The reason why Robert De Niro makes so many bad movies, according to Paul Schrader
Few actors had such a good run in the 1970s as Robert De Niro, who seemed to be at the top of every director’s list of stars who they most wanted to work with. He had no issues when it came to landing big roles – something about him just attracted attention, possessing a unique versatility and intensity that made him perfect for the New Hollywood climate.
Of course, it was his collaborations with Martin Scorsese that really defined that era, starting with Mean Streets and snowballing from there. The two of them were a force to be reckoned with, but it’s Taxi Driver that stands out as their most iconic work.
Let’s be honest, who else but De Niro could’ve pulled off Travis Bickle? The man’s descent into madness, fuelled by loneliness, disillusionment and a chronic case of insomnia, was played to absolute perfection. You can practically feel him slipping further and further from reality with every scene.
Penned by Paul Schrader, who would come to be a frequent collaborator of Scorsese’s (he also wrote the De Niro vehicle Raging Bull a few years later) the film won the Palme d’Or at Cannes and boosted the careers of everyone involved. From there, De Niro’s star power was only increasing, buoyed by the fact that he starred in the huge hit The Godfather Part II, as well. He could do whatever he wanted.
So, many great roles followed, which saw him work with the likes of everyone from Sergio Leone to Terry Gilliam and even Agnes Varda, with a mixture of gangster, comedic, and dramatic roles reminding us of his range. Why, then, did the 2000s give way to a considerable lack of consideration for genuinely good roles? Why did De Niro start appearing in some absolutely God-awful shit?
Schrader thinks he has the answer. In conversation with Vulture, the filmmaker blamed a certain talent agent for convincing actors to take on rather unimpressive roles for the sake of the money, and Schrader believes that De Niro was silly enough to go through with it. “You had to deal with the devil. The devil was named Mike Ovitz. Mike had a scheme. He would find something that an actor or a client liked. Marty was good at preservations. And somebody else was paintings. With Bobby, it was real estate,” he explained.
It was cunning because Ovitz seemed to know what he was getting his actors in for, only seeing dollar signs as he led stars towards disaster. I mean, look at some of De Niro’s terrible choices: The Bridge of San Luis Rey, Godsend, New Year’s Eve, Little Fockers, Dirty Grandpa, The War With Grandpa, About My Father. What possessed him? And why does he insist on playing so many weird, sleazy grandpa characters?
“Ovitz would encourage them, give them hints, give them very good suggestions, and they would go for it but then they needed money,” Schrader concluded. “What do you do when you need money? You work for it. ‘Oh my God, I just got the film for you. It’s not a great film, but it’s a great paycheque.’ That’s how Mike would trap these guys into doing it. He tried to sign me, but I didn’t go for it”.
