“It’s the craziest thing I’ve ever heard in my life.”
Director Barry Levinson, the Oscar-winner behind “Rain Man” and classics like “Diner” and “Good Morning, Vietnam,” can hardly express his astonishment at America starting a trade war with Canada. He still has fond memories of shooting the 2006 Robin Williams comedy “Man of the Year” in Toronto. Looking at the state of things, the filmmaker, who has dealt with politics in films such as the satire “Wag the Dog” and the documentary “PoliWood,” can only respond, “It’s insane, absolutely insane.”
Levinson is out with a new film, his first theatrical release in a decade: the biographical mobster drama “The Alto Knights,” starring Robert De Niro in dual roles, as legendary mafiosos Frank Costello and Vito Genovese.
At 82, Levinson has seen plenty of shifts, both in the world and in Hollywood. “There’s no question that the business has radically changed on many levels,” he told the Star. “There isn’t one person who makes the decision anymore. It’s like a committee.” Long gone are the days when straight-ahead dramas and comedies like “Rain Man” and “Good Morning, Vietnam” were the major studios’ bread and butter.
Early in his career, when he was a writer working with Mel Brooks, they’d had the idea for a spoof of silent cinema that was itself silent, but weren’t sure if anyone would go for it. Brooks took it to Alan Ladd Jr., head of 20th Century Fox at the time. They went into a meeting with Ladd at 11 a.m. one day, and by 3 p.m. the studio president had given “Silent Movie” the green light. “I don’t care what you have nowadays. I don’t care how amazing it is,” Levinson said. “Nobody is going to make a decision in four hours. And it won’t be one person, it will be a committee.”
It seems impressive, then, that “The Alto Knights” exists at all, particularly as a studio project from Warner Bros., and one made by a core group of octo- and nonagenarians, including producer Irwin Winkler, 93, and cinematographer Dante Spinotti, 81. “I just try to do the things that I’m interested in, see if I can get it through,” said Levinson, whose previous mobster picture, 1991’s “Bugsy,” was nominated for 10 Academy Awards.
“The Alto Knights,” written by “Goodfellas” and “Casino” scenarist Nicholas Pileggi, 92, tells the story of Costello’s retirement as the boss of the Luciano crime family in the late-‘50s, instigated by an assassination attempt by Genovese, his old friend turned rival, who was looking to steer the Mafia toward the more volatile and violent drug trade after decades in the bootlegging business.
Casting De Niro, 81, as both Costello and Genovese was a bold choice, though a quick look at photos of the men reveals that the great actor does resemble both. Levinson credits Winkler with the idea. “We were talking on the phone and he said, ‘What about Bob playing both roles?’” They found the notion intriguing, and took it to De Niro. “Bob loved the challenge of it,” Levinson said. “One is fast talking and aggressive, the other is much more deliberate in his approach and shows a very different character.”
Pulling it off took some work, including the makeup crew having to get De Niro’s facial prosthetics just right, not to mention the couple hours of application per day during the shoot.
This was Levinson’s fifth collaboration with De Niro — they most recently made the 2017 Bernie Madoff biopic, “The Wizard of Lies,” for HBO — which has given them helpful shorthand. “Sometimes, we don’t have to talk about it,” the director said, “because we’re on the same page.” The goal for each scene, Levinson explained, was to “make it seem as spontaneous as possible.
“Bob had certain instincts,” he added. “Suddenly he’s saying something a little bit differently, because he’s in the moment. He’s not trying to remember the next line.”
It’s a style that suits Levinson well, going back to his first directorial effort, the talky, 1982 comedy-drama “Diner.” “What are movies at the end of the day?” he said. “You have to have a strong storyline, but you have an obligation to create characters that captivate an audience. How do you captivate the audience? What makes us fascinated by a character?”
That’s where some feeling of the improvisational, even when it’s all tightly scripted, comes in. “The so-called inarticulate way that we communicate becomes interesting to us,” Levinson said.
“Sometimes, trying to find the words becomes as interesting as what the words are.”
Heading back to the late-‘50s, when “The Alto Knights” is set, also appealed to the filmmaker. Born in 1942, Levinson said his memory of that time isn’t wholly reliable, which is where research, particularly old photographs and documentary footage, came in. “It’s part of the process I love so much, because there is a discovery to be made with everything you’re doing.”
The other attraction was the story, the unlikely retirement of a Mafia boss. “Costello was a different kind of Mafia chieftain,” Levinson said. “He was becoming part of the community. He was involved in charities and other things.” These characteristics put him at odds with Genovese.
“The idea that he was literally saying, ‘OK, I’ve had enough of this, I’m just going to retire’ — I mean, no Mafia chieftain just retired,” Levinson said. “He saw the change coming, and if he couldn’t enact it, he would step away.”
Levinson himself has shown few signs of following Costello’s lead. “I like to think of ideas and see if I can move them along,” he said. “I enjoy writing. I write because I just feel I have to write.” He is constantly on the lookout for projects that engage him. “Certain things get my attention, and I go, ‘Gee, maybe I can do this. I like this idea. Can I make this work? What’s the challenge? How do I do this?’ Those questions motivate me.
“I never look at this as a profession, a job. It’s just things that interest me and I’m excited by.”
