News for
Donnie Brasco (1997)

photos

board

trailer

details

IMDbPro offers the latest entertainment industry news from the Hollywood Reporter. Sign-up for a two-week free trial today. Click here for a free trial!

Character Actor Bruno Kirby Dead at 57
16 August 2006 (StudioBriefing)
Veteran character actor Bruno Kirby, who played Billy Crystal's best friend in When Harry Met Sally and City Slickers, died Monday of leukemia at the age of 57. Kirby also appeared as Pete Clemenza in the 1974 film The Godfather: Part II and in Good Morning Vietnam and Donnie Brasco, as well as in numerous TV shows, most recently the HBO hit Entourage.

Bruno Kirby: 1949-2006
16 August 2006 (IMDb News Flash)
Bruno Kirby, the droopy-faced actor who anchored such films as The Godfather: Part II, When Harry Met Sally, and City Slickers, died Monday (8/14) in Los Angeles from complications related to leukemia. He was 57.

The son of veteran character actor Bruce Kirby, Kirby's penetrating squint and New York delivery earned him a devoted fan base, critical acclaim, and numerous roles over the years.

Kirby first came to the public's attention for playing the young Clemenza in The Godfather: Part II (played as an adult by Richard S. Castellano in The Godfather). Clemenza's genial request of the young, stoic Vito Corleone (Robert De Niro) to hide a gun, and subsequently to help him pick up a rug from a friend, helps initiate Corleone into the New York underworld. It also provided one of the most memorable images from the Godfather trilogy; that of Clemenza, hiding behind a door and leveling a gun at an unsuspecting policeman who happens upon the apartment they're robbing.

Kirby was perhaps best known for his roles opposite Billy Crystal. In When Harry Met Sally he played Jess, the writer who is the male sounding-board for Crystal's Harry; in City Slickers, he was Ed Furillo, the insecure, overcompensating sporting goods salesman who proposes a cattle drive vacation to his best friends.

The actor also gained recognition for his role in Good Morning, Vietnam as 2nd Lt. Steven Hauk, the uptight, desperately humorless officer assigned to reigning in the wisecracking Adrian Cronauer (played by Robin Williams).

Other roles included variations on mobster types in The Freshman and Donnie Brasco. His most recent appearance was in this season's "Entourage" episode, "Guys and Doll", where Kirby played a producer paralyzed with grief after a beloved Shrek model is stolen from his home.

Kirby, who was just recently diagnosed with leukemia, is survived by his wife of two years, Lynn Sellers, his father Bruce Kirby, his stepmother Roz Kirby, brother John Kirby, and step-brother Brad Sullivan.

IMDb Editors

Movie Reviews: 'Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire'
17 November 2005 (StudioBriefing)
No doubt about it, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, is the best Harry Potter movie yet, most of the major critics seem to agree. The film, which opens in most cities at midnight tonight, is being ecstatically praised, even by critics who expressed reservations about the three earlier Potter flicks. One of the reasons may be that Harry has now crossed over into puberty (although the character is 14, Daniel Radcliffe, the actor who plays him, is 16), and is being allowed more intense experiences, both in terms of magic and romance. (Although the previous films were rated PG, the new one is rated PG-13.) Jami Bernard in the New York Daily News calls it "the darkest, most thrilling entry yet in the movie franchise." To Carrie Rickey in the Philadelphia Inquirer, the new movie "is the most fun and the most fraught with conflict." Kenneth Turan in the Los Angeles Times concludes: "It's taken them long enough, but the movies have finally gotten Harry Potter right. Despite the reported $2.7 billion earned by the series' three previous attempts, it's not until Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire that a film has successfully recreated the sense of stirring magical adventure and engaged, edge-of-your-seat excitement that has made the books such an international phenomenon." Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun-Times observes, "The film is more violent, less cute than the others, but the action is not the mindless destruction of a video game; it has purpose, shape and style." Much of the credit for the film's artistic success, the critics say, goes to director Mike Newell (Four Weddings and a Funeral, Donnie Brasco). Eleanor Ringel Gillespie in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution notes that Newell "is the first Brit to direct a Potter picture. Perhaps that's why he 'gets' the books better than his predecessors. He's more comfortable with the boarding-school setting -- the rush between classes, the heart-to-hearts in hidden rooms, the petty estrangements and the unnecessary hurts."

