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Photo Credit: And They’re Jewish with Hen Mazzig YouTube The YouTube series And They’re Jewish with Hen Mazzig is really making waves, with Hen sitting down with some big-name Jewish celebs to dig into stuff that actually matters. Hen’s not just some random host – the guy’s been in the trenches as an activist forever, and you can tell he cares deeply about this. What makes the show click is how it tackles the ugly truth about rising anti-Semitism head-on, but doesn’t stop there – it’s also about celebrating all the rich layers of being Jewish today. It’s refreshing to see something that doesn’t shy away from the tough conversations. Rather than focusing exclusively on the Israel-Hamas conflict, the series illuminates personal and cultural stories, offering a meaningful approach to combating prejudice and sparking essential conversations. An exclusive clip from the series features actress and neuroscientist Mayim Bialik,...

More than 70 former Eurovision contestants have reportedly signed an open letter urging organizers to ban Israel and its national broadcaster, Kan, from this year’s competition.

In a letter addressed to the European Broadcasting Union, participants such as British musician Mae Muller, Ireland’s 1994 winner Charlie McGettigan, as well as Portuguese singer Fernando Tordo called for Israel’s exclusion over the country’s “genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza and the decades-long regime of apartheid and military occupation against the entire Palestinian people.”

The letter refers to the ongoing war in the region that has so far claimed the lives of over 50,000 Gazans, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. Decades-spanning tensions escalated when the Hamas militant group launched an armed incursion on an Israeli music festival on Oct. 7, 2023, killing nearly 1,200 people.

Israel’s continued air strikes on Gaza were the source of rife controversy at last year’s Eurovision Song Contest,...

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Étoile is a comedy-drama series created by Daniel and Amy Sherman-Palladino. The Prime Video series revolves around two world-renowned ballet companies as they swap their top talents in a last-ditch effort to save their beloved institutions. Étoile stars Luke Kirby, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Lou de Laâge, Gideon Glick, David Alvarez, Ivan du Pontavice, Taïs Vinolo, David Haig, Lamay Zhang, and Simon Callow. So, if you loved the hilarious comedy, intense drama, and compelling characters in Étoile, here are some similar shows you should check out next.

Mozart in the Jungle (Prime Video) Credit – Prime Video

Mozart in the Jungle is a comedy-drama series created by Roman Coppola, Jason Schwartzman, Alex Timbers, and Paul Weitz. Based on the 2005 memoir titled Mozart in the Jungle: Sex, Drugs, and Classical Music by Blair Tindall, the Prime Video series follows Rodrigo, a genius maestro,...

Rise and shine, BroadwayWorld! It is May 1, 2025 and it's time to catch up on all of the theatrical happenings you may have missed in the last 24 hours: But first... This Week's Call Sheet Thursday, May 1 2025 Tony Awards nominations announced Sunday, May 4 2025 Lucille Lortel Awards ceremony 2025 Drama Desk Awards Nominations- The Full List by Nicole Rosky Nominations for the 69th Annual Drama Desk Awards were announced. This year’s awards, hosted by Debra Messing and Tituss Burgess, will be held on Sunday, June 1 at 6:15pm at NYU Skirball Check out the full list here!. (more...) <table...

Nominations for the 69th annual Drama Desk Awards were announced Wednesday by Tony- and Grammy-nominated actor Norm Lewis. Winners will be announced on June 1, at a ceremony taking place at NYU Skirball and hosted by Debra Messing and Tituss Burgess.

The Drama Desk Awards are unique in the landscape of New York theater, as they are the only place where Broadway, off-Broadway, and off-off Broadway compete within the same categories. The nominating committee of the 2025 Drama Desk Awards comprises Chair Martha Wade Steketee, Linda Armstrong, Daniel Dinero, Peter Filichia, Kenji Fujishima, Raven Snook, and Charles Wright.

The Broadway transfers of Buena Vista Social Club, Dead Outlaw, English, Job, and Oh, Mary! were not eligible for these kudos, having already competed for their off-Broadway runs.

Boop! The Musical clearly captured the hearts of the nominators. The infectiously upbeat tuner is the most nominated production, with 11 nominations. Nipping at its heels is...

The War in Gaza that began 18 months ago has spurred a host of cultural and media products, and the personalities to go with them. Movies like No Other Land, October 8th and The Encampments have all stormed the box office in recent months amid the hostilities overseas (and on American streets). Consumers flock to these pieces to decipher — and to reinforce and telegraph — where they stand.

The topic has spilled into other entertainment realms too, as it did this weekend with the Irish group Kneecap’s controversial posting of anti-Israel messages during its Coachella set.

Among the leading figures in this fray is Hen Mazzig. Mazzig is an Israeli-born activist and author with collectively more than half a million followers on X and Instagram, where he often posts pro-Israel opinions on the news and advises others on how to do the same. He’s also the creator of And They’re Jewish with Hen Mazzig,...

