ML - Aspen Peak

2014 - Issue 2 - Winter

Aspen Peak - Niche Media - Aspen living at its peak

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FROM ABOVE: Robert De Niro and his father, Robert De Niro Sr., face off in 1982; De Niro Sr.'s untitled self-portrait, 1967–1968. extraordinaire. When he won an Academy Award for Best Actor in 1980's Raging Bull, it became commonplace to call him America's greatest actor. "Marty and I have great shorthand," De Niro says simply. "We talk about projects regularly." While De Niro doesn't particularly enjoy discuss- ing his 100 -plus films, Democratic politics are a different story. He positively beams excitement at the prospect of America having its first female presi- dent: Hillary Clinton. This shouldn't come as a surprise. Back in 1998 he lobbied against impeach- ing Bill Clinton and a friendship developed with the 42nd president. At a 2012 Barack Obama rally he joked, "Callista Gingrich, Karen Santorum, Ann Romney—now do you really think America is ready for a white first lady?" This got him in hot water with the political correctness police. Now De Niro tells me, "If Hillary runs in 2016, she has my vote. I'll get behind her. I know she has paid her dues. I have trust in her. She has the experi- ence and ability to make an excellent leader." De Niro is a historical figure himself now, part of the fabric of America, like Joe DiMaggio or Louis Armstrong—a folk figure of film. In 2006, De Niro donated over 1,300 boxes of papers, memorabilia, film, and costumes from his archive to the Harry Ransom Center, a humanities research library, archives, and museum at the University of Texas at Austin. The collection was appraised at more than $5 million. "It covers so many aspects of filmmak- ing, from scripts and screenwriting to costumes and film and video," Steve Wilson, curator of film at the Ransom Center, expla ins. "Schola rs a nd student s ca n follow t he development of such f ilms as The Deer Hunter [1978] from t he pr inted page to t he screen. I simply don't k now of a not her f ilm a rchive quite like it." That ma kes per fect sense. For De Niro is sui generis, an island all to himself, something much larger than a celebrity—a consum- mate tradesman. AP "MY FATHER LEFT JOURNALS AND POEMS. WHEN I READ THEM OR EVEN THINK ABOUT THEM I CHOKE UP." PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF HBO ASPENPEAK-MAGAZINE.COM 159

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