Several critics have high praise for the older actors in the cast. Manohla Dargis in the New York Times particularly singles out Ralph Fiennes, writing: "For years, the movies have tried to transform this delicate beauty into a heartthrob, but as Schindler's List proved, Mr. Fiennes is an actor for whom a walk on the darker side is not just a pleasure, but liberation. His Voldemort may be the greatest screen performance ever delivered without the benefit of a nose; certainly it's a performance of sublime villainy." Chris Vognar in the Dallas Morning News suggests that parents ought not to be concerned about that PG-13 ratings. "The film follows in the fantasy tradition of stretching perceptions of the possible, and it does so in a richly realized and recognizably human universe. Sometimes, it's better to be scared than bored," he writes. Ty Burr in the Boston Globe agrees, noting that the movie "is oddly less scary in some ways than last year's Prisoner of Azkaban -- less predicated on computer-generated ghoulies and funhouse shocks. The dread here cuts deeper, though. When we hear the wail of a grieving father toward the end of the movie, it's the first genuinely human moment in a Harry Potter film, and it is awful." A handful of critics are less than enthusiastic about the movie, however. "Count me among those just mild about Harry," writes Kyle Smith in the New York Post. "The all-out cuteness of the Hogwartsians, with their Pufnstufs and Whiffenpoofs, is fine for people of developing minds, but the story so often stops its forward motion to take us on long detours into the land of CGI effects that it amounts to a $150 million magic show." An equally lukewarm review comes from Claudia Puig in USA Today, who remarks: "It's hard to beat the last movie, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and this film is not better, but it has much to recommend it."

Mike Newell To Direct Fourth Harry Potter Film
11 August 2003 (StudioBriefing)
British director Mike Newell, whose films include Four Weddings and a Funeral, Donnie Brasco, and the upcoming Mona Lisa Smile, starring Julia Roberts, has been selected to helm the fourth Harry Potter movie, The Goblet of Fire, Warner Bros. announced on Sunday. The first two Potter films were directed by American director Chris Columbus, while the third film, The Prisoner of Azkaban, is currently being filmed by Mexican director Alfonso Cuarón. In a statement, Producer David Heyman said that Newell was "the perfect choice." He added: "He is great with actors and imbues all his characters, all his films, with great humanity."

More Hawaiian Babes To Watch
26 June 2000 (StudioBriefing)
Baywatch co-exec producer Doug Schwartz is planning a second syndicated series to be shot in Hawaii, Hawaiian Tropic Undercover, according to the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. "The concept is beautiful girls in the beautiful location of Hawaii, " Schwartz told the newspaper, then provided a second description: "Think Donnie Brasco (1997) goes to Club Med." He said he expects to cast the film and produce a video presentation for distributors in late summer and screen it at the MIPCOM TV Market in Cannes in October, with a launch expected in Sept., 2001. In an interview with the Star-Bulletin, Schwartz said that he felt "very confident" that the show would have a five- to seven-year run.

ABC, NBC In Role Reversal
15 March 2000 (StudioBriefing)
With three episodes of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire once again occupying the top three positions on the Nielsen list, ABC became the top-rated TV network for the eleventh consecutive week last week. The Millionaire network averaged a 9.3 rating and a 16 share for the week. CBS was second with an 8.3/14, followed by NBC with a 6.8/11 and Fox with a 5.7/9. ABC also scored strongly with Super Tuesday coverage of the presidential primaries, landing in seventh and ninth places with update reports. (Its competition virtually ignored the voting during primetime.) NBC was particularly hurt Sunday night with its worst ratings ever during a regular season -- for NBA basketball and the Al Pacino movie Donnie Brasco (1997). Discovery Network's Raising the Mammoth, carried on basic cable, and The Sopranos on HBO, got better ratings.

The top-ten shows of the week according to Nielsen Research: 1. Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (Tuesday), ABC, 19.5/31; 2. Millionaire (Sunday), ABC, 17.5/26; 3. Millionaire (Thursday), ABC, 17.2/27; 4. 60 Minutes, CBS, 14.7/25; 5. Friends, NBC, 13.9/22; 6. The Practice, ABC, 13.4/22; 7. ABC Super Tuesday Coverage 8:00 pm, ABC, 13.1/23; 8. Touched By an Angel CBS, 12.9/19; 9. ABC Super Tuesday Coverage 9:00 pm, ABC, 12.0/19; 10. Everybody Loves Raymond, CBS, 110./16.

