Between Peter Cushing’s return in Rogue One and the arrival of young Anthony Hopkins in Westworld, 2016 has seen some interesting and controversial use of CGI.
While Peter Cushing’s computer generated resurrection in Rogue One was questioned ethically, it did add an element of fascination to the movie. According to The Independent, the latest star to be altered or replicated on screen via visual effects will be veteran actor Robert De Niro. The 73-year-old is all set to play a 25-year-old hit man in Martin Scorsese’s new mob film The Irishman.
De Niro will be essaying the role of an Irish hit man Frank Sheeran, who murders 25 people and is allegedly involved in Union leader Jimmy Hofa’s disappearance in 1975.
“You don’t use prosthetics or make-up. They have acting and the technology is able to have them go through different time ages without the prosthetics,” producer Gaston Pavlovich told CinemaBlend.
“We’ve seen some tests and it looks extraordinary. We saw it come down to when the character was like 20, 40, 60, so we’re looking forward to that, from that point of view, for The Irishman,” added Pavlovich. “Imagine seeing what De Niro looked like in The Godfather: Part II days. That’s pretty much how you’re going to see him again.”
De Niro bagged his first major role as young Vito Corleone in the sequel of super hit Godfather trilogy, for which he won the Academy Award for the Best Supporting Actor (Male).
However, this will not be the first collaboration between De Niro and Scorsese. The duo has worked together in Mean Streets, Taxi Driver, New York New York, Raging Bull, The King of Comedy, Good Fellas, Cape Fear, Casino, and The Audition.