Red carpet events often provide a platform for celebs to present their fashionable looks while displaying their style and appeal. Moreover, they get the chance to interact with each other as well as with their fans during film premieres and major award celebrations to share their views or to make a statement.

However, the red carpet is not always about elegance. Sometimes, it gets noticed mostly because of some awkward situation, which sometimes keeps the world talking about them for days, if not years.

Scarlett Johansson | via Hollywood Archives YouTube

The red carpet displays all types of conduct, which includes bizarre fashion tricks, political demonstrations, and awkward face-to-face interactions. Throughout the years, we have witnessed several stars cause public debates and become internet memes that influenced our perception of Hollywood’s biggest nights.

Let’s take a look at some of these most unexpected and memorable moments that happened on red carpet events.

Stars: Robert De Niro, Debra Messing, Kathrine Narducci, Cosmo Jarvis, Michael Rispoli, Robert Uricola, Frank Piccirillo, Matt Servitto | Written by Nicholas Pileggi | Directed by Barry Levinson

The Alto Knights, directed by Barry Levinson, brings together a talented cast, with Robert De Niro in the spotlight, portraying dual roles. The film sets out to explore the complex world of 1950s New York mobsters, but while it has all the right ingredients for a gripping crime drama, it ultimately falls short of becoming a memorable entry in the genre.

De Niro’s dual performance as Frank Costello and Vito Genovese, two real-life mob bosses, is certainly an ambitious choice. On paper, the idea of him playing both characters sounds intriguing. However, the execution feels a bit lacklustre. The portrayal of Costello as the calm and calculating “gentleman gangster” and Genovese as the paranoid, impulsive hothead does not carry the emotional weight that...

“The Alto Knights” is a 2025 movie from director Barry Levinson starring big names like Robert De Niro as Frank Costello/Vito Genovese, Debra Messing as Bobbie, Kathrine Narducci as Anna, Cosmo Jarvis as Vincent Gigante, and more. The movie explores the intense rivalry between Frank Costello and Vito Genovese, with each vying for control of the Luciano family.

The Alto Knights (2025) Plot Summary & Movie Synopsis: Who is Frank Costello & Vito Genovese?

The film opens with mafia boss Frank Costello being gunned down in the lobby of a building. Luck, however, is on Costello’s side. He miraculously survives, even after taking a bullet to the head. The police press him for answers, trying to get the name of the shooter or whoever might have hired the hitman. But he claims he has no idea who would want him dead, insisting he’s just a simple man with no known enemies.

Anjelica Huston doesn’t quite regret starring in fan favorite, albeit short lived, NBC musical series “Smash,” but she is detailing her dismay while making the series. Huston told People while promoting BritBox limited series “Agatha Christie’s Towards Zero” that she didn’t “feel very prized” in her “Smash” role as fictional Broadway producer Eileen Rand.

“I wasn’t very happy when I was on that show,” Huston said. “I was living in New York and I wasn’t very happy living in New York for the obvious reasons. It was a cold winter, and I didn’t feel very prized in that role. I was a bit depressed by it. It was hard really; I didn’t really have a good time making it.”

“Smash” starred Katherine McPhee and Megan Hilty as two actresses vying to portray Marilyn Monroe in a fictional stage musical called “Bombshell.” Debra Messing...

Anjelica Huston may have starred on the NBC musical series Smash, but she admits she didn’t feel happy on the show.

In an interview with People magazine, the actress reflected on starring alongside Katherine McPhee, Megan Hilty, Debra Messing and Jack Davenport on the TV show.

Huston played Broadway producer Eileen Rand during Smash‘s two seasons. The series was cancelled in 2013.

“I wasn’t very happy when I was on that show,” Huston told the publication. “I was living in New York and I wasn’t very happy living in New York for the obvious reasons. It was a cold winter, and I didn’t feel very prized in that role. I was a bit depressed by it. It was hard really; I didn’t really have a good time making it.”

While on the show Huston was also still mourning the loss of her husband of 16 years,...

Warner Bros bet on Robert De Niro’s gangster appeal and doubled down on it with a dual role in The Alto Knights, but the audience has spoken, and the box office doesn’t look so good, nor are critics happy with this feature from veteran director Barry Levinson. While the movie had all the right talents attached, it fell short on its appeal to the fans, and De Niro’s dual role didn’t help. But there’s still hope, as the studio has released the movie on VOD.

Fans of Levinson and De Niro, who couldn’t make it to the theatres now, have the opportunity to watch the movie at the ease of their homes. Furthermore, the movie will be released on Blu-Ray on May 27 with bonus content. The movie casts De Niro as not one but two real-life figures from the world of organized crime during the mid-1900s.

Some of Broadway’s biggest stars and some of the stars of the Smash television show were among the opening night guests for Smash on Broadway!

Kristin Chenoweth and Sarah Jessica Parker are among the celebs who walked the red carpet for the opening night performance on Thursday (April 10) at the Imperial Theatre in New York City.

Sjp was joined by her husband Matthew Broderick and their 15-year-old twin daughters Marion and Tabitha.

