Twenty-five years later, the box office victory is still sweet for Robert De Niro and Billy Crystal.
Reminiscing about the collaboration in 1999, Analyze this, at the Tribeca Festival/De Nirocon screening Friday, the two exchanged memories of sitting at De Niro's former restaurant, Ago, on Friday night when the film premiered. (Crystal remembers jokingly asking De Niro what the restaurant's name means, which earned her the biggest laugh of the night. He heard, “'Ago f–k yourself.'”)
Analyze this We face competition from young people. cruel intentions, a Sarah Michelle Gellar / Reese Witherspoon / Ryan Philippe thriller, but resolutely ahead of the curve. “The box office was coming in and it was like, ‘Oh my God. oh my god. We’re crushing them!’” Crystal remembered. “Sharing this movie with this man was one of the greatest nights of my life. We loved making this movie together and collaborating with each other and creating something that people can still enjoy and laugh about 25 years later.”
The film's $18 million opening was a record for both stars at the time, and its final global cume was $177 million.
De Niro is not overly nervous about the commercial outcome, but says, “If it does well, it means people will see it. So it's the same. … I wasn't worried about that. I was just throwing a great opening night party, and I started hearing that it was going pretty well. Of course we were happy about it. “It has progressed to levels we never expected.”
The film was directed by Harold Ramis and produced by Jane Rosenthal, De Niro's longtime producing partner and co-founder of the Tribeca Festival, and Paula Weinstein, who served as a Tribeca executive for several years until 2023. Weinstein died earlier this year.
Much of the Tribeca conversation dealt with the development of the film, which was first written by Kenneth Lonergan, who eventually shared the screenplay with Peter Tolan. Crystal recalled receiving the script and helping Tolan write it. “We took turns playing.” De Niro was the only choice to play the role of mob boss Paul Beatty. There were many twists and turns, <부모님을 만나다>This was before I met De Niro, who performed comedy in . Midnight Run and king of comedy However, he has not yet been able to fully present himself to audiences as a comedic actor.
Crystal was over the moon when his co-star committed, but she was also threatened. “Bob has this amazing method, and I don’t have it,” he quipped.
Host Gayle King highlighted the similarities between the film's plot and that of the film. the sopranosIt premiered in late 1999. “People think you’re copying. the sopranosBut you left much earlier,” she said.
Crystal said Billy Wilder had an initial idea to depict a gangster seeing a therapist in 1939, but he never made a film based on that premise. He also noted: the sopranos Referenced Analyze this During one episode, Tony's camera crew emphasizes, “But it's a comedy!”
Although the 25th anniversary is a milestone, Crystal said Friday night made it an attractive proposition. “I have been invited to an audience with the Pope today.” he said, noting that many comedians had been invited. “I called 10 days ago and said, ‘I can’t do it because we’re going to be together.’ my Pope,’” Crystal smiled.