Scorsese's "The Irishman" hasn't even finalized a shooting schedule yet, or a cast for that matter, and it's already skyrocketed to the top of most cinephiles "most anticipated" films list. Why? Well, because it's a reunion of sorts for Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro, one of the great actor/director partnerships in cinematic history, whom haven't made a film together since 1995's "Casino." If that isn't enough to wet your appetites, Harvey Keitel and Al Pacino would take part as well, but the only question mark at this point is if Joe Pesci will finally give in to Robert De Niro's constant phone calls about joining the cast. Pesci is retired from acting, but if anybody can convince him it would be De Niro and Scorsese, right?
"The Irishman"" Producer Gaston Pavlovich has confirmed that Scorsese and a tech team are looking for a way to "de-age" Robert De Niro for the upcoming film, set for release in 2018. This isn't the first this has happened, remember "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button?" The technology used in that film on Brad Pitt was stunning and that was more than 8 years ago now. Practical effects have gotten way better.
Pavlovich further explains to Cinema Blend:
“Well, it’s an extraordinary technology that we’ve been looking at. You don’t use prosthetics, make-up, they have acting and the technology is able to have them go through different time ages without the prosthetics. So we’ve seen some tests and it looks extraordinary,”
“We were able to film Bob and just do a scene, and we saw it come down to when he was like 20, 40, 60, so we’re looking forward to that, from that point of view, for ‘The Irishman’ … Imagine seeing what De Niro looked like in ‘The Godfather 2‘ days, that’s pretty much how you’re going to see him again.”
This news comes right after Peter Cushing's, ahem, "appearance" in "Rogue One." I was somewhat mixed on his "look" in the film, which left me somewhat cold and un-involved with his performance.
Creepy, right? Look at the coldness in those eyes. Is there any sign of life? Although, the technology they used in Benjamin Button was on a living actor and not a dead one. So, who knows. That film did it way better than "Rogue One," because they had much more to work with. The "Cushing effect" will likely be used by many more films in the years to come. If there's anything groundbreaking about "Rogue One" it's that.