Robert De Niro will receive the Cannes Film Festival‘s honorary Palme d’Or at the May 13 opening night ceremony of the 78th edition, the festival has confirmed. The following day, De Niro will take part in a masterclass on the stage of the Debussy Theater.
“I have such close feelings for Festival de Cannes…,” De Niro said about the upcoming lifetime achievement tribute at the festival. “Especially now when there’s so much in the world pulling us apart, Cannes brings us together — storytellers, filmmakers, fans, and friends. It’s like coming home.”
Does this mean that Rebecca Zlotowski’s “Vie Privee,” starring Jodie Foster, will be the opening night film? It’s almost too hard to resist having Foster hand her “Taxi Driver” co-star the honorary Palme d’Or on stage.
It’s no secret that De Niro is one of the greatest actors that ever lived. Just look at his filmography. Hard to dispute that, even though there is no doubt, steep competition from the likes of Al Pacino, Jack Nicholson, Gene Hackman, and Dustin Hoffman. Is there any other actor that can claim to have been in this many great films and given this many iconic performances?
De Niro’s filmography is astounding, even if you take into account all of the duds he’s starred in these last 25 years. The classics speak for themselves: “Taxi Driver,” “Mean Streets,” “The Godfather Part II,” “The Deer Hunter,” “Raging Bull,” “The King of Comedy,” “Once Upon A Time in America,” “Brazil,” “Goodfellas,” “Casino,” “Heat.” “The Untouchables,” “Midnight Run,” “Cape Fear,” “Jackie Brown” “Wag the Dog,” “A Bronx Tale,” “Ronin,” “Analyze This,” and “Meet the Parents.”
Quite simply, a legendary career.
Many believe De Niro gave up serious films, and that for the next two decades resorted to choosing films that didn’t live up to his talents. There are people in their twenties today who think De Niro is best known for the Fockers trilogy! That’s just criminal and doesn’t do justice to his impact on the art of acting.