Debra Messing, Christian Borle, and Wesley Taylor, who were all featured on the NBC series Smash, stepped out to watch the new stage version. The musical is inspired by the series and is not a direct adaptation.

More celebs who attended the event included Nathan Lane, Billy Crystal, Julianna Margulies, Victor Garber, Yvette Nicole Brown, Andrew Rannells, Jordan Roth (who had a cameo on the TV show), Amanda Kloots, and Patti Murin.

The musical features many of...

Image Source: YouTube As an advocate and activist who specializes in creating internet content, Hen Mazzig knows his work will be polarizing, especially when it has to do with a topic as politically charged as the Israel-Hamas war currently being fought in Gaza. Mazzig, a native Israeli, has created a new web series that, instead of focusing on the war itself, seeks to speak out about the anti-Semitic behavior that has been on the rise worldwide since the war began. He’s enlisted the help of Jewish celebrities like Debra Messing, Mayim Bialik, and Emmanuelle Chriqui for And They’re Jewish with Hen Mazzig. Mazzig spoke to us about why he was motivated to present the series in this way, as he tried to find balance while navigating some very emotional issues. https://www.hollywoodoutbreak.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Hen_4_9_25_.mp4_V2.mp4 And They’re Jewish is currently streaming on YouTube.

Image Source: YouTube With the latest hostilities between Israel and Hamas about to reach the 18-month mark, Israeli activist Hen Mazzig has taken his own approach toward combating the rise in antisemitism that has accompanied the fighting in Gaza. Mazzig, who co-founded the Tel Aviv Institute in 2019, is trying to reach out to people as a social media influencer in an attempt to break the perceived link between Israel’s actions and the world’s Jewish population. He’s just unveiled a new digital series called And They’re Jewish with Hen Mazzig featuring stories about several well-known Jewish personalities, including Debra Messing, Emmanuelle Chriqui, and Mayim Bialik. With the debut episode now streaming, Mazzig talked to us about how and why this project came together. https://www.hollywoodoutbreak.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Hen-_Mazzig_And_Theyre_Jewish_.mp4 And They’re Jewish with Hen Mazzig is currently streaming on YouTube.

People often describe the experience of working alongside a group of close-knit collaborators on a film or television show as being like a family. There’s no better way to say it for Billie Lourd regarding her newest credit on Hulu’s Mid-Century Modern.

The comedy reunites the veteran star with her Scream Queens, American Horror Story and American Horror Stories boss Ryan Murphy, who serves as an executive producer of the Max Mutchnick and David Kohan-created series. The latter two TV titans also have a tight connection with Lourd after finding a sweet spot for her on their Will & Grace reboot, playing Fiona, the granddaughter of a character played by her late grandmother, Debbie Reynolds. The legendary actress was a regular on the NBC sitcom as the mother of Debra Messing’s Grace Adler.

But in perhaps the sweetest familial connection, Lourd is the goddaughter of power publicist Simon Halls,...

The propulsive rhythms of “The Encampments” would’ve been effective regardless of its release date. However, the student protest documentary’s theatrical bow — brought forward to March 28, just days after its Cph:dox festival premiere — injects its arrival with political urgency since one of its key subjects is Mahmoud Khalil, the Palestinian activist detained by Ice earlier this month.

At this point, a year-and-a-half removed from the events of October 7, 2023, any documentary on the subject is likely to speak to the sentiments and biases of its intended audience. So, it ought to be no surprise that “The Encampments” is a full-throated call to pro-Palestinian activism. What makes it artistically triumphant, however, is its sense of contemporary and historical detail, owed to both footage shot by the filmmakers, as well as by the protesters themselves. In the process, co-directors Kei Pritsker (of BreakThrough News) and Michael T. Workman (the short film “Meantime...

Propounding one specific pro-Israel, American Jewish point-of-view, the independently financed social-issue documentary “October 8” charts and laments the alarming increase in antisemitism — particularly on university campuses and in social media — following the Oct. 7 Hamas incursion into Israel that resulted in over 1,200 deaths and the taking of 251 hostages. To make her passionate, if not particularly nuanced argument, director Wendy Sachs assembles a large cast of talking heads, including well-known figures, academics, journalists, leaders of Jewish organizations and those who monitor extremism. More emotional and personal testimony comes from a survivor of the attack, as well as from U.S. college students whose public support for Israel earned them a deluge of online hate.

The informative film calls attention to an important issue, but viewers should recognize that the perspective is one-sided. Israel’s response to the attacks is mentioned only in passing and the interviewees don’t seem to want to accept...

Debra Messing has an idea on how a Will & Grace reboot “could possibly work” in the potential third incarnation of the NBC sitcom.

While appearing on CBS Mornings, Messing was asked if she would participate in a new version of the show where she played interior designer Grace Adler across 11 seasons.

“I feel like the only thing that could possibly work is if in 20, 30 years, we do a Golden Girls where they’re all living in Boca [Ratón, Florida] in caftans,” Messing said on the morning show.

