The Trıbute of a Lifetıme
THE STARS COME OUT TO PAY HOMAGE TO THE FILM LEGEND
When Morgan Freeman, who played God in Bruce Almighty, showed up to shoot 2013’s Last Vegas, “I yelled, ‘Look who’s here — God!’” co-star Michael Douglas recalled at the recent Chaplin Award tribute to Robert De Niro in NYC. “Bobby turned around and said, ‘You talkin’ to me?’ ”
He may as well have been. The acting deity’s praises were sung by an array of friends and co-workers at the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s 44th annual event. As We’re No Angels’ Sean Penn put it, “Every time I see you, after all these years, still my first thought is ‘OMG, that’s Robert F---ing De Niro!’ ”
Other chums shared more heartfelt memories. Meet the Parents son-in-law Ben Stiller revealed that prostate cancer survivor Robert was the first person he called after receiving a similar diagnosis in 2014: “He just said, ‘It’s OK, you’ll take care of it, it’ll be fine,’ and maybe because he’s Robert De Niro or just a great actor, I believed him.”
A REAL GOODFELLA
Meryl Streep remembered seeing Robert as a dying baseball player in 1973’s Bang the Drum Slowly and feeling like she’d found her teacher. “He knows something profound about what it is that we do,” she said. “And I have learned from [him] my whole life.”
One of Robert’s closest pals, director Martin Scorsese — who’s set to shoot The Irishman, their ninth film together — summed it up: “Bob’s legacy is permanent. The world of cinema is all the better for his brilliance.”
But for Robert, 73, the greatest honor comes not at work but home. “To me, family is everything,” he said, accepting the award. “My wife, Grace, my children, my grandkids, you are my entertainment, my art, my passion.” And that’s no raging bull. — Bruce Fretts, with
reporting by Lexi Ciccone