- Title: ITALY: ROBERT DE NIRO PROMOTES HIS LATEST FILM RONIN AT THE VENICE FILM FESTIVAL
- Date: 11th September 1998
- Summary: VENICE, ITALY (SEPTEMBER 12, 1998) (RTV ACCESS ALL) ( ROBERT DE NIRO SAYING: ( SOUNDBITE ENGLISH) "WELL JOHN FRANKENHEIMER GOT HOLD OF ME AND ASKED ME TO READ THE SCRIPT AND WASN'T SURE WHETHER I'D BE INTERESTED EVEN AFTER READING IT. BUT I TALKED TO HIM AND I LIKED WHAT HE SAID AND HE WAS A LOT SMARTER AND I DIDN'T REALLY KNOW HIM AND I FRANKLY ASSOCIATED HIM WITH BEING
- Embargoed: 26th September 1998 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: VENICE, ITALY AND VARIOUS FILM LOCATIONS
- Country: Italy
- Reuters ID: LVAA0OEN40PVMC3P1JJHIEEML18
- Story Text: Picture this -- a movie with a Japanese title, a French setting and an American secret agent in hot pursuit of a briefcase that Irish and Russian operatives are willing to do anything to get.International intrigue swept into Italy as John Frankenheimer's "Ronin" premiered at the 55th Venice Film Festival - starring one of the world's TOP stars - a certain Mr.Robert De Niro.
Car chases, double-crosses and gunfire erupted at the Venice Film Festival as John Frankenheimer's latest action adventure took over sleepy Lido island on Saturday night.
"Ronin" features Robert De Niro, Jean Reno and Natascha McElhone as aninternational team of shady characters trying to get their hands on a mysterious but well-protected briefcase.
The stakes are high, life is cheap and loyalties are for sale to the highest bidder -- even though no one knows exactly what's in the case.
De Niro, suffering from a stomach bug and tired from the long flight from Los Angeles, said he took the role of Sam after realising Frankenheimer wanted to inject more human grit into the original script.
Reno and McElhone both marvel at the talent of De Niro, who has starred in such hits as: "Raging Bull", "Taxi-driver", "The Deer Hunter" and "Cape of Fear".
In "Ronin", which takes its name from the masterless samurai of ancient Japan, fighters without a cause become guns for hire.
Frankenheimer's action-packed tale of espionage and subterfuge is crammed with high-speed car chases along winding mountain roads, through narrow laneways and into oncoming traffic.To give the scenes terrifying realism, the director strapped the principal players into the hurtling, slaloming cars.The actors also received training in weapons and guerrilla tactics.
While De Niro says he put himself into the role of a gun-toting ronin, acting the part, he says, is different from being a real professional. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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