that the magistrate ignited a "media circus" by sending policemen to De Niro's hotel, when the actor had already said he would appear if summoned. De Niro's wife, Grace Hightower, whom he married last June, is pregnant and plans to have the child in Paris.

Update:January 10th 1998 

Picture Area,Sound Area Updated  Visit Now!!!!! Ronin Review:John Frankenheimer is directing, it could be described as The Wild Bunch meets Rashomon meets Guns of Navarone meets The Manchurian Candidate. A very good script, with one of the stronger ensemble casts I've seen assembled for a film of this type, comparable to that of The Usual Suspects, but with a more international tone. Robert DeNiro, Jonathon Pryce, Sean Bean, Jean Reno and Stellan Skarsgard play former intelligence agents of different nationalities. It differs from most thrillers in that it's a psychological drama. When these men are forced into an impossible situation, they don't unite to  overcome, like the A-Team, or Mission:Impossible, rather they begun to show what kind of morally bankrupt individuals they are. The theme is quite similar to Peckinpah's The Wild Bunch, where a band of men no  longer relevant in today's world, are pushed into a desperate situation with no real possibility for any resolution other than tragedy. The plot is  complex, and it does jump around Europe.

 Update:January 2th 1998 

Picture Area,Sound Area Updated  Visit Now!!!!! Robert tired:Bull Not Raging So Intensely Robert DeNiro is known for the in-depth way he's prepared for roles, such as learning to play the saxophone for "New York, New York" and getting a year's worth of boxing training for "Raging Bull." But now he's pulled back a bit and the preparation isn't quite so intense. "I'm more relaxed about the moment now as opposed to working up a lot of angst and wasting a lot of energy before the actual scene," De Niro told the Miami Herald. "Some things that are thought less about turn out better than things that are thought about over and over again."

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