While those on the sidelines ponder the death of cinema in relation to Netflix, creatives are not hesitating to head to the streaming service (Paul Greengrass is the latest director to head over to the company). From Bong Joon-Ho to Noah Baumbach, Netflix is luring filmmakers who simply can’t get their projects made through traditional channels, and are giving due to the company for backing their work. Now, you can add one more voice to the chorus.
Speaking with Deadline, Robert De Niro praised Netflix for providing the hefty $100 million budget for Martin Scorsese‘s “The Irishman.” Set to feature De Niro alongside Al Pacino, Harvey Keitel, Joe Pesci, and Bobby Cannavale, the drama will explore the life of Frank Sheeran, a high-ranking officer in the International Brotherhood of Teamsters with rumored ties to the deaths of President Kennedy and Jimmy Hoffa. The film is based on the book “I Heard You Paint Houses” by Charles Brandt, and will feature CGI technology to de-age De Niro and cast members for key scenes and sequences. That’s where the money will particularly be necessary.
“….we need the money to do it right and it just wasn’t financeable in another way, in the traditional film way if you will,” De Niro said. “They’re trying to really do it as the best it’s ever been. We’re doing the young stuff first and taking it decade by decade so that later the oldest stuff will be closer to our own age. So they’re trying to really make it as good as they can make it and that’s the goal that it can be something special that everyone would want to see and see it done as well as it can at this point. I’m excited by it and looking forward to doing it.”
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In short, no one is going to have to worry about running out of cash, or not having enough to ensure the effects look right. It’s a nice spot to be for Scorsese, who won’t have to run around cobbling money together from a variety of production companies, and can just focus on the movie at hand.
Filming on “The Irishman” starts in September, and we can probably expect to see it sometime next fall.