AFI Fest Announces the World Premiere of Robert De Niro in The Comedian

Robert DeNiro joins the Best Actor race now with the Comedian, which will have its world premier on November 11.

EW’s exclusive on the film has this info:

In the film, De Niro, 73, plays a once-edgy comic named Jackie Burke whose material goes soft when he gains success on a popular sitcom called Eddie’s Home. “He tries to go back to the comedy clubs, but he’s haunted by the ghost of his TV character,” director Taylor Hackford (Ray) says of the movie, which also stars Leslie Mann (above, with De Niro), Danny DeVito, Harvey Keitel, and Cloris Leachman. “But he refuses to be thrown on the scrap heap. He really aspires to get up and practice his art in front of an audience and still be relevant.”

That’s fairly self-aware subject matter for De Niro to tackle — and audiences should expect a dose of pathos along with the humor. “It’s a movie that was made by older guys,” De Niro tells EW with a laugh, citing himself, Hackford, and producer/co-screenwriter Art Linson, all men in their 70s. “And it’s about getting older — seen through this very interesting form of expression, stand-up, which is a lot of work even when you’re old.”

DeNiro also says he channeled a bit of the character in the great PSA he just did about Trump.

Press release:

WORLD PREMIERE OF
THE COMEDIAN
TO PLAY AFI FEST 2016 PRESENTED BY AUDI

Film Directed by Taylor Hackford and Starring Robert De Niro
To Bow as Special Screening at AFI FEST

Patron Packages and Express Passes On Sale Now

LOS ANGELES, CA, October 14, 2016 — The American Film Institute (AFI) announced today that the World Premiere of Sony Pictures Classics and Cinelou Films’ THE COMEDIAN (DIR Taylor Hackford) will play as a Special Screening of AFI FEST 2016 presented by Audi. The film stars Oscar® winner Robert De Niro, along with Leslie Mann, Oscar® nominee Danny DeVito, Edie Falco, Veronica Ferres, Charles Grodin, Oscar® winner Cloris Leachman, Patti LuPone and Oscar® nominee Harvey Keitel. Written by Art Linson, directed by Oscar® winner Taylor Hackford and produced by Art Linson, John Linson, Mark Canton, Courtney Solomon and Taylor Hackford, THE COMEDIAN will screen on Friday, November 11, at the Egyptian Theatre.

“AFI FEST has always been one of the best places to launch a major film,” said Michael Barker, Sony Pictures Classics Co-President. “Taylor Hackford’s accomplished and biting comedy is a perfect premiere for the festival. Robert De Niro and Leslie Mann have never been better, and the supporting cast is constantly surprising.”

In THE COMEDIAN, an aging comic icon, Jackie (De Niro) has seen better days. Despite his efforts to reinvent himself and his comic genius, the audience only wants to know him as the former television character he once played. Already a strain on his younger brother (DeVito) and his wife (LuPone), Jackie is forced to serve out a sentence doing community service for accosting an audience member. While there, he meets Harmony (Mann), the daughter of a sleazy Florida real estate mogul (Keitel), and the two find inspiration in one another, resulting in surprising consequences.