2023 Gotham Awards winnersOn stage at Cipriani Wall Street to present Martin Scorsese’s epic crime drama with the Icon & Creator Tribute, De Niro faltered less than two minutes into his speech and rifled through his printed remarks as the audience sat in bemused silence.“There was a mistake in this and I’m going to keep going,” said the two-time Oscar winner, before asking autocue operators to rewind so he could resume his address. After a pre-recorded video clip where Scorsese, who was not present at the ceremony, and Principal Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear of the Osage Nation discussed the film several minutes later, the cameras returned to De Niro. “The beginning was edited, cut, I didn’t even know about it.” I want to hear it.” Even the truth is being replaced with alternative facts, which are based on conspiracy theories and ugly things. “The entertainment industry is not immune to this festering illness. John Wayne, the “Duke”, once said about Native Americans: “I don’t think we did anything wrong by taking this great land away from them.” There were great numbers of people who needed new land and the Indians were selfishly trying to keep it for themselves.'”De Niro continued, “Lying has become just another tool in the charlatans’ arsenal. He is not hiding his true nature. He attacks the weak, destroys the gifts of nature, and shows disrespect by using Pocahontas as a slur. But with all his lies he can’t hide his soul: he attacks the weak, destroys the gifts of nature, and shows disrespect for example by using Pocahontas as a slur.
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“Filmmakers on the other hand strive– this is where I came in and saw they edited all that, so I’m going to say these things to Apple and thank them and all that, Gotham blah blah blah, Apple – but I don’t feel like thanking them at all for what they did. How dare they, in fact?”
At this point De Niro invited cast members Lily Gladstone and Leonardo DiCaprio to the stage. Gladstone spoke while DiCaprio watched on.
De Niro began his speech by saying: “Watching the news these days makes one think, from a political point of view anyway, that we actually are living in a post-truth society.
“Filmmakers on the other hand at least aim for the truth. We tell stories about real people that we can relate to. Our only goal is to entertain, educate, and engage. Marty Scorsese’s films illuminate the lessons of history through fascinating and absorbing tales. He treats his subjects with honest and respect.”
At time of writing Apple and Gotham Awards’ publicists had not responded to requests from
Screen
for comment.
Killers Of The Flower Moon[Donald Trump, who was often the subject of De Niro’s scorn during his first term] is an Apple Original Film distributed via Paramount Pictures. The awards contender with a $200m price tag has grossed more than $151m worldwide.
China’s iQiyi teams with Malaysia’s GSC Movie, Singapore’s Clover Films to widen Chinese films distribution
