USA Today - 31.10.2019

LIFE USA TODAY z THURSDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2019 z 3D

One month and countless Marvel
headlineslater, Martin Scorsese’s “The
Irishman”is finally here.
Ever since the sprawling gangster ep-
ic premiered at New York Film Festival
in late September, most of the news
around the film has centered on Scor-
sese’s contentious comments about
Marvel movies, saying they’re “not cin-
ema” and “we shouldn’t be invaded by
it.”
But with “Irishman” opening in thea-
ters Friday in New York and Los Ange-
les, ahead of its streaming launch on
Netflix Nov. 27, the conversation will
hopefully steer back to the movie itself,
which is a stunning return to the crime
genre for the master behind “Goodfel-
las,” “Mean Streets” and “Casino.”
“Irishman” reunites Scorsese with
actors from all three of those films.
Based on Charles Brandt’s2004 nonfic-
tion book “I Heard You Paint Houses,”
the decades-spanning story follows
Army veteran Frank Sheeran (Robert De
Niro), who starts working as a hit man
for mob boss Russell Bufalino (Joe Pes-
ci) in the 1950s. Al Pacino is a scene-
stealer as Jimmy Hoffa, a corrupt labor
leader and Frank’s friend, while Harvey
Keitel, Anna Paquin, Ray Romano and
Jesse Plemons round out the star-stud-
ded cast.
Here’s everything you need to know
before seeing it:

It will be a formidable
Oscar contender

Scorsese and his three leads have a
combined fiveOscar wins and 29nomi-
nations among them – the most recent
of those victories being Scorsese, who
earned best director for “The Departed”
in 2007.The academy will naturally be
eager to honor these legendary film gi-
ants, and with stellar reviews (99% pos-
itive from more than 90 critics on Rotten
Tomatoes), “Irishman” seems like a
worthy reason to earn them an Oscar.
So how far will it go? Despite initial
reluctance from academy voters to hon-
or streaming movies, Netflix success-
fully mounted a robust campaign for
Spanish-language film “Roma”at the
most recent Oscars, collecting three
statues,including best director (for Al-
fonso Cuaron). The more-accessible

“Irishman” is now considered a lock by

most prognosticators on awards site

GoldDerby.comfor best picture, director

and adapted screenplay nominations.

The acting categories are where it

gets tricky. De Niro delivers a shattering,

career-best performance as Frank, who

grapples with his violent past and old

age in the film’s haunting final act. But

his reticent character mostly follows or-

ders and reacts to those around him,

giving De Niro a less showier role than

fellow front-runners Joaquin Phoenix

(”Joker”) and Adam Driver (”Marriage

Story”).

Pacino and Pesci are expected to

duke it out for best supporting actor,

and could easily both earn nominations

if they don’t somehow cancel each other

out. Which performance voters prefer

will all come down to a matter of taste:

Although heartbreaking in moments,

Pacino’s performance as Jimmy is

broader and funnier, with towering

scenes and memorable one-liners that

are made for Oscar clips. But critics have

championed the more understated

work from Pesci, whose ruthless but

melancholic Russell is a father figure to

Frank.

The de-aging looks much

better than expected

“Irishman” was made for roughly

$150 million, according to Deadline– a

staggering figure for an intimate charac-

ter study with no huge action set pieces

or exotic shooting locations.

Much was spent on Scorsese’s long-

touted digital de-aging technology, de-

veloped by George Lucas’ visual effects

company Industrial Light & Magic, spe-

cifically for this film. Scorsese used De

Niro’s performance in 1990’s “Goodfel-

las” as a model for young Frank Shee-

ran, who ages from his mid-20s to early

80s over the course of “Irishman.”

Admittedly, the de-aged De Niro is

quite distracting at first, and this report-

er had to stifle laughter during an early

scene when Pesci’s Russell repeatedly

calls him “kid.” But even if you’re never

quite convinced that Frank is an indus-

trious young buck, one quickly forgets

that the actors’ faces have been digitally

altered (a credit to the central trio’s cap-

tivating performances throughout, and

the minimal-yet-effective CGI).

It’s 3^1 ⁄ 2 hours long, so plan ahead

We know what many are thinking:

Does any movie really need to be 3^1 ⁄ 2

hours? (For reference, that’s eight min-

utes longer than De Niro and Pacino’s

1974 gangster classic “The Godfather:

Part II,” and 28 minutes longer than this

past summer’s “Avengers: Endgame.”)

Having seen “Irishman” twice now,

this reporter can truthfully say that al-

though the film doesn’t fly by, the pro-

tracted run time feels justified and has a

rich emotional payoff. Just skip the

large soda if you’re worried about miss-

ing any of it.

That said, if nature does call, and

with no intermission, you might be

wondering when one can safely duck

out for a few minutes. We’d recommend

about an hour and a half in, right after –

minor spoilers! – a major character gets

arrested and sent to prison. The film’s

nail-biting second half doesn’t truly get

underway until that person’s release, at

which point, you’ll be glued to your seat

until the credits roll.

