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The Guardian
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
‘Allegory for the times we live in': De Niro and Scorsese reunite for Casino at 30
For this year's Tribeca film festival, the annual New York salute to moviemaking featured a special screening of Casino, the Martin Scorsese-directed drama starring Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci and Sharon Stone, timed to its 30th anniversary. But even though the splashy epic premiered in this same city back in November 1995, its themes of power, money, greed and ego are echoing in the modern ethos louder than ever. 'You can go back to the ancient Greek tragedies,' said Scorsese, speaking alongside De Niro and moderated by standup comedian W Kamau Bell on stage at the Beacon Theater before the screening. 'It's a basic story of hubris and pride, with the pride taking us all down.' '[Joe Pesci's character] sort of takes nobody's input,' said Bell to De Niro. 'It's his ideas or the highway, and that ultimately leads to his destruction. It's almost an allegory for the times we live in. I don't know if you guys ever thought about that?' 'Yeah, a little bit,' De Niro snickered back to guffaws from the crowd. 'Do you have a couple hours?' The release of Casino in the mid-90s, which focuses on the tragic exploits of the mafia that controlled Las Vegas and the excess that came with it, arrived at a time when that culture was on a downswing, with the decade seeing crusaders such as Rudy Giuliani bringing down organized crime one-by-one. Zooming out, it also arrived smack in the middle of the Clinton administration, all making the characters in Casino seem like fringe figures. But judging by the constant drumbeat of headlines from the current American political climate, 2025 depicts a starkly different world, and with that a Casino for fresh eyes. Even the style and culture of Vegas is entirely different. Or is it? 'Now you can bring the family!' said Scorsese of its cleaner reputation present-day, as opposed to the era when it was Sin City; a town where anything goes. Still, Bell couldn't help but ask: 'Is Vegas better when it's run by the mafia, or is it better now when it's run by the corporations?' 'Is there a difference?' Scorsese smirked as the crowd roared. 'That's all I'm saying.' 'These days especially,' De Niro chimed in. Adapted from the book by Nicholas Pileggi and based on the true events of Chicago transplant Frank 'Lefty' Rosenthal, Casino was born during unique times in Scorsese's filmography. The director had just helmed the lush and quiet Age of Innocence, a subtle love story based on the Edith Wharton novel about 1870s New York. When Casino was released, audiences couldn't help but relate it to the film-maker's other story of mafia and hubris: Goodfellas, which came out five years beforehand and also starred De Niro and Pesci. ' It was compared, I would say, unfairly and lazily to Goodfellas, but in the 30 years since, I think it's grown up quite well,' said Bell. As the years have ticked by, the gap between the two films comparisons have widened, yet again allowing the viewer to watch Casino not thinking of it as a sort-of follow-up, but a standalone film. 'The idea was to take the last 15 minutes before [Ray Liotta's character] Henry Hill gets arrested in Goodfellas and make that one film,' Scorsese said of the memorably manic sequence during which we see Hill stretched thin with nerves frayed, edited together with a series of quick cuts and a pulsating soundtrack. 'In other words, take it even further and just go to the point where we can sustain that style, which really came from (the rhythm) of storytelling on a street corner. Some of the best actors we ever knew were the kids telling the stories on the street.' As a result, the director and actor spoke about weeks of night shoots, loud casinos and the movie's intense violence (they had to tone down a scene when a man's eyes bulge out after his head is put in a vice). Scorsese also recalled trying to finagle having Rosenthal visit the set while the mobster was listed in the state's Black Book; a persona non grata in Nevada. The director went as far as working with former MPAA president Jack Valenti to use his vast connections at the time to lift the ban. 'Jack called me and he said: 'Martin, I've never had so many doors closing my face so fast in my life,'' impersonating Valenti's Texas drawl. 'This man is a member of the ma-fia.' De Niro was reliably quieter while Scorsese discussed the film, a hallmark of their relationship. When asked about his memorable wardrobe in the film; his flashy suits a trademark of the character, De Niro said an archive of his costumes are stored at the University of Texas at Austin. 'I was collecting all of this stuff for years and it started getting expensive,' said De Niro, who realized that after he filmed Scorsese's musical New York, New York, all of his wardrobe was being pilfered and he realized he should preserve them 'When I was getting fitted for my shoes for Godfather II, I think they were the shoes Warren Beatty wore in Bonnie and Clyde.' When asked about advice to the young film-makers in the audience, De Niro offered rallying words. ' I just say follow through on what you want to do. It might not be easy, but the only person you have is yourself to keep going. You just gotta keep doing it and believing in yourself. God helps those who help themselves.' Scorsese echoed those sentiments, noting it's never easy when it comes to the craft, even at his high level '[People will say:] 'Oh, you have money and everything working for you' and that's never really the case. Often if you get a bigger budget, it's worse in terms of the production. The more money, the more risk and therefore the pressure is on to take less chances aesthetically and artistically.' 'One thing [the director] Arthur Penn told me when I was a young film-maker was: 'Remember, don't lose your amateur status.' He was right. You struggle feeling like an amateur, but it's amator, in Latin, which means love. That's the thing you gotta hold on to.' However, Scorsese left the audience with this: ' The time is now to take advantage of whatever you can say,' said Scorsese. 'Who knows what's gonna happen. You have to really utilize what supposedly is called free speech.'
