De Niro's fans want him to be more 'picky' when it comes to films' roles
12 Oct 2008, 1622 Hrs

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New York, Oct 12 Fans of American film actor Robert De Niro wish that the star would pick his roles carefully and stop making run of the mill movies.

De Niro's latest "Righteous Kill" with Al Pacino earned him just an average rating.

"De Niro has made 59 movies since 'The Godfather, Part II' in 1974, sometimes three in one year. There no reason he has to take these parts. He should slow down," the New York Post quoted a fan as saying.

"He hasn't made a really good movie since 'Casino,' and that was 13 years ago," the fan said.

The actor had earlier on picked good roles and even won accolades for them, portraying like brooding gangsters, cops and other wackos in masterpieces like "Taxi Driver," "The Deer Hunter" and "Goodfellas" - only picking the best scripts.

But in the recent years De Niro has been making movies, which did not have any pull in them, movies like "The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle," "15 Minutes," "Showtime" and "The Godsend." "I don't think 65-year-old actors, even the ones who are legends, get too many good roles sent their way," Gitesh Pandya, editor of movie-tracking site Box Office Guru, said.

"Outside of his successful rebranding for comedies like 'Meet the Parents' and 'Analyze This,' there's really just one type of role that filmmakers want from De Niro, and his agents are able to score top dollar for that," he added.

David Mumpower, an analyst at Box Office Prophets, also commented on the reason that made the actor choose the movies.

"When he tried 'Stardust,' he was going for something different, playing a transvestite pirate, and nobody goes to see it . . . With 'Righteous Kill,' he probably knew that it wasn't the best script in the world, but it was a chance to work with Pacino and probably a nice way for him to spend three months," Mumpower said.

Fashion and entertainment p.r. guru Linda Mann of Mann Media remarked that choosing a movie is no longer about the script but about how much one can get paid.

"De Niro enjoys the luxury of any living icon - he has nothing to prove. Since when is Hollywood not about greed? Even Marlon Brando admitted he was a 'whore,' working to support his crazy lifestyle and an island in the South Pacific," Mann added. (ANI)