Oscar-Nominated Visual Effects Supervisor Pablo Helman on De-Aging the Iconic Actors of The Irishman
We’re looking back at some of our interviews with this year’s Oscar nominees in the lead-up to this Sunday’s telecast. This story was originally published on December 6.
In 2015, visual effects supervisor Pablo Helman was working with Martin Scorsese on Silence, a stirring film about the Christian faith during 17th century Japan. The two ended up having a conversation that ignited a technological advancement within the visual effects industry—one that will likely become a new standard in how images can be captured and processed during filmmaking.
How The Irishman’s Oscar-Nominated Production Designer Crafted Scorsese’s Mob Epic
Central to Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman is retired hitman Frank Sheeran’s (Robert De Niro) fifty-year oral history of his time with the mob, culminating in his murder of Teamster boss Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino). The three-and-a-half-hour epic spans from 1949 to 2000, with most of the 295 different sets and locations made up to look like Philadelphia and environs between the 1950s and the 1970s. Designing the look of the film was a huge undertaking for the art department—“you’re reading the script and you’re thinking,
The Irishman’s Oscar-Nominated Editor Thelma Schoonmaker on her 53-year Collaboration with Martin Scorsese
Three-time Oscar winner Thelma Schoonmaker‘s association with Martin Scorsese even pre-dates his storied collaboration with Robert DeNiro. She edited his Who’s That Knocking At My Door in 1967, picked up the first of eight Oscar nominations for editing Woodstock, went on hiatus for a few years, then returned to the Scorsese fold in 1980 to edit his famously brutal Raging Bull. Since then, Schoonmaker’s cut every Scorsese movie,
Casting Faces New and Old for Hundreds of Roles in The Irishman
Casting director Ellen Lewis has worked with Martin Scorsese since New York Stories, which came out in 1989, but there was no by-the-book process to adhere to in order to pull together the all-star ensemble leading The Irishman and the film’s hundreds of supporting roles. “Every world is different, so where you’re going to look and the way you’re going to think,” said Lewis, changes with each script. In this case,
Best of 2019: The Irishman Cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto on Crafting Scorsese’s Masterpiece
*We’re reposting some of our favorite interviews of 2019 from some of our favorite films and shows of the year.
Beloved auteur Martin Scorsese’s new film The Irishman has brought Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci together onscreen for the first time in 24 years and added Al Pacino, whom he’d never worked with before, building a cast that sounds truly compelling to lovers of great acting and great film.
Sandy Powell & Christopher Peterson on Dressing De Niro (and More) in The Irishman
In Martin Scorsese’s three and a half-hour Netflix gangster opus, The Irishman, Robert De Niro plays real-life Philadelphia mobster Frank Sheeran across five decades. The film’s VFX team had their work cut out for them during Frank’s early years, while hair and makeup were responsible for the much aged De Niro who directly addresses the camera from a nursing home at the beginning and close of the movie.
How Robert De Niro’s Makeup Team Traversed 50-Years in The Irishman
In describing The Irishman, Martin Scorsese’s latest feature, one word that keeps popping up is “epic.” And deservedly so. A sweeping three-and-a-half-hour saga, The Irishman explores the true-life story of Frank Sheeran, an organized crime figure and close confidant of Jimmy Hoffa, who rose to the top of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. Ultimately, he betrayed his boss, orchestrating Hoffa’s disappearance and demise. Robert De Niro plays Sheeran. Al Pacino costars as Hoffa.
Behold David Ehrlich’s Epic Supercut of 2019’s Best Films
As the end of the year draws near, the world is blanketed in Best Of lists. The best 10 films of the year. The best 20 films of the year. The best albums, the best TV shows, the best this and the best that. You can hardly do better than Slate‘s movie critic Dana Stevens’ year-end list, but if you’re more of a buffet than a sit-down meal kind of person,
De-Aging the Iconic Actors of Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman
In 2015, visual effects supervisor Pablo Helman was working with Martin Scorsese on Silence, a stirring film about the Christian faith during 17th century Japan. The two ended up having a conversation that ignited a technological advancement within the visual effects industry—one that will likely become a new standard in how images can be captured and processed during filmmaking.
“We were talking about a project and I mentioned making one of the characters younger.
