“Not at this time,” was Hollywood actor Robert De Niro’s amused reply to my question on possibly a new film where retired CIA analyst Jack Tiberius Byrnes, hatches another scheme to again put to test the loyalty and fidelity of his son-in-law Gaylord Focker (Ben Stiller) to his daughter, Pam (Teri Polo). But really, don’t we all just want to see Mr. Jinx, Byrnes’ Himalayan cat, just up to his old tricks? (Remember how the cat flushes the Fockers’ dog, down the toilet? Hilarious!) Oh and no, no "Godfather 4" either, good grief!
With over 90 films to his name in a career that spans some 40 years, De Niro, now 71, shows no signs of slowing down as an actor. He’s still “very busy,” he says, shooting movies, with a number of them to be rolled out within the year.
But he was in Manila last Monday, not to shoot nor promote any movie, but to formally launch Nobu Hotel, which is owned and operated by Nobu Hospitality, a company he co-owns with celebrated Japanese chef Nobu Matsuhisa and film producer Meir Teper ("From Dusk ‘Til Dawn," "What’s Eating Gilbert Grape," "Everybody’s Fine").
This time, he is a businessman, a role he takes extremely seriously. For some who may not know, De Niro is one of the most astute real estate investors among his peers in Hollywood, buying up properties around New York. He also has a number of capital ventures in the hospitality and restaurant industries outside of Nobu.
So with his co-partners and Nobu Hospitality execs, the award-winning actor sat down with select journalists in the “circle of trust.”
De Niro was dressed casually – in a teal sports shirt and jeans, with a midnight blue blazer thrown over and was sockless in his navy blue on white loafers. He seemed quite relaxed, and with a newspaper in his hand, looked like he had just gone out to buy it from a newsstand down the street from his home.
He speaks clearly and lightly in his Manhattan accent, and has an almost friendly demeanor. Despite his stature in Hollywood, the man has no airs. You know how some celebrities and self-important politicians tend to suck up the oxygen in an entire room? De Niro was nothing of the sort.
He arrived later than his partners and execs in the media room, where we had already proceeded with the interview. But he was almost unobtrusive. He didn’t call attention to himself and just let his chief executive Trevor Horwell continue talking about the company’s direction. I hate to use the overused term, but honestly, the guy was the epitome of “cool.”
De Niro said he had to go back to his room to change his shirt as the white polo he had on earlier was stained by the sauce of one of the dishes he had for lunch. It was a meal consisting of popular Filipino comfort food – pork adobo, sinigang na sugpo, bicol express, and garlic rice. The actor pronounced his lunch as “very good!”
Interestingly enough, he stayed at the all-suites Crown Towers, instead of Nobu Hotel. Well, he is after all, a star. We had earlier espied him from the window of the media room on the fifth floor, walking amid the manicured grounds, crossing from one hotel to the other, shaded by an umbrella held gingerly by a female hotel staff, with less than a handful of few security personnel protecting him. (I’ve seen lesser mortals who move about with a longer trail of security aides.)
And I was told that De Niro was quite easy to handle as a guest.
“He’s very professional,” said my source. He didn’t make any special demands or requirements that one would come to expect of a celebrity of his magnitude.
Asked whether he now preferred being in business rather than the movies, he told us: “As I get older, I’ll probably earn less as an actor. I enjoy movies and I am very busy now. I am at a certain age now and I would like to take advantage of everything that comes my way, that I feel I can get something out of, no matter what it is. So it’s that simple.”
But no doubt, he has good business instincts, too. “Over the years we've been asked to put up a Nobu restaurant in a hotel and then I’m saying, ‘Why are we doing that? Why are we not creating our own Nobu hotel? What have we got to lose by doing that? And if we don't try it then we will know if it will work or not.’ And then it took on and took on, and I am not surprised people still ask us to do a restaurant in a hotel…. but we try to shy away from that in general, unless for a very practical reason in a certain location, we would rather do a hotel restaurant.” Today, there are six Nobu hotels and 36 restaurants around the world. Nine more hotels are in the pipeline from 2016-2017.
Asked if he had any plans to shoot a movie in the Philippines, De Niro said: “Nothing as of now. I would like to do a movie in the Philippines. It’s just a matter of getting the project, whatever it may be.”
He told us he had just completed a number of films, some of which would be out soon like "The Intern" (a comedy with Anne Hathaway, directed by Nancy Meyers); "Joy," a biopic on Joy Mangano, creator of the "Miracle Mop" (reuniting him with
Silver Linings Playbook" actress Jennifer Lawrence and director David O. Russell); "Hands of Stone," about the boxer Roberto Duran (“I play his manager, a well-known guy called Ray Arcel.”); and "Madoff" – a biopic on ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff – for HBO Films.
“Another one is called ‘Dirty Grandpa’ (with Zac Efron),” he says, and everyone bursts out laughing. “But I think they’re gonna change the title. They might keep it, I dunno.” (more laughter)
His age notwithstanding, De Niro is clearly still on top of his game, whether it be in film or in the hospitality business. As Sam “Ace” Rothstein, a character he played in the mob classic “Casino” said: “There are three ways of doing things around here: the right way, the wrong way and the way that I do it.”
De Niro’s way obviously works better.
source: www.abs-cbnnews.com
