Is Martin Scorsese’s upcoming Netflix film, “The Irishman” going to follow in the tradition of “Casino,” or “Boardwalk Empire”? Aka two gangster stories Scorsese either directed or developed by Scorsese and heavily echoed his mob rule classic “Goodfellas”? Not according to its editor and longtime Scorsese collaborator Thelma Schoonmaker who recently said the new movie is a very different beast.
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“The Irishman” is not “Goodfellas,” Schoonmaker told Yahoo this week, “And that’s what they think it’s going to be. It’s not. It is not ‘Goodfellas.’ It’s completely different. It’s wonderful. They’re going to love it. But please don’t think it’s gonna be ‘Goodfellas,’ because it isn’t.”
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What “The Irishman” is, Schoonmaker concedes, is “expensive.” “The Irishman” is based on the book “I Heard You Paint Houses,” and centers on the real-life gangster who is rumored to have killed the mob legend, Jimmy Hoffa. In the film, De Niro stars as Frank “The Irishman” Sheeran and Al Pacino plays Hoffa.
But the most telling parts of the Schoonmaker “The Irishman” interview about is its de-aging technology. It’s been suggested and rumored that the de-aging in the film would be extensive and the editor confirmed it’s half of the film.
“We’re youthifying the actors in the first half of the movie. And then the second half of the movie they play their own age. So that’s a big risk,” she admitted. “We’re having that done by Industrial Light and Magic, ILM. That’s a big risk.”
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No doubt this is why “The Irishman,” which some wrongly assumed would arrive in 2018 (including us, though perhaps that was more wishful thinking), has taken so long to complete (note, in a recent interview with “Ant-Man & The Wasp” director Peyton Reed, whose film contained elements of de-aging, the director said an entire film de-aged would be incredibly difficult, nearly impossible to make).
“We’re seeing some of it, but I haven’t gotten a whole scene where they’re young, and what I’m going to have to see, and what Marty’s going to have to see is, ‘How is it affecting the rest of the movie when you see them young?’”
It’s February of 2019 and Schoonmaker hasn’t seen one full scene with the actors young yet which is nuts considering the movie is rumored to be opening in October. One assumes that kills any hope of the film premiering in Cannes. It just doesn’t sound like it will be ready.
From what she has seen so far, Schoonmaker says she could only see De Niro and company “wearing some things on their faces, and on their clothes, that tracks their movements.” However, she does mention that after she watched that first cut with Scorsese, and the lights came on in the room, they both looked at each other and said “wow.”
She reiterates that “The Irishman” is “an expensive project, [Netflix are] taking a risk there,” because no one really knows if the whole thing will work or if the de-aging will be convincing. If it works, it’s sure to be a groundbreaking effort that could recast many older actors in younger roles (Neill Blomkamp already had this idea in mind for “Alien 5,” but Ridley Scott killed that project).
Steve Zaillian (“Gangs Of New York,” “Schindler’s List,” “Moneyball“) penned the adaptation of “I Heard You Paint Houses” by Charles Brandt. Frank Sheeran, was a Teamster and organized crime hitman and rumors have also pointed to his involvement in the death of President Kennedy on top of Jimmy Hoffa.
The whole interview is a cinephile’s delight, going through her entire career as Scorsese’s go-to-editor and reminiscing about projects such as “Raging Bull,” “The King of Comedy” and “Bringing Out the Dead,” which she believes deserves a better reputation. [Yahoo]