Messing says she could only revisit the Will & Grace universe if the characters were older and added, “anything before that … we’ve told the story.”

Will & Grace is a sitcom created by David Kohan and Max Mutchnick that launched on NBC in 1998. The show revolved around best friends Will (Eric McCormack), a lawyer who identified as gay, and Grace (Messing), an interior designer who identified as straight.

Update March 24, 2025: Disney's Snow White missed the note with audiences over the weekend — earning a lackluster $43 million over its March 21 to March 23 debut. Strapped down with controversies (more on that below) and poor reviews (a certified stinker on Rotten Tomatoes), Snow White trickled in below already modest projections of $50 million, yet still managed to top the box office. The even bigger bomb was Warner Bros.' The Alto Nights starring Robert De Niro, which didn't even crack the top five with receipts totaling just over $3 million. Instead, Black Bag finished in second with $4.4 million, followed by Captain America: Brave New World ($4.1 million), Mickey 17 ($3.9 million), and last week's champ, Novocaine, dropping to fifth place with just $3.8 million in its second week of release. The March 2025 box office is down 6.3 percent from last year and 14.6 percent from 2023.

Original story published March 21, 2025: Mirror, mirror, on the wall... will Snow White beat them all?...

On Monday March 24 2025, Bravo broadcasts Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen!

Debra Messing and Ellen Pompeo Season 22 Episode 50 Episode Summary

The upcoming episode of “Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen” promises an exciting night with two beloved stars, Debra Messing and Ellen Pompeo. Fans of the show can look forward to a lively discussion as Andy Cohen interviews these talented actresses. Known for their impressive careers in television, both Messing and Pompeo have a lot to share.

Debra Messing, famous for her role in “Will & Grace,” brings her charm and wit to the stage. Viewers can expect her to talk about her latest projects and perhaps share some behind-the-scenes stories from her time on the iconic sitcom. Her engaging personality is sure to make for entertaining moments during the interview.

Ellen Pompeo, best known for her long-running role on “Grey’s Anatomy,” will also join the conversation. She...

The Alto Knights North America Box Office: Release Day Update(Photo Credit –YouTube)

Robert De Niro’s starrer biographical crime drama film, The Alto Knights, is headed for a disappointing affair at the box office on its release day. The movie has collected even less than the second Friday collection of Cate Blanchett’s Black Bag. Keep scrolling for the deets.

It was directed by Barry Levinson and distributed by Warner Bros Pictures. It has opened to mixed reviews from the critics. De Niro appears in a dual role as the 1950s mob bosses Vito Genovese and Frank Costello. It also features Debra Messing, Cosmo Jarvis, Kathrine Narducci, and Michael Rispoli in supporting roles. It has received poor ratings from the critics on Rotten Tomatoes; they gave it 38%, and their collective consensus states, “A competent but tired retread of mob movie tropes, it pits De Niro vs. De Niro with no real victor emerging.

Even two-time Oscar winner Robert De Niro starts his mornings with “Ms. Rachel.” Talking to Andy Cohen for Sirius Xm’s Radio Andy, De Niro shared that his two-year-old daughter Gia has “discerning taste” in TV shows, favoring YouTuber Ms. Rachel.

“That’s what I did this morning,” De Niro told Cohen. “‘Ms. Rachel,’ ‘The Wiggles,’ ‘Blippi.’ ‘The Wiggles’ are sort of cheap, but ‘Ms. Rachel,’ we started with it and still stay with it.” According to De Niro, his daughter’s (with girlfriend Tiffany Chen) taste is becoming more refined the more “Ms. Rachel” she watches.

“Now she’s becoming more discerning, because she’s seen it so many times,” De Niro added. “We’re waiting for new episodes, new skits, new songs: she goes ‘Okay, next.’ She’ll go ‘No, no, no, next.’ She wants me to switch to something else.”

Between episodes of “Ms. Rachel” and “The Wiggles,...

Robert De Niro‘s latest movie, “The Alto Knights,” gives the Oscar winner twice as many roles as usual. Directed by Barry Levinson and written by “Goodfellas” writer Nicholas Pileggi, the film charts the real-life power struggle between 1950s Mafia bosses Vito Genovese and Frank Costello as it spirals into an all-out, blood-on-the-streets conflict. De Niro plays both Genovese and Costello in the drama, which also stars Debra Messing and “Shōgun” breakout Cosmo Jarvis.

De Niro is not the first major actor in Hollywood history to take on the sizable challenge of playing more than one role in a film. Some have even dared to take on more than two In honor of De Niro’s dual turns in “The Alto Knights,” though, here are five other great films that also star actors in two roles.

Jake Gyllenhaal in “Enemy.” (Entertainment One) Jake Gyllenhaal in “Enemy”

“Enemy” is director Denis Villeneuve’s surreal,...

Robert De Niro’s returns to the mob movie genre with “The Alto Knights,” and it’s hitting theaters on Friday.