MOVIES

Scorsese unleashes ‘Irishman’

Patrick Ryan
USA TODAY

Russell Bufalino (Joe Pesci, left) is a close confidante and boss to Frank Sheeran

(Robert De Niro) in Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman.” NIKO TAVERNISE/NETFLIX

Al Pacino, right, plays labor leader Jimmy Hoffa in Netflix’s crime epic “The

Irishman.” AP

BURBANK, Calif. – All episodes of
“South Park,” two new DC superhero
shows and series produced by Mindy
Kaling, Elizabeth Banks, Ridley Scott
and Conan O’Brien are among the pro-
grams HBO Max will offer when it
launches in May 2020.
The new streaming service, show-
cased during a presentation to investors
and analysts Tuesday at the historic
Warner Bros. studio lot, will cost $14.99
per month and will be immediately
available at no extra charge to about 10
million subscribers who get HBO via Di-
recTV, AT&T video services and HBO
Now when purchased from WarnerMe-
dia.
HBO Max enters a crowded stream-
ing field that already includes Netflix,
Amazon and Hulu, with new competi-
tors Apple TV Plus launching Friday and
Disney Plus on Nov. 12. NBC’s Peacock
service is expected in 2020, too.
As a final enticement at the end of a
two-hour-plus presentation for inves-
tors that revealed details of the planned
service, HBO programming president
Casey Bloys announced big “Game of
Thrones”prequel news: “House of the
Dragon,” a look at the Targaryens 300
years before the events of “Thrones”
and based on George R.R. Martin’s book
“Fire & Blood.” It will air on HBO and be
available to stream on HBO Max.
The $14.99 monthly price matches
the fee for current HBO subscribers but
is substantially higher than that
charged by most competitors, including
Apple TV Plus ($4.99) and Disney Plus
($6.99).
Tony Goncalves, one of the execu-
tives leading development of the direct-
to-consumer service, extolled the value
of HBO Max as offering “more than
twice the content of HBO, wrapped in a
modern, highly engaging user experi-

ence.”

The company is in discussions with

other cable and wireless distributors to

provide “seamless access” to their cus-

tomers, who generally pay about $15 a

month for HBO, though the cost varies

by provider. “Those over-30 million

HBO subscribers should be able to just

download the app, log in and watch.

Simple as that,” he said.

The new streaming service will open

with about 10,000 hours of program-

ming, including the full HBO service

and library, programming from the War-

ner Bros. library and new and acquired

content.

That’s a smaller number of hours

than is offered by some competing ser-

vices, but WarnerMedia content chief

Kevin Reilly emphasized the quality of

programming and its ability to hold

viewers, from acclaimed HBO original

series to a library that will include all

episodes of top comedy hits “Friends”

and “The Big Bang Theory.”

Tuesday’s programming announce-

ments included:

zAll 23 seasons of “South Park” will

be available exclusively on the stream-

ing service in June 2020. Three new

seasons will follow, with episodes avail-

able on HBO Max 24 hours after their

Comedy Central premiere.

zTwo new DC superhero shows from

Greg Berlanti, the producer behind

CW’s “Arrow,” “The Flash” and “Super-

girl”: “Strange Adventures,” a one-hour

drama focused on characters “from

across the DC canon,” and a Green Lan-

tern series.

z“DC Super Hero High,” a half-hour

comedy series produced by Elizabeth

Banks (“Pitch Perfect”) that focuses on

students at a boarding school for gifted

youths who don’t realize they will one

day become DC superheroes.

z “Rap Sh*t” (working title), a half-

hour comedy series from Issa Rae (“In-

secure”) about a female rap group from

outside of Miami trying to make it in the

music industry.

z“College Girls” (working title), a 13-

episode single-camera comedy pro-

duced byKaling (“The Mindy Project”)

about three 18-year-old roommates at

Vermont’s Evermore College.

z Five stand-up comedy specials

produced by late-night host O’Brien.

O’Brien will host two specials that fea-

ture short sets from up-and-coming

comics while curating one-hour sets

from three other comics.

z“Raised by Wolves,” a serialized sci-

fi series from acclaimed director Scott.

The 10-episode show “centers on two

androids tasked with raising human

children on a mysterious virgin planet ...

as the burgeoning colony of humans

threatens to be torn apart by religious

differences.”

z“Bobbie Sue,” a feature film starring

Gina Rodriguez (“Jane the Virgin) as a

“scrappy, headstrong young lawyer”

who challenges a client exploiting work-

ers within her company.

z Kids and family programming,

highlighted by “Tooned Out,” a hybrid

live-action and animated comedy in de-

velopment from Oscar winner Robert

Zemeckis. New animated series include

“The Fungies!” and “Tig N’ Seek,” new

“Looney Tunes Cartoons” and a “Jellys-

tone” series featuring Hanna-Barbera

characters. Classic “Looney Tunes,”

“Merry Melodie” and Hanna-Barbera

cartoons also are part of the package.

z The first three seasons of Adult

Swim’s “Rick and Morty,” under a deal

for exclusive streaming rights in the U.S.

HBO Max will launch by offering “a

frictionless opportunity” for the 10 mil-

lion non-cable HBO customers to sign

up for the service, with a goal of attract-

ing 50 million U.S. subscribers by 2025,

said WarnerMedia CEO John Stankey.

STREAMING

Get all the details on new HBO Max

Bill Keveney
USA TODAY

HBO Max will stream all seasons of Comedy Central’s “South Park.”WARNERMEDIA