Netflix’s embargo forbids us from saying anything about The Irishman until it opens the New York Film Festival, so let’s settle for talking about how good The Irishman’s press conference was Friday afternoon. After the three-hour movie showed to critics at the fest, Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, first-time Scorsese collaborator Al Pacino, and producers Jane Rosenthal and Emma Tillinger Koskoff answered questions from festival director Kent Jones. After a few opening questions for Scorsese, Jones directed one to the infamously tight-lipped Pesci, who hasn’t acted in a movie since 2006: “I wonder if you could talk about coming aboard on this project after it’s been a while since you’ve appeared in a film. I think the last one was Bob’s film, The Good Shepherd.â€
Pesci, expressionless, threw up his hands. “No.†And then: “I don’t know what to say …†Rosenthal stepped in to put the question a different way. “Did you have any pressure?†she asked. Pesci, ever the wordsmith, shook his head. “No, I didn’t have any pressure.†Courtesy of the critic and writer Karen Han, enjoy 27 seconds of bliss:
Joe Pesci is back, folks, and thank God he’s just the same.