CBS Shoots Down Violent Show
20 May 1999 (StudioBriefing)
In a surprising move, CBS said Wednesday that it decided to pull a planned new dramatic series that it had been touting to advertisers as a sure winner next fall. The series, Falcone, was said to be a TV version of the Al Pacino movie Donnie Brasco (1997), in which an undercover FBI agent is seen operating in the world of organized crime. However, CBS Television president Les Moonves told ad buyers and affiliate representatives in New York that the Columbine High School shootings in Littleton, CO last month had provoked a reassessment. "It's not the right time to have people being whacked on the streets of New York, " he said. While Moonves said that it was not fair to blame the media for what occurred at Littleton, "anyone who thinks the media has nothing to do with this is an idiot." He said that when he watched the pilot for the show just days after the shootings, it seemed obvious to him that it could not go forward. "You cringe not just as a programmer, " Moonves said, "you just cringe."

Titanic Ties Record For Oscar Nods
10 February 1998 (StudioBriefing)
Titanic (1997) is not only overwhelming the box office; it clearly overwhelmed Motion Picture Academy voters who gave it 14 nominations for this year's Oscars, tying a record. It was nominated in three top categories, best picture, director (James Cameron) and actress (Kate Winslet). Also competing in the best picture category will be L.A. Confidential (1997) (winner of more critics awards this year than any other film, despite its lusterless box-office performance), Good Will Hunting (1997), As Good As It Gets (1997) and Full Monty, The (1997). Other Best Director nominees were: Peter Cattaneo, Full Monty, The (1997); Gus Van Sant Jr., Good Will Hunting (1997); Curtis Hanson, L.A. Confidential (1997); Atom Egoyan, Sweet Hereafter, The (1997). Other Best Actress nominees were: Helena Bonham Carter, Wings of the Dove, The (1997); Julie Christie, Afterglow (1997); Judi Dench, Her Majesty, Mrs. Brown (1997); Helen Hunt, As Good As It Gets (1997); Best Actor nominees: Matt Damon, Good Will Hunting (1997); Robert Duvall, Apostle, The (1997); Peter Fonda, Ulee's Gold (1997); Dustin Hoffman, Wag the Dog (1997); Jack Nicholson, As Good As It Gets (1997).; Best screenplay nominees: (Written for the screen): Mark Andrus and James L. Brooks, As Good As It Gets (1997); Paul Thomas Anderson, Boogie Nights (1997); Woody Allen, Deconstructing Harry (1997); Simon Beaufoy, Full Monty, The (1997); Ben Affleck & Matt Damon, Good Will Hunting (1997). -- (Based on material previously produced or published): Paul Attanasio, Donnie Brasco (1997); Brian Helgeland & Curtis Hanson, L.A. Confidential (1997); Atom Egoyan, Sweet Hereafter, The (1997); Hilary Henkin and David Mamet, Wag the Dog (1997); Hossein Amini, Wings of the Dove, The (1997).

Wga Announces 1997 Nominees
5 February 1998 (StudioBriefing)
Writers Guild nominees, announced Wednesday, for best screenplays of 1997: Original screenplay: Paul Thomas Anderson for Boogie Nights (1997), Mark Andrus and James L. Brooks for As Good As It Gets (1997), Simon Beaufoy for Full Monty, The (1997), Matt Damon & Ben Affleck for Good Will Hunting (1997), and James Cameron for Titanic (1997). Best adaptation: Paul Attanasio for Donnie Brasco (1997), based on a book by Joseph Pistone with Richard Woodley; Hilary Henkin and David Mamet for Wag the Dog (1997), based on American Hero by Larry Beinhart; James Schamus for Ice Storm, The (1997), based on a Rick Moody novel; Brian Helgeland and Curtis Hanson for L.A. Confidential (1997), based on a James Ellroy novel; and Hossein Amini for Wings of the Dove, The (1997), based on a Henry James novel.

L.A. Confidential Wins Best Film Award
10 December 1997 (StudioBriefing)
L.A. Confidential (1997), the critically acclaimed but publicly slighted film noir, has won the National Board of Review award for best film of 1997. Curtis Hanson was named top director for his work on the film. The Board, formed in 1909 and composed mostly of film scholars and critics, traditionally launches the awards season, and its choices are considered highly influential. The group also chose Jack Nicholson as best actor for As Good As It Gets (1997) and Helena Bonham Carter as best actress for Wings of the Dove, The (1997). Greg Kinnear received the best-supporting-actor award for As Good As It Gets (1997), while Anne Heche took supporting-actress honors for her work on such films as Donnie Brasco (1997), I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997) and Wag the Dog (1998). The Japanese hit Shall We Dansu? (1996) won for best foreign-language movie.