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June 08, 2006
Lone Star Swindle: De Niro Ships Film Papers and Memorabilia to Texas
So today there is good news and bad news: The good news is that you will soon be able to rummage through a career-spanning collection of Robert De Niro's personal effects as though you were his maid. The bad news is that you have to go all the way to Austin to do it. That is because the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center at the University of Texas scored another one of its "fuck-New-York" coups this week, adding artifacts like the two-time Oscar winner's shooting script for Raging Bull or his chauffer's license from Taxi Driver to a collection that already includes Ernest Lehman's screenplay drafts for Sweet Smell of Success and the complete papers of novelist Don DeLillo.
Look, I could not care less about the Ransom Center's ambition to become the Planet Hollywood of humanities, but you tell me if this turf incursion has not officially gone too far:
The paper portion of the collection, more than 100 boxes, has considerable research value. It includes scripts and books with handwritten notations, correspondence with film notables such as Martin Scorsese and Elia Kazan, background research and the notebooks De Niro kept of his films, all showing the evolution from text to moving image.
The costume portion of the collection also includes more than 3,000 individual costume items, props from many of De Niro's films and a full body cast used in the 1994 production of Frankenstein.
"One of the most important things about the Harry Ransom Center is that the material will be accessible to students and the public," said De Niro. "Ultimately, that's what it's all about."
Exactly, Bob--it is all about the 1,800-mile trip to check out your letters to Marty. And while I know Grace has been bugging you to get the Frankenstein full body cast out of the living room, was there no nearer, climate-controlled institution for you to dump this shit? Say, Queens? New Jersey? Even Arkansas is closer than goddamned Austin, Texas, and they could use the culture. Is it too late to reconsider?
Posted by stvanairsdale at June 8, 2006 08:08 AM
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Comments
hey. . . what's with the "goddamned Austin, Texas" talk? That's not a very nice thing to say. I went to UT made use of the collection at the HRC, and did use the culture. It's a great resource. Next time you are find yourself there--if ever--you should check it out for yourself. The town is not so bad.
Posted by: Jay Van Hoy at June 8, 2006 11:39 AM
The Ransom center isn't 1800 miles away, it's actually just a couple of miles. Howdy from Texas, Y'all! By the way, it is 1700 miles, not 1800. And you'll find us Austinites very nice to you when you visit.
Posted by: AMS at June 9, 2006 09:29 AM