News > Coppola attacks De Niro, Pacino and Nicholson

Written by John Lichman

In a case of "where the hell is this coming from?" director Francis Ford Coppola has given GQ an interview–in turn, which was filed out via the AP– that downright slaps the contingent of Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Jack Nicholson.

And after the shock is over, you sort of agree with him.

On De Niro:

He calls De Niro "wealthy and powerful" – and more ambitious than Nicholson.

"I think if there was a role that De Niro was hungry for, he would come after it. I don't think Jack would," he said. "Jack has money and influence and girls, and I think he's a little bit like (Marlon) Brando, except Brando went through some tough times." 

Pacino:

"Pacino always wanted to do theater. He wanted to do 'Peer Gynt.' He wanted to do Shakespeare. Pacino will say, 'Oh, I was raised next to a furnace in New York, and I'm never going to L.A.,' but they all live off the fat of the land," Coppola said.

And Nicholson:

"He's got a little bit of a mean streak," he said. "He's intelligent, always wired in with the big guys and the big bosses of the studios."

But the biggest blow comes from the opening and the end, when Coppola–mind you, whose biggest contribution in the last few years has been the wine–speculates that the actors not only couldn't bring power to a role, but they just don't have the energy or drive to do so. Adding that, "I don't know what any of them want anymore."