Thompson On Hollywood on Variety.com

April
15 CAA DeNiro Defense Hits Forward Button

An "anonymous agent" from CAA posted this online comment on the departure of Robert DeNiro, which is now getting emailed all over town:

1. Why did Bobby leave us?

They promised they could turn back time.

They promised they could get him 20m a picture.

They promised they could get a release for his "Something happened," a Barry Levinson show biz pic that's has no market, and Mark Cuban lost a fortune on.

They promised they could get him the $1m production fee on every picture he does, that he and his partner put their names on, and do nothing to earn.

They promised they could convince Hollywood that they should still pay that 1m vig on top of his acting fees.

They promised him they'd find a respectable release for the Pacino picture he did last summer, that basically stars two 65 year old guys as detectives - while the audience is under 35, and has no interest in seeing.

As I said, they promised him they could turn back time, and make him 50 again, and relevant, and hot, and interesting to today's movie going audience.

And they probably promised that they'd find a way to erase the memory of all of America about the number of god-awful paycheck films he did during the past ten years.

DeNiro had a choice ten or so years ago. He could either go the Nicholson route - very selective, very particular, protect the brand - or go out sending himself up in tripe like Analyze this, which made money but turned him into that "old psycho guy."

And he could of concentrated on quality stuff, but instead wanted to keep funding his little empire in New York.

A year ago, Bobby came to us complaining that he was losing a fortune underwriting the film festival every year, and wanted us to find bigger corporate sponsors.

We tried, but the stumbling block was always the same thing: The corporations all thought that the Tribeca film festival was a not-for-profit organization, sponsored by the city. But when they got under the hood, they found out that it was all for the greater glory of Bobby and Jane and her husband, and the corporate stuff shied away from it. Bobby held us responsible for his own greed, his own avarice, and his own megalomania.

And it's just like the studios now ask us: Why should we pay this guy- who doesn't open a movie - the payoff to his production company, just so he can add his name as a producer.

Sure, there's more; he thought we should have delivered an Oscar for his paint-drying slow 3 hour Good Shepherd. But we couldn't.

And finally, if really want to understand why now, why today, look at the review today in Variety for the Pacino "86 Minutes" stinker. It's directed by Jon Avnet, (a career ending review), who just happens to be the director of Bobby's next movie. (With Pacino.)

Bobby blames everybody but himself for the way he's squandered his career, and refused lots of quality pictures because they wouldn't give him producer credit.

Good luck in the Hotel Business, pal.

Comment by A CAA Agent < April 9, 2008 @ 10:54 pm

Here's what Defamer calls DeNiro's best performance in years. And here's a related item at Hollywood Elsewhere, complete with amusing comments.

Technorati Tags: 88 Minutes, Al Pacino, al Painco, CAA, memo, Righteous Kill, Robert DeNiro, tribeca

July 2009

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Comments

Why is the agent playing the anonymous card? If he wrote this at 10:54 PM on 4/9/08 then I can only assume he wasn't drunk enough to attach his nuts and voice his opinion with the acceptance of any potential backlash his comments may bring. Does DeNiro have irrational ideals to where he is in his career, and where it is going? Most actors do. Old and young, they can act, but are clueless to all other aspects. Do your jobs, shut up, and sign your autographs. As for you Mr. Agent, if you don't have anything nice to say about someone...SHUT YOUR TRAP!!!

Posted by: sl | April 18, 2008 at 04:12 PM

My hat goes off to that agent (Bryan Lourd??) for saying it like it is. De Zero has squandered what was once a stellar career, mostly for money and alot of ego. His 'partner' Jungle Jane think they float above NYC, that he is somehow king of ht movies. Bob, it's call a sellout and if I ran CAA, I'd be glad you left.

Posted by: Joe | April 19, 2008 at 12:19 PM

I agree with sl... if DeNiro really is nothing, put your damn name on the email. Otherwise, STFU and keep it moving. Like DeNiro's the first actor ever to leave an agency.

Posted by: Blah Blah | April 21, 2008 at 09:43 PM

CAAs comments may be true (or not), but they are unprofessional with that post. In my day this was, THE #1 agency. The biggest and the best. They set the bar and the focus was always forward, never back. For the partners to allow their team to decry a former client to the public is sad. What happened to this agency?

Posted by: Demetrius Williams | April 22, 2008 at 08:37 AM

"he could of concentrated on quality stuff"

The catty person who wrote this doesn't even have enough education to write "he could have" -- tsk, tsk...

Posted by: Elena-Beth Kaye | April 23, 2008 at 01:25 PM

WAAAAAAAAH I'm too much of a pussy to tell my client the truth. I let my client forget to be humble. WAAAAAH i'm not a good enough agent to be honest and wish my delusional client good luck.

WAAAAAAAAAAH

Posted by: Sleestak | April 23, 2008 at 05:15 PM

Dumb ass CAA POS-- "And he could of concentrated on quality stuff..."

he meant could HAVE...sounds like a MORON.

Posted by: poopie pooipie | April 23, 2008 at 05:16 PM

"could of" ? Oh dear.

Posted by: Richie | April 23, 2008 at 11:26 PM

Eh! If you've seen one of De Niro's or Pacino's performances; you've seen them all! Both of them should stop trying to “box office draw” and stick to supporting character actors. It's over!

Posted by: Movie_Critic | April 24, 2008 at 06:11 AM

Word is that DeNiro does want to move in the direction of quality. Barry Levinson's underrated What Just Happened? gives DeNiro one of his meatiest roles in recent years as a jaded Hollywood producer (he's playing writer-producer Art Linson) dealing with this crazy industry, something he knows something about. I hope the movie, which climaxes at the Cannes Palais, does close the Cannes fest. What Just Happened? was tainted out of Sundance not because of bad reviews but because it was over-priced, didn't sell and just didn't belong there. Old-time Hollywood players were trying to go indie; they were fish out of water.

Posted by: anne thompson | April 24, 2008 at 01:14 PM

What Just Happened, besides being totally wrong for Sundance, was also horrible -- The-Player-Lite-with-a-whipped-cream-topping and a meandering script by Linson.

Posted by: Surviving in LA | April 25, 2008 at 10:52 AM

I suspect that most of this agent's comments are true. However, this person has damaged CAA's reputation with this post. What actor would sign for them now when it's been demonstrated how condescending they are to their actors?

Yes, De Niro's film output has been pathetic lately. For me, the old De Niro died in 1995 with the one-two punch of "Heat" and "Casino." After that, all quality control seemed to go out the window. He stopped working with Scorsese. He'd do anything he was offered for the money. He phoned in his performances. Where once, he took 18 months to prepare for a role, now he had 3 or 4 movies coming out a year.

The problem is, De Niro lost his passion for making movies a long time ago. I don't think he could get that back even if he wanted to. He's won the Oscars and done the classic movies. He should really get off the stage and let younger actors have their chance (that goes for Pacino, Nicholson and Travolta too). As a long-time De Niro fan, I hate to say that, but it's the truth. Sorry Bob, you haven't got it anymore. All the best.

Posted by: The Movie God | May 01, 2008 at 03:55 AM

My partner and I would love to be represeted by CAA..make me no promises and I will tell you no lies.

Posted by: cindy | May 06, 2008 at 12:20 PM

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April
15 CAA DeNiro Defense Hits Forward Button