De Niro pulls double duty in the biographical drama, as he stars two of New York’s most notorious crime bosses, Frank Costello and Vito Genovese. The film serves as a 360 moment for De Niro, as Costello was the inspiration behind “The Godfather” character Don Vito Corleone. De Niro starred as the young Vito in “The Godfather Part II.”

The film was written by Nicholas Pileggi (“Goodfellas”) and directed by Barry Levinson. Here’s everything you need to know about how to watch below.

When does “The Alto Knights” come out?

“The Alto Knights” comes out Friday, March 21.

Is “The Alto Knights” in theaters?

Yes, “The Alto Knights” will premiere in theaters on Friday, March 21. Check the listings below for showtimes.

AMC Theaters Regal Theaters Cinemark Theaters Landmark Theaters...

Inside you there are two mobsters, and Robert De Niro plays both.

There’s a scene near the limp climax of Barry Levinson’s utterly somnambulant The Alto Knights in which Vito Genovese (De Niro) argues violently with his meathead driver and muscle Vincent Gigante (Cosmo Jarvis) about whether or not Palmyra, NY is the birthplace of Mormonism. Palmyra is the birthplace, but Vito is convinced it isn’t, and he is such a hothead narcissist he nearly strangles Vincent to death. The scene goes on for an obnoxiously long time. There are “jokes” about golden books and a lot of yelling. With no apparent thematic or narrative purpose, the unending scene is an unfortunate metonym for Levinson’s entire enterprise. It is, in other words, a complete waste of time, barely aping properly the mob genre for which it is now sure to be an afterthought.

Loosely, the film...

“Wars today,” we hear early in “October 8,” are fought “not only in battlefields but also on different media outlets. It’s very challenging: the war of the narrative, and sometimes even the war over truth.”

It has become increasingly arduous to determine objective truth in the modern era, particularly on subjects as fraught and ideologically riven as the Middle East. But documentarian Wendy Sachs (“Surge”) narrows her focus, and sets her sights closer to home. She aims, in this passionate and timely documentary, to explore how a culture war has unfolded across U.S. universities since the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel.

Under ordinary circumstances, it might feel uncontroversial to make a film about the recent rise of antisemitism on college campuses. There was, we learn, a 140% increase in antisemitic incidents in 2023, the highest on record. Surely this is a trajectory worthy of concern and exploration. But as the movie makes clear,...

A part of me feels protective of the filmmaking team behind The Alto Knights. For one, Barry Levinson has had a historic and varied career, directing everything from Good Morning, Vietnam to Bugsy and his best collaboration with Robert De Niro, Wag the Dog. This marks his fourth film with the legendary actor, but unfortunately, it is more of a disappointment—much like Sleepers, What Just Happened, and The Wizard of Lies.

Another factor is De Niro’s third collaboration with Nicholas Pileggi, the Academy Award-winning screenwriter of Goodfellas and Casino (he also executive produced The Irishman). Pileggi lived it. De Niro brings his characters to life. However, many have pointed out that the film is full of crime tropes as if this is the first time it’s happened. I mean, how else do they become them in the first place?

The Alto Knights Review and Synopsis RelatedBlack Bag...

Debra Messing exuded power and confidence in her outfits during the press tour for her biographical crime drama movie The Alto Knights, starring Robert De Niro. Messing plays the mafia boss’s wife, and she channeled her role in the film with aplomb!

Seeing Debra embracing method dressing was unexpected, but she nailed it. She sported elegant coats, outfits, and high heels that remained consistent with her signature multifaceted style, which balances classic fashion and quirky elements.

Debra Messing shows her take on the mafia boss wife look during the New York press tour for The Alto Knights (Credit: Roger Wong / INSTARimages)

Here’s a closer look at the outfits she wore during The Alto Knights press tour.

1. Debra Messing Channels Power in Black Pumps and Leather Trench Coat

On a recent appearance on CBS Mornings, Debra Messing exuded a powerful and confident aura clad in a chic monochrome outfit...

The Alto Knights transports us to mid-century New York, where crime and loyalty take center stage. The film revisits gangster motifs through a historical lens, interspersed with flashbacks that paint a picture of a time when organized crime was reshaping the city. Set in the 1950s, it portrays New York’s criminal underworld with a careful eye on period detail, using its era as a backdrop to explore shifts in power and alliances.

Helmed by Barry Levinson and penned by Nicholas Pileggi, the production carries the weight of established experience in the genre. The film draws from the lives of notable mob figures, loosely based on true events, and reinterprets them with a modern storytelling approach.

Robert De Niro leads the charge, taking on dual roles that highlight contrasting paths within the same criminal tapestry. His work brings forward characters steeped in both tradition and conflict, giving viewers a chance...

In director Barry Levinson's The Alto Knights, Robert De Niro plays not one, but two mob bosses. You'd think that with double the screen time, the mafia drama would be a big hit with fans and critics who have been following De Niro's career since the days of Mean Streets, but unfortunately that isn't the case here. The Alto Knights has landed with an echoing thud on Rotten Tomatoes, signaling that the two-hour movie is probably worth skipping this weekend in theaters.

