Al Pacino Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Let's just point out the elephant in the room, shall we? Al Pacino is one of the all time greats, but his recent work has been anything but. If he was anyone but Pacino, a story like this would be phrased as a hopeful, can he come back sort of piece ... but it's Al Pacino. You don't say those kinds of things, do you? Well, you can think it if you like, as The Hollywood Reporter says that Pacino is currently circling Barry Levinson's biopic on Dr. Jack Kevorkian.

I doubt there's anyone reading who doesn't remember who Dr. Kevorkian is. Known as Dr. Death, he assisted in more than 150 cases of suicide / euthanasia with his "Mercy Machine." After beating the Michigan court system for years, he was convicted of second degree murder after sending a tape of one euthanasia patient to 60 Minutes. He served eight years, and was released in 2007 on account of good behavior, and has been doing public appearances since. The media frenzy and emotional fury that surrounded him seems to have dissipated for the moment, but perhaps Levinson and HBO Films can stir it up again.

Levinson's film will trace Kevorkian's career as he builds his famous "Mercy Machine," conducts his first assisted suicide, and creates a firestorm with his advocacy for providing assisted suicide as "a medical service." It's the kind of role Pacino could really excel at ... but it's also something he could probably do in his sleep. So, is it promising? Predictable? The first step on the road back to exciting brilliance? You be the judge.

The predictably and sadly stinky Righteous Kill, starring Al Pacino and Robert De Niro as cranky old cops trying to solve a possible serial killer case and make old rights wrong etc. etc ad infinitum, has a video game. No, I didn't know it either! Probably because it was put out by Merscom and Starz Media and is a downloadable PC game that can be yours for just $6.99 via Big Fish Games. And now there's a sequel called Righteous Kill: Revenge of the Poet Killer, which can also be yours for $6.99.

Both games have the barest connections to the actual movie. Here's the description of the first game:

"Step into the shoes of Erica Dean as she investigates crime scenes in New York City. It`s a man hunt for a vigilante on a killing spree through 16 locations containing over a thousand hidden objects. With the help of Sergeant Vasquez, Erica will use clues she collects in a number of detective-themed mini games. Inspired by the motion picture film, Righteous Kill features clips from the movie and 15 animated levels."

Napoleon seems to be all the rage these days, conquering his way to the big screen. But rather than have dueling pictures for the same audience, we've got one adult romance and one child's tale coming our way. The first is Napoleon and Betsy, a historical romance that grabbed Emma Watson last year. To add to the French flavor, we're now getting an adaptation of Staton Rabin's children's book, Betsy and the Emperor, and The Hollywood Reporter posts that Al Pacino has signed on to play the infamous Frenchman.

While the first project takes some liberties, morphing the true story of friendship between a defeated emperor and young girl into a romance, this keeps things platonic for its tween audience. (A welcome note because the thought of a Pacino/Watson romance is, well, unseemly.) Based on the true story of Betsy Balcombe, Rabin's tale follows the 14-year-old as she breaks out of her family's fear of Bonaparte and becomes his friend while he's exiled on St. Helena. The relationship is based in fact, but the book then adds a bunch of flair with accidental death and hot balloon adventures.

Apparently Al has been itching to tackle Bonaparte for a while, and I imagine this is a bit of a compromise -- as a big-name actor often busy with iconic drama, who yearns to play a certain historical figure, a tween-themed film isn't usually the project of choice. Nevertheless, it's great to see Pacino walk beyond that Righteous Kill and get some more worthy gigs. Lear, Bonaparte ... what's next? Thomas Jefferson?

Al Pacino and Robert De Niro finally co-starred together last year in Righteous Kill, and now they're teaming up again: to sue the film's distributor, Overture, and the Tutima watch manufacturer for allegedly misusing their names to sell watches. Yes, these two will appear in terrible films until the cows come home -- but don't you DARE suggest they endorse a particular brand of wristwatch.

According to the Reuters news service, a series of ads last year (such as the one pictured) used the actors' names, voices, and faces to endorse Tutima watches. In addition to print advertisements, a clip from Righteous Kill appeared on Tutima's website. The actors claim they never gave permission for such an endorsement, and that they'd have said no if they'd been asked.

In the words of the lawsuit, De Niro has only ever endorsed a product "under very specific and compelling circumstances," and Pacino "has never commercially endorsed any product or service in the United States." The stars of 88 Minutes and The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle have standards, you know. (I suspect one of those standards is that they'll do whatever you want; you just gotta pay them.)

Actors do have the right to control when their names, images, and voices are used for commercial purposes, of course. If Overture really didn't make the proper arrangements with Pacino and De Niro before allowing Tutima to use them, well ... they're gonna be in trouble. According to the Associated Press, Overture was surprised by the lawsuit, takes all legal action very seriously, etc., etc.

I scanned this Variety article in vain, looking for some mention that Cecil B. DeMille had arisen from the grave purely to revive bombastic Biblical epics. But no. Nor is it April 1, so this has to be legitimate, as unlikely as it seems.

Apparently, Aloe Films is producing a film called Mary, Mother of Christ with Camilla Belle in the title role. But it's the rest of the cast and characters that sends this into truly "Whoa, really?" land. Jonathan Rhys-Meyers is signed to play the duel roles of Gabriel and Lucifer, while Peter O'Toole will be playing Symeon. Currently in talks to join in are Al Pacino and Jessica Lange, who are interested in playing King Herod and Anna the Prophetess.

Start to think that over in your mind -- the crazy eyed Rhys Meyers as archangel and devil, and Al Pacino as King Herod. That's like John Wayne /Greatest Story Ever Told territory, and will either end up cinematic gold or mocked on YouTube.

