UPDATE
Sep 25, 2023 8:15 AM CDT
Film buffs might be able to exhale. A spokesperson for Robert De Niro denies a report that he resurrected his classic Travis Bickle character from Taxi Driver for an Uber commercial. The actor did make a spot for the ride-share company, but it has nothing to do with Bickle, who drove a cab in the classic Martin Scorsese flick, says the spokesperson, per Deadline. The denial came after the film's screenwriter, Paul Schrader, publicly grimaced at the speculation. "Why Bob would do this is beyond my reckoning," he wrote on Facebook. "But I haven't seen it. If I'm lucky I never will."
Sep 21, 2023 3:50 PM CDT
Robert De Niro is reportedly resurrecting his classic character Travis Bickle from the movie Taxi Driver of nearly 50 years ago. But cinemaphiles might not want to get too excited: The UK's Sun says it's for an Uber commercial. The tabloid reports that the 80-year-old De Niro already shot the commercial in London, adding that he also reprises his world-famous line from the film, "You talkin' to me?" In the 1976 film, that moment comes as De Niro poses in front of a mirror. Watch the scene here.
De Niro's character in the film is a taxi driver, leading to all kinds of possibilities for an Uber commercial—though, as Outkick points out, De Niro's Bickle is most definitely not the person you want as your Uber driver. For those unfamiliar with the film, just know "that'd be like opening a restaurant and then getting Anthony Hopkins to play Hannibal Lecter in your TV spot," writes Matt Reigle. At the Guardian, Stuart Heritage offers some tongue-in-cheek support for De Niro's decision and sees more on the horizon. "Is the world ready for Jake LaMotta in Raging Bull 2: Laughing Cow? I would assume the answer is almost certainly yes." (More Robert De Niro stories.)
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