Holding a rotten rating of just 38% on Rotten Tomatoes, noted Canadian critic Richard Crouse says, "The Alto Knights is a slick movie, with nice period details, but the shallow look at the relationships of the protagonists and a repetitive, drawn-out script blunts the power of the story." Odie Henderson from The Boston Globe adds:

"When we're not being fed warmed-over narration and editing tricks that remind...

There are, by the organization’s current count, some 160,000 members of the Screen Actors Guild, many of whom are booking gigs on the regular. To be fair, very few of these performers are genuine 1970s cinema icons, not to mention the brand-name embodiment of a whole genre. Robert De Niro is to Mob movies what John Wayne was to Westerns, and though he’s played every type of role imaginable — boxers, bakers, bishops, ballplayers, cops, robbers, revolutionaries, a stitched-together corpse having an existential crisis, even the devil himself — it’s...

Robert De Niro has been a consistent presence in mob movies for the past five decades. One of his first Mafia movies was 1973's Mean Streets, which marked De Niro's first of several collaborations with Martin Scorsese and is considered by many to be one of the greatest gangster movies ever made. The following year, De Niro played a younger Vito Corleone in Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather Part II, and won an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, his first of eight Oscar nominations over his illustrious career.

Over the years, De Niro has collaborated with Scorsese on many more mob movies, including Goodfellas and Casino, both of which were co-written by Nicholas Pileggi based on his nonfiction books, and frequently rank among the greatest Mafia movies ever made. Other mob movies that De Niro has starred in over the years include Sergio Leone...

If the digital de-ageing of the holy trinity of Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci in Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman was a bit distracting at times, get a load of double De Niro in Barry Levinson’s long-gestating The Alto Knights. Demonstrating that when it comes to the greats you can never have too much of a good thing, De Niro plays both leading roles: that of don Frank Costello on the verge of a quiet retirement, and his hot-headed childhood friend and drug baron Vito Genovese, with whom he’s forced to go toe-to-toe.

Based on a true story of mob warfare and penned by GoodFellas screenwriter Nicholas Pileggi, the film has been in the works since the 1970s and was finally greenlit in 2022. Watching the early sequences certainly gives one a sense of déjà vu: the film opens in media res in 1957 with an act of violence,...

The height of a documentary’s importance is usually judged by the magnitude of the stars willing to get involved. In the case of Wendy Sachs’ October 8, it’s telling that the only Hollywood faces to appear onscreen are Will & Grace’s Debra Messing and cult character actor Michael Rapaport. “I know where I am in the pecking order,” says the latter. “There are so many other bigger names, the fact that I was the big Hollywood name [to speak out] — aside from the great Debra Messing — is some real f*ckin disappointing f*ckin’ shit.”

Rapaport’s candid outburst speaks to the documentary’s central thesis, which is that the attack on Israel by terrorist group Hamas on October 7, 2023, has led to a rise in antisemitism in America — much of it under the guise of anti-Zionism — of a kind not seen since the Second World War. The film’s title refers...

From the mind of Award-winning director Barry Levinson and legendary screenwriter Nicholas Pileggi (Goodfellas), The Alto Knights is an ambitious attempt to recapture the golden age of mob cinema. With an all-star cast led by Robert De Niro—who takes on the daunting task of portraying both real life Mafia bosses Frank Costello and Vito Genovese—the film explores the volatile power struggle that reshaped the American crime families in the late 1950s.

Supported by a talented ensemble, including Debra Messing (Will & Grace), Cosmo Jarvis (Lady Macbeth) , Katherine Narducci, and Michael Rispoli, this crime saga is rich in historical detail and beautifully layered performances.

The Alto Knights follows Costello and Genovese, once the closest of allies, as they become bitter rivals vying for control of New York’s underworld. The film does a great job of depicting their rise through the ranks, illustrating how friendships in organised crime can be...

Robert De Niro pulls Mafia double duty, portraying mobsters Frank Costello and Vito Genovese in The Alto Knights, the latest crime epic from acclaimed Goodfellas screenwriter Nicholas Pileggi. The film's slick editing, make-up, and prosthetic effects sell both performances as De Niro chews up the screen with a familiar gusto. The narrative does suffer from a continuous voice-over narration that wears thin. But Oscar-winning director Barry Levinson overcomes the talk-a-thon by channeling Scorsese's frenetic visual style, rapid pacing, and flashback structure. The result is a breezy and thoroughly entertaining gangster flick that gets laughs aplenty with its stereotypical Italian portrayals.

Double Duty De Niro

The Alto Knights opens in 1957 New York City with Frank Costello surviving an assassination attempt in the lobby of his Upper West Side apartment. Bobbie (Debra Messing), his faithful wife of 40 years, races to his side at the hospital. Frank miraculously escaped with just a scratch.

If you’re going to take a shot at the king, you’d better not miss.