The film will be helmed not by a resurrected DeMille, but by Alejandro Agresti, and it's currently aiming for a April 2, 2010 release which will coincide with Good Friday, making it one of those event films on par with The Passion of the Christ or The Nativity Story.

I don't mean to sound snarky at all, though I wince at the political and religious frenzy that seems to surround such releases. I'm merely surprised at the level of talent that's attached to this, yet it warranted such a whispery mention in Variety -- it's almost like they can't quite believe it either.

He got to play the tough lender Shylock in the 2004 adaptation of The Merchant of Venice, and now Al Pacino wants to take on Shakespeare's equivalent of Cinderella and her wretched stepsisters. Variety reports that he's grabbing the lead in Michael Radford's upcoming adaptation of King Lear.

But wait -- this isn't the same project that's already got Anthony Hopkins, Keira Knightley, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Naomi Watts. Yes, we're getting TWO King Lear films. While I don't particularly agree with the practice, I get how dueling pictures come to be -- but this is ridiculous!

Producer Barry Navidi says that Radford "came up with the most brilliant adaptation and Al and I flipped for it." It better be one heck of a showstopper, because not any production can face Hopkins and survive (let alone that trio of actresses). Me, I prefer the idea of Hopkins. I've seen Al's Shylock, and I've been in spitting distance (the man spits a lot) when he played Marc Antony, but Lear just doesn't seem like the role for him.

Then again, it's better than his recent buddy duo fare. But what say you? Can you stomach two new versions of Lear and his ungrateful daughters? And which Lear do you prefer?

Okay, so Righteous Kill (381 screens) wasn't the world's greatest movie. At best it was rudimentary -- and at worst, it was outright stupid. But I have to admit, I got a giant-sized kick out of seeing Robert De Niro and Al Pacino together for the first time (aside from not appearing together in The Godfather Part II and appearing together only briefly in Heat). They had a wonderful banter going that suggested they'd been pals for 30 years. However, we had a right to expect more from two guys who are considered among the greatest screen actors of all time.

This label, I think, has only hurt their careers, because now we tend to think of them in terms of hot and cold. Everyone remembers De Niro in Taxi Driver and Raging Bull and Pacino in The Godfather films and Scarface, but what have they done for us lately? And why on earth did Pacino win an Oscar for Scent of a Woman, of all things? Then we have their most recent films to contend with, De Niro's amiable but lightweight What Just Happened? (36 screens) and Pacino's ultra-lame 88 Minutes. But let me suggest that we ignore the hot-cold concept and concentrate instead on some warmth? After all, both actors have given terrific performances in recent years that deserve some consideration.

Wanna know what's going on today, but don't feel like reading a lot? Welcome to Stuff and Things -- where we collect the stuff (and things) currently making waves online and spit it out in one somewhat short, easy-to-read post.

-- First off, Slashfilm posted this image of a Predator-carved pumpkin (see above), and I'd like to personally thank them for the nightmares I'm going to have tonight. God bless the children in that household.

-- Ashton Kutcher is still making movies. That's the bad news. Seems he's teaming with 21 director Robert Luketic on a new action comedy called Five Killers about a former hitman (Kutcher) whose life gets turned upside down when a rival from his past hires a group of killers to whack him. Unfortunately, it's not based on a true story. (What? It's Halloween ... time, I'm allowed to be morbid!) [Variety]

-- Moviefone just put up an Unscripted chat with the cast of High School Musical 3 ... and that Vanessa Hudgens girl? Yowzers! No wonder I hate Zac Efron so much.

-- Al Pacino received a lifetime achievement award at the third Rome Film Festival, which just kicked off its festivities. The fest runs through October 31.

-- Actress Teri Polo signed on to star in Joe Dante's The Hole, about a family who go through changes following the discovery of a bottomless hole in the basement of their house. Sounds like some serious termite damage, right there. [Hollywood Reporter]

-- Transformers II has become the first film in years to shoot at the Pyramids in Egypt. Nope, I gots no Megan Fox jokes for this one.

-- Is the end nearing for Focus Features? Patrick Goldstein explores what, unfortunately, appears to be the demise of Universal's specialty division.

-- Finally, Jesse James Hollywood will get his day in court. Remember Alpha Dog? Yeah, it's that dude.

After the jump: Is that a real porno, a teaser trailer for The Flash and Clint Eastwood's Gran Torino gets a poster.

Playing cops in the new movie 'Righteous Kill' must have been a real drag for Robert De Niro and Al Pacino. While promoting the film in England, the legendary actors – who have only appeared onscreen together in one other film, the 1995 thriller 'Heat' – brainstormed their next collaboration: a cross-dressing comedy. According to Showbiz Spy, Pacino marveled at his pal's ability to do funny films, and De Niro suggested they try one out. "We could play sisters. That could happen... who knows?" the 'Meet the Parents' star joked.

Perhaps De Niro is on to something. After all, their careers are in a rut, so this would certainly be different. Plus, there's a long history of Oscar love for drag roles. After winning an Academy Award for his searing performance in 'Kramer Vs. Kramer,' Dustin Hoffman took three years off before returning as 'Tootsie,' a comic turn that snagged him another nomination. Hilary Swank took home a statuette and became a star for her work in 'Boys Don't Cry.' And an unknown Jaye Davidson wowed voters into giving him a nod with his gender-bending turn in 'The Crying Game.'

Then again, sometimes drag is just, well, a drag. Patrick Swayze and Wesley Snipes were pretty scary ladies in 'To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar' and the usually infallible Phillip Seymour Hoffman was a mess in 'Flawless' (which co-starred De Niro). If Pacino and De Niro do decide to don heels and gowns, they better realize that it takes more than pretty clothes to make the man ... er, the woman.