A New The Irishman Featurette Focuses on The Incredible Cast
To say that Martin Scorsese’s new film The Irishman is a movie by a heavyweight and starring heavyweights would be putting it mildly. The legendary auteur has assembled yet another incredible cast (Scorsese has never struggled to attract talent), yet The Irishman‘s ensemble feels almost valedictory. De Niro. Pescio. And, for the first time, Pacino starring in a Scorsese film. And these are just your three leads. The rest of the cast is gangbusters,
Final Trailer for The Irishman Reveals Best Look Yet at Scorsese’s Masterpiece
The final trailer for Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman is here, and it gives us our best look yet at this hugely ambitious, three-plus hour epic. While the previous trailers have all been solid, this is the most intimate (and most narratively revealing) that Netflix has released. It speaks to why so many critics—and fellow filmmakers—have hailed Scorsese’s latest as one of his best.
When we talked to The Irishman‘s cinematographer Rodrigo Pietro,
The Irishman Cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto on Crafting Scorsese’s Masterpiece
Beloved auteur Martin Scorsese’s new film The Irishman has brought Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci together onscreen for the first time in 24 years and added Al Pacino, whom he’d never worked with before, building a cast that sounds truly compelling to lovers of great acting and great film. Based on “I Heard You Paint Houses,” the narrative nonfiction book by homicide detective Charles Brandt, the story centers on Frank Sheeran (De Niro) who,
Super Producer Emma Tillinger Koskoff on Pulling Off The Irishman and Joker
As a producer, Emma Tillinger Koskoff is eminently searchable, or IMDB-able, with her name affixed on projects ranging from The Departed (as an associate producer) to Hugo, to executive producer on HBO’s Vinyl, and upcoming projects like Roosevelt.
A glance reveals a particularly impressive autumn-into-winter, as she has producer credits on two of the season’s most anticipated films: Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman,
Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman Getting Historic Broadway Screening
If any director was going to see his film be the first-ever to play at the historic Belsaco Theater on Broadway in New York, it would have to be Martin Scorsese. The legendary auteur’s upcoming (and highly touted) The Irishman will be the first film to play in the Belasco’s 112-year history. Netflix is providing the theater with state-of-the-art equipment for the screenings, which are set to run for a month,
Critics & Fellow Filmmakers Hail Scorsese’s The Irishman as a Masterpiece
Martin Scorsese’s return to the world of crime is being hailed as a masterpiece. The legendary director’s The Irishman, which recently had its world premiere at the New York Film Festival, has been screened now by festival-goers, critics and some of Scorsese’s contemporaries. The reactions thus far are ecstatic.
Scorsese’s film is centered on Frank Sheeran (Robert De Niro) and spans much of Sheeran’s life as he looks back on his career as a driver and hitman for the mob.
The Official Trailer for Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman Reveals Star-Studded Mob Epic
Martin Scorsese waited a long time to return to the world of crime he had all but made his own, but when he did, he did so with a meaty epic that’ll make its world premiere at the New York Film Festival this week. We’re talking about The Irishman, of course, Scorsese’s decades-spanning saga about World War II veteran Frank Sheeran (Robert De Niro), better known as “The Irishman,” who (allegedly) is the man who took out the legendary leader of the Teamsters,
The Irishman Teaser Reveals Long-Awaited Look at Martin Scorsese’s new Film
At long last, Netflix has revealed the first official teaser for Martin Scorsese‘s epic new film The Irishman. Starring Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, and Joe Pesci, The Irishman tells the (allegedly true) story of World War II veteran Frank Sheeran (De Niro), better known as “The Irishman,” who looks back on his long life of crime. The film spans decades and utilizes cutting-edge technology to render the cast many years younger then they are now.
Netflix Unveils First Teaser for Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman
The 91st Academy Awards was a hot night for trailers, and Netflix did not miss the opportunity. The streaming service chose to reveal a surprise teaser for The Irishman. The upcoming crime drama directed by Martin Scorsese reunites him with leading man Robert De Niro.
As you can see, there’s no actual footage of the film. This has only increased the hype, with the teaser immediately trending on YouTube and social media.
Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman Will Feature a De-Aged Cast for the 1st Half
Netflix has attracted its fair share of big-name directors in recent years. In fact, with Alfonso Cuaron’s Roma, the streaming service and full fledged production studio nabbed their first-ever Oscar-nominated film for best picture. You can be assured it won’t be their last. Enter Martin Scorsese, one of the most iconic living directors, and his upcoming film The Irishman, which Netflix will release this year.
Scorsese’s The Irishman is arguably the most hotly anticipated gangster drama in years.