That aphorism, credited to everyone from Ralph Waldo Emerson to Omar on “The Wire,” could be one of the unspoken Cosa Nostra credos in “The Alto Knights,” a dense yet fiercely compelling gathering of some of the heaviest hitters in the contemporary gangster genre: “Goodfellas” screenwriter Nicholas Pileggi, “Bugsy” director Barry Levinson and acting icon Robert De Niro in a dual role. That latter stunt makes for a novel hook — one-upping the Pacino-De Niro sit-down in “Heat” by serving up double De Niro as underworld friends-turned-rivals Frank Costello and Vito Genovese, both of whom he embodies beneath heavy makeup.

The movie abruptly kicks off in 1959, with a botched execution in the lobby of Frank’s New York apartment building — a tense, effective scene that finds Levinson operating like the old pro. The rest is narrated from the distant future,...

There are some good reasons for actors to play multiple roles in a film. If they’re playing twins, for example. Or clones. Or if the film is so outlandish that it feels appropriate, like Peter Sellers in Dr. Strangelove.

But having Robert De Niro play real-life gangsters Frank Costello and Vito Genovese at once simply feels like a casting stunt. The end result is that Barry Levinson’s otherwise sober-minded The Alto Knights too often feels like The Patty Duke Show if Patty and Cathy had become mafiosos.

If this film feels familiar, that’s because it is. From its pedigree to its casting to its themes, Levinson’s new effort comes across like a retread. Even its original title, Wise Guys, well, you know. That doesn’t make The Alto Knights (a terrible title, by the way, taken from the name of the social club where the gangsters...

The actor plays Frank Costello and Vito Genovese, two warring mob bosses in 1950s New York, in a caper that lacks the richness of its writer’s earlier Goodfellas

‘They’re the same – he’s marrying himself!” The speaker is an aghast Bobbie Costello, played by Debra Messing, addressing her shruggingly detached mob boss husband, Frank Costello, played by Robert De Niro. They are guests at the wedding of mercurial club owner Anna (Kathrine Narducci) to Frank’s hot-tempered mafia associate Vito Genovese. And Vito is played by … Robert De Niro.

This film is a laborious true-crime account of Frank and Vito’s homicidal falling out in 1950s New York, directed by Barry Levinson and written by Nicholas Pileggi, though with little of the perspective, light and shade and narrative richness of Pileggi’s earlier scripts. As Vito, De Niro is gloweringly resentful, taciturn, bad-tempered and wears glasses and a hat.

Plot: A personal rivalry between Mafia bosses Frank Costello and Vito Genovese inadvertently changes the balance of power in the mob forever, revealing to the American public just how vast of a criminal empire it really is.

Review: I understand why The Alto Knights must have been a passion project for everyone involved. Producer Irwin Winkler, star Robert De Niro and writer Nicholas Pileggi are three of the men responsible for the greatest mob movie ever made – Goodfellas -, and it’s fitting that they’d want to be the ones to tell one of the most important Mafia stories of all time. Indeed, Vito Genovese’s attempt to kill Frank Costello kicked off a series of events that eventually led to the testimony of Joseph Valachi, who was the first member of the Mafia to ever acknowledge its existence and popularized the term “Cosa Nostra.”

Whether or not you...

The problem with calling a movie “bad” is that some people, myself included, will only want to see it more. It’s fun to hear about a good movie. It’s boring to hear about a mediocre one. But a film that’s so punishing you can physically feel it? Now that’s fascinating. Truly terrible movies are like the puzzle box from “Hellraiser,” offering pain and pleasure, indivisibly. Only by experiencing both extremes can some lifelong moviegoers truly feel alive.

So let me be absolutely, 100% clear: “The Alto Knights” is indeed a bad movie, but not the good kind. It doesn’t make you feel alive, it makes you feel dead. It’s a tedious, directionless, bumbling chore of a gangster picture, incoherently written and edited, featuring two of the limpest performances of Robert De Niro’s career.

Oh yes, you read that right. De Niro plays two different...

The past 18 months have marked an extraordinarily turbulent period for Jews worldwide, with a pogrom launched against communities in southern Israel soon yielding a major spike in antisemitic incidents. Veteran documentary filmmaker Wendy Sachs says she watched what transpired and began chronicling and connecting dots.

Sachs’ new film October 8 begins with the unprecedented Hamas attack a day earlier, then tracks the fallout over the course of the ensuing Gaza war, examining global anti-Israel protests along with increases in anti-Jewish rhetoric and violence.

The doc, which opened this past weekend, features a host of prominent figures, including advocates (the Anti-Defamation League’s Jonathan Greenblatt), academics (George Washington University’s Lorenzo Vidino), executives (Sheryl Sandberg), podcasters (Dan Senor), politicians (Ritchie Torres) and actor-activists Debra Messing (who executive produced the film) and the Israeli-American Noa Tishby (In Treatment, Nip/Tuck). Together they build an argument that what we are witnessing is simply old...

With Robert De Niro in both lead roles, The Alto Knights dives into the competition for authority between mob bosses Frank Costello and Vito Genovese. The Alto Knights, directed by Barry Levinson and written by Nicholas Pileggi, is not only a glimpse into the inner workings of mafia leadership but also reveals the complexities of crime, violence, and loyalty in a world that revolves around mob warfare.

