Celebrity Mound

Robert De Niro and Al Pacino are teaming up in a lawsuit against a movie distributor and a watch company they say used their likenesses without permission.

The actors said in the lawsuit in federal court in Manhattan on Wednesday that they never authorized a commercial tie-in between Tutima watches and the movie “Righteous Kill.” They’re seeking unspecified damages.

The actors recently starred in the movie distributed by Overture Films. The lawsuit names Overture and Tutima as defendants.

Overture and Tutima did not immediately return telephone messages seeking comment.

Check out Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro’s interview with Brian Williams from the Today Show this morning. They cover a range of topics from 9/11 to politics, growing up in NYC, acting together, and of course their upcoming movie, Righteous Kill – in theaters today!

Al Pacino and Robert De Niro were in fine spirits Wednesday night as adoring fans greeted them at the premiere of their movie “Righteous Kill.”
But then we had to mention Francis Ford Coppola.

You may remember that, last fall, Coppola suggested the two actors he’d put in “The Godfather” and “The Godfather Part II” had squandered their talent.

“I met both Pacino and De Niro when they were really on the come,” Coppola told GQ. “They were young and insecure. Now Pacino is very rich, maybe because he never spends any money; he just puts it in his mattress … I don’t feel that kind of passion to do a role and be great coming from those guys.”

Considering that “Righteous Kill” is the first movie where they share substantial screen time together, we figured the two tough guys might want to fire back at the director. We figured wrong.

“I’d really rather not talk about it,” Pacino said, sinking into his seat at the Ziegfeld. “I’d really rather not talk about anything.”

De Niro, ever loquacious, suggested he had no quarrel with the man who helped produce his movie “The Good Shepherd.” “It’s okay, it’s okay,” he said.

But others argued against the claim that the New York icons had lost their way.

Former mayor Rudy Giuliani said, “They’re two of my favorites. And here they’re playing New York City detectives! What could be better?”
“Righteous Kill” director Jon Avnet said it was “humbling” to work with them: “They’d defied my expectations.”

“Inside the Actors Studio” host James Lipton insisted, “These guys are two of the finest actors of their generation. They don’t write the movies they appear in. They don’t have infinite choices. … I think Coppola is being disingenuous. I don’t disrespect anybody for working for living.”

Meanwhile, sources deny De Niro quit “Edge of Darkness” last week (after one day) because of a feud with co-star Mel Gibson.

“Bob didn’t think [director Martin Campbell] was shooting the right way,” said an insider. Campbell is “doing two takes and then moving on like it was a TV shoot.”

Campbell’s agent didn’t return a call. De Niro’s rep blamed his departure on “creative differences.”

(source)

ENDEAVOR talent agency is challenging Creative Artists Agency for supremacy in Hollywood. While CAA has long had the biggest stable of actors and directors, Endeavor scored a coup Wednesday evening when Robert De Niro defected from the powerhouse – with his producing partner, Jane Rosenthal, and their company, Tribeca Productions. While CAA helped further De Niro’s career with $18 million comedies such as “Meet the Fockers,” serious roles have been drying up. According to deadlinehollywooddaily.com, De Niro’s exit from CAA was amicable – their long association had simply run its course. De Niro’s surprise move caps one of the more eventful weeks in the history of Ari Emanuel’s Endeavor, which just hired exiting UTA agents Nick Stevens, Lisa Hallerman and Sharon Sheinwold, and brought Ben Stiller into the fold. Other clients, Jack Black included, may move from UTA to Endeavor, as well.

(source)