Coppola Tells All

[Gothampc]

Posted: 10/17/07 at 9:41pm

Francis Ford Coppola disses Robert De Niro, Jack Nicholson and Al Pacino in a surprising critique of three of America's greatest actors.
No Small Parts, Only Small Directors

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 10/17/07 at 10:36pm

"I met both Pacino and De Niro when they were really on the come," Coppola tells GQ's Nate Penn.

That's simply the oddest quote I've seen all week.

[JohnBoy2]

Posted: 10/17/07 at 10:42pm

I never understood the acclaim given Nicholson and Pacino. Nicholson is always exactly the same, and Pacino is the worst kind of ham. DeNiro, on the other hand, can act.

[StickToPriest]

Posted: 10/17/07 at 10:50pm

Nicholson and Pacino are absolutely fascinating to watch onscreen.

[JohnBoy2]

Posted: 10/17/07 at 11:13pm

No they aren't.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 10/17/07 at 11:16pm

Yeah they are.

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 10/17/07 at 11:17pm

Yo mamma's a bitch...

[Jane2]

Posted: 10/17/07 at 11:32pm

They totary are!

[robbiej]

Posted: 10/18/07 at 12:18am

I have to say, I've always found Nicholson to be remarkably similar in most of his performances. However, many of those performances were thrilling to watch. And, frankly, if Jack had to go through same old same old to get to the unnerving, beautiful and extraordinary performance he gave in ABOUT SCHMIDT, fine with me.

Pacino, too, has had moments where his persona has calcified...but his Roy Cohn was the work of a true artist.

De Niro, however, has strayed so far away from the work he once did. Talk about an actor in need of a stretch.

Updated On: 10/18/07 at 12:18 AM

[Jane2]

Posted: 10/18/07 at 12:47am

"but his Roy Cohn was the work of a true artist. "

And that's an understatement!

As for Nicholson, just a little anecdote- I used to do extra work in films. I did one day on As Good as it Gets. Anyway, everyone's on the set, just hanging and suddenly you felt a "presence." You looked up, and strolling down to the set was Jack, kind of beaming and walking proud, chest out, looking to the left and right, smiling at everyone on the set. It's hard to describe, but you had the feeling you were in the company of greatness. As corny as this sounds, I don't care. It's a moment I'll never forget.

And I agree with you about De Niro. His early work was his greatest.

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 10/18/07 at 12:15pm

Versatility can be overrated. Nicholson is the only actor alive right now who is a true star in the sense of Humphrey Bogart, Kate Hepburn, and Spencer Tracy. I prefer truthful, unpredictable, joyful acting over proving how much you can "transform" into someone else (with someone like Daniel Day Lewis' recent work, its downright annoying). Nicholson has turned in some bad work, but who hasn't?? Love all three, but I can't help but think that something like WE'RE NO ANGELS with Nicholson might have actually worked.

[morosco]

Posted: 10/18/07 at 1:11pm

"...on the come,"

I'd never heard that phrase. Looked it up and it's a term used in poker.

Come Bet - On the Come
1) Come Hand: A hand that needs to improve to win
2) Come Betting / Betting on the Come: Betting while playing a hand that you are drawing to, rather than a hand that is the best current hand
3) On the Come: Drawing to make a hand

Suddenly I feel lightheaded.

[Pippin]

Posted: 10/18/07 at 4:05pm

John Boy, are you blind? becuase as priest, said, they are fascinating on the screen. To each his own, I guess, but there are some things that can't really shouldn't be disputed, and the amazing work of Nicholson and Pacino in their earlier years is one of them. They are always in the moment, something interesting is always going on inside them, and the power and presence they exert is what has made them the legends of cinema they are today.


now DeNero, on the other hand, while once great, (and probably still could do it if he gave a rat's ass) has been in one too many stupid comedies with one-note roles, that he is tarnishing his reputation, and it would be very sad if he is known for an actor with so much promise who, in his later years became a charicature of himself.

[Roscoe]

Posted: 10/18/07 at 7:13pm

I can't agree that Nicholson is always exactly the same, even if I'm not at all a big fan of his work. The only Nicholson performances I watch with any pleasure at all are in THE SHINING and REDS. I've never seen what the big deal is about CHINATOWN.

As for Pacino, well, when he's good he's very very good (DOG DAY AFTERNOON, THE GODFATHER I and II, DICK TRACY, ANGELS IN AMERICA) and when he's bad he's really just dreadful (THE DEVIL'S ADVOCATE, SCENT OF A WOMAN, the production of AMERICAN BUFFALO I sat through about 20 years ago).

De Niro does seem to have dropped off the map, doesn't he?

What's Coppola complaining about? It's not like he's done anything particularly groundbreaking lately. After that RAINMAKER thing, he's not really in a position to be complaining about people playing it safe for the money.

Updated On: 10/18/07 at 07:13 PM

[ScottyDoesn'tKnow]

Posted: 10/18/07 at 7:38pm

"He's only critical because he cares."