Robert De Niro Cannes Honor
Oh, fantastic—yet another reason for Hollywood to pat itself on the back. Robert De Niro, now a spry 81-year-old (seriously, someone check his birth certificate), is about to collect an honorary Palme d’Or at Cannes. Yes, this is happening, and yes, you’re going to hear about it ad nauseam across every press junket from May 13 onward. I told you so: when someone has been French Riviera’s favorite guest for almost fifty years, the only surprise is they haven’t named a croissant after him.
Back in 1976, a younger De Niro strutted onto the Croisette in Martin Scorsese’s “Taxi Driver” (winner of that year’s Palme, according to the Associated Press) and Bernardo Bertolucci’s epic “1900.” “Taxi Driver” didn’t just make headlines—it locked in De Niro’s stormy-eyed stare as cinema legend. A couple of years later, he popped up again in Sergio Leone’s “Once Upon a Time in America” (1984) and Roland Joffé’s “The Mission” (1986), the latter snagging yet another Palme d’Or and securing De Niro’s place in that super-exclusive two-time champion club. I mean, come on—how many actors can brag about two Palmes? Not many, that’s how few.
Sources as varied as HuffPost and AP News remind us that this isn’t a flash-in-the-pan cameo. De Niro even presided over the Cannes jury in 2011, crowning Terrence Malick’s “The Tree of Life” with the top prize. Talk about nepotism? Nope—more like a director-actor power duo paying tribute to each other. And just when you thought he might have hung up his festival badge, he and Scorsese were back in 2023 to unveil “Killers of the Flower Moon.” Yet another Cannes premiere, folks. Shocking? Hardly.
The man behind Tribeca Festival in New York claims Cannes is “like coming home,” especially now that “there’s so much in the world pulling us apart.” He’s always been diplomatic—bless him—so expect a heartwarming speech that’s equal parts humblebrag and call for global unity. Then again, he’s Robert De Niro; if you haven’t felt his presence yelling “You talkin’ to me?” at least once, congratulations—you’re in a cinema coma.
So brace yourselves for more glowing red-carpet shots, heartfelt interviews, and perfunctory applause when he accepts his trophy at the May 13 opening ceremony. Did anyone expect a different outcome? No? Thought so. And that, dear reader, is why we can’t have nice things.
Sources: Celebrity Storm and Associated Press, HuffPost
Attribution: Creative Commons Licensed