Additional cast members Debra Messing as Frank's wife, Bobbie; Cosmo Jarvis as hired gun Vincent Gigante, and Kathrine Narduci as Anna Genovese help craft a story about two men who went from friends to rivals during the 1950s. De Niro is no stranger to movies about the mafia, with films like The Godfather, The Godfather II, Goodfellas, Casino, and The Irishman all topping the list of some of his greatest performances. The dual role in The Alto Knights is a testament to De...

The stars of the upcoming movie “The Alto Knights” — Robert De Niro, Debra Messing, and Kathrine Narducci — join Radio Andy host Andy Cohen in the SiriusXM studios for a Town Hall special.

Alto Knights Town HallExclusive interview hosted by Andy CohenListen on the App

Listen on the App

During the Town Hall, Debra talks about improvising with Robert during filming and reveals what she kept from the “Will & Grace” set after the show ended, Robert reveals he watches “Ms. Rachel” and “The Wiggles” with his daughter Gia and gave an update on “Meet the Parents 4,” and much more.

(From L to R) Debra Messing, Kathrine Narducci, Robert De Niro, and Andy Cohen.

Listen to the full Town Hall on Radio Andy (Ch. 102) in cars and on the SiriusXM app starting Friday, March 21, at 10am Et/Pt.

Directed by Barry Levinson, “The Alto Knights” is a biographical crime drama...

On Tuesday’s “CBS Mornings” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer joins the conversation to discuss his book, “Antisemitism in America: A Warning.” Expect a serious and timely discussion about the rise of antisemitism and the importance of combating hate. Next, Leslie Bibb, known for her role in “White Lotus,” takes the stage. Whether she’ll be discussing […]

CBS Mornings: Chuck Schumer, Leslie Bibb, Debra Messing...

Robert De Niro and Debra Messing celebrate the release of their new movie, The Alto Knights!

The 81-year-old actor and the 56-year-old actress appeared together in London on the red carpet during the European premiere of the film on Thursday (March 13).

Keep reading to find out more…

The Alto Nights tells the story of “a pair of Italian Americans running two separate crime families during the mid-20th century. Genovese tried and failed to assassinate Costello in 1957, with the latter taking his leave from the mob after being injured during the attempt on his life,” according to Deadline.

Robert plays two characters in the film, Vito Genovese and Frank Costello. At the premiere, he talked about what it was like to juggle both of the roles.

“The idea of me playing both parts came up when we were talking about who could play the other part, the Vito part, and I thought about it,...

Seth Meyers cracked up guest Robert De Niro on Tuesday night with a corny dad joke about his new gangster movie “The Alto Knights.”

Drawing attention to the fact that De Niro stars in the movie as two 1950s mob bosses, Vito Genovese and Frank Costello, Meyers brought out a still from the Barry Levinson film that shows the two characters sitting opposite one another — in other words, De Niro facing off with De Niro.

“You are playing two different gangsters in the film,” Meyers said as he looked at the image. That’s when he cracked his dad joke. “I apologize for the first thing that popped in my head when I saw this.”

“What?” De Niro asked.

“You talkin’ to you?” Meyers deadpanned.

“Ok,” De Niro said, chuckling and apparently charmed while Meyers again said, “I apologize.”

Watch the moment below:

De Niro was tickled at the “Taxi Driver...

October 7, 2023, marked the largest massacre of Jews to take place since the Holocaust, with 251 hostages taken by Hamas as well. Wendy Sachs’ documentary isn’t about that horrific event, although it includes disturbing footage from the infamous day and harrowing testimony by survivors. Rather, it concerns what happened immediately afterward, namely the precipitous rise in antisemitism that manifested itself in demonstrations on college campuses, on the streets and in social media. For those concerned about this growing problem — and everyone should be — October 8 is mandatory viewing.

There is certainly a strong case to be made against Israel’s longstanding mistreatment of Palestinians, as well as against the morality and legality of its ongoing military response in Gaza. But there was something truly perverse about the way in which anti-Israel sentiment came to a fever pitch in the immediate aftermath of the massacre, and the manner in which it morphed into antisemitism.

Quick LinksCasting Directors Were Impressed by Nicollette Sheridan’s HumorSheridan Went on to Wow the Residents of Wisteria LaneThe Actress Eventually Got a Chance to Shine in Will & Grace

While it had some pretty stiff competition with Lost and Grey's Anatomy, Desperate Housewives maintained its superiority on primetime television throughout its eight season run. Fans quickly fell in love with the inhabitants of Wisteria Lane and tuned in every week to learn more about their latest scandals. While the show was mostly aimed at women, it did a great job of producing male characters, making it a drama fest for mass audiences.

One of the show's most immense characters is Edie Brit, a sultry woman who won't allow anything or anyone to get in her way. Her character is portrayed by Nicollette Sheridan and many would agree that this role made her a household name throughout the mid-2000s.