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Punch » Yesterday, 3:57 pm » wrote: ↑

Yesterday, 3:57 pm

De Niro is my favorite actor (mainly for Taxi Driver) but he has the worst case of TDS I have ever seen. Only Sam Harris rivals him.

Robert De Niro Slams Trump In Cannes Honorary Palme D'Or Speech: "We Are Fighting Like Hell For The Democracy We Once Took For Granted"
(Full article at above link)

The 78th edition of the Cannes Film Festival got off to both a politically charged and Hollywood start on Tuesday evening as Robert De Niro was presented with an honorary Palme d'Or by Leonardo DiCaprio. An impassioned De Niro used his acceptance speech to address issues he said were facing the artistic community and threatening democracy, under the presidency of Donald Trump. “In my country, we are fighting like hell for the democracy we once took for granted. That affects all of us here because the arts are democratic. Art is inclusive, it brings people together. Art embraces diversity and that's why art is a threat, that's why we are a threat to autocrats and fascists,” he said. “America's philistine president has had himself appointed head of one of our premier cultural institutions. He has cut funding and support to the arts, humanities and education. And now he has announced a 100% tariff on films produced outside of the U.S.,” he continued. “Let that sink in … You can't put a price on creativity, but apparently you can put a tariff on it. De Niro said the Trump’s actions were not a uniquely U.S. issue. “This is not just an American problem, it's a global one. We can't all just sit back and watch. We have to act and we have to act now, not with violence but with great passion and determination. It's time for everyone who cares about liberty to organize, to protest - and when there are elections, of course, to vote. Tonight and for the next 11 days we show our strength and commitment by celebrating art in this glorious festival. Libérté, égalité, fraternité. "DiCaprio, who arrived on stage to rousing applause, highlighted the role played De Niro in his early career .“Growing up in Los Angeles, every young actor I knew watched De Niro’s work. We studied him, trying to understand how he immersed himself so completely in his characters. He created the blueprint. He wasn’t just another great actor, he was the actor,” said DiCaprio. DiCaprio recalled how he had gotten his first big movie break playing opposite De Niro in This Boy’s Life. "The audition process was a tough one. Lots of competition. None of us knew who would get the part… at 15 or 16 years old, I did the only thing I couldn’t think to stand. I screamed at him at the top of my lungs," recounted DiCaprio. The room burst into laughing. Later that day, as the story goes, Bob was getting on his plane with a producer. Art Linson asked who do you want to play the part? And in classic De Niro fashion, he replied, second kid from the last. Luckily, that second kid was me, and that moment changed my life forever, started my entire career in the world of cinema. A montage of his films was played kicking off with the explosion scene in Casino and including the famous “Are you talkin’ to me’ monologue dialogue in Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver. The honor came closes to 50 years after De Niro first attended Cannes with Bernardo Bertolucci's 1900 and Taxi Driver, which won the Palme d'Or.

 but he has the worst case of TDS I have ever seen.