Forbes
5 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
Elon Musk Bashes Republican Bill. It Will Harm Americans. Here's Why
Computer graphics of dollar banknotes stream flying around United States Capitol. Colorful twilight ... More sky with clouds in backgrounds. Finance, banking, monetary policy and quantitative easing concept. The great wave off Kanagawa homage to Hokusai. The federal government is continuing to do what it has done for decades; spending more than it collects. Though this may not be surprising, it should be alarming. Why? Because as the national debt continues to rise, the government will be required to pay more and more of its revenue to service the debt. This will leave less money for everything else such as benefits for many Americans and dealing with the next crisis. The federal government's fiscal year ends September 30, 2025. The budget deficit is expected to be about $2.2 trillion. With Washington spending at such high levels is a balanced budget even possible? The last time the federal government balanced its budget was during the Clinton administration, when Republicans controlled both houses of Congress. This occurred between 9/30/1997 and 9/30 2001. The average budget surplus during this time was $139.8 billion. Since then, and especially since the global pandemic, federal spending has exploded while revenue has lagged. The last federal budget surplus prior to 1997 occurred in 1969, when Democrats controlled both sides of Congress. Going back to the federal budget of 1901, Congress has had a budget surplus in only 31 of the past 124 years (25%) and in 4 of the past 55 years (7%). Based on the recently passed budget in the House, it's clear that neither party is willing to take the difficult action necessary to bring the federal budget back in line. It was assumed that DOGE would bring financial salvation to Washington, but the waste, fraud, and abuse proved to be less than anticipated. In fact, Elon Musk just voiced his disgust on X (formerly Twitter) over the current bill awaiting Senate approval. He wrote, 'I'm sorry, but I just can't stand it anymore. This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination. Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it.' Those are harsh words from the man who started the DOGE effort. For decades, Democrats were widely considered to be the party of excessive spending. Today, it appears that Republicans are equally culpable. For a more thorough look, let's examine the following chart which shows the annual budget surpluses and deficits in each fiscal year from 1990 to 2024. The chart also contains a projection of deficits from 2025 through 2034. Note that the future numbers are derived from the recommended levels for overall spending limits, revenue targets, and deficit levels for the period 2025 through 2034, included in the bill ( Fed Govt Budget Surplus-Shortfall 1990-2034 With Projection The chart can be divided into four distinct segments of time including the last time the federal government budget had a surplus, the deficits resulting from the Financial Crisis and Covid-19, and the recommended deficit levels over the next 10 years. It's interesting to note how the deficits swelled during the two most recent crises and how spending remained elevated afterwards. This is because once Congress expands spending, it rarely reduces spending after an event has passed. Let's take a closer look at this. The largest deficit prior to the financial crisis was $412.2 billion in the fiscal year ending 9/30/2004. Using the largest deficit prior to the financial crisis as a baseline, the smallest deficit since then was $441.9 billion, which occurred in FY ending 9/30/2015. The deficit reached a whopping $1.4 trillion in FY ending 9/30/2009 and an even larger shortfall of $3.13 trillion in FY ending 9/30/2020. As the chart clearly demonstrates, deficits have been extreme in the years following the Financial Crisis. In short, every deficit since the financial crisis has been worse than the largest deficit prior to the crisis. It's clear that Congress has a spending problem. Currently, interest payments on the national debt are the third largest budget expense, surpassing defense spending. The interest expense on the debt is about $1.026 trillion in the current fiscal year. The only budget items larger than servicing the debt are Medicare/Medicaid and Social Security. As the national debt continues higher, and especially if interest rates rise, servicing the debt could surpass Social Security and Medicare/Medicaid to become the largest item in the federal budget. At that point it will become increasingly difficult to service the debt. If the one big, beautiful bill is passed by both houses, the national debt is expected to rise even further. While DOGE worked to reduce federal spending, this bill will increase spending, leading to even larger deficits, which will be added to the national debt. It's clear that a reduction in federal spending will require a great deal of courage, focus, and cooperation from both parties. Will Congress become fiscally responsible? Not to sound pessimistic, but that doesn't appear likely. Why? Because doing so will cause a degree of economic pain and if the resulting anger is directed at either party, that party will likely suffer at the polls. Therefore, this problem needs to be addressed by both parties and in this divisive time, cooperation seems highly unlikely.
Daily Mail
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Ex-White House staffer reveals Hillary Clinton's White House secrets and blames her for 'Schindler's List' atmosphere
A former Clinton administration staffer claimed that Hillary Clinton was so detested during her husband's time in the White House that she was known as a 'Nazi schoolmarm' who made aides run in fear. Buzz Patterson, the former Air Force Aide to Bill Clinton who carried the 'nuclear football' wherever the president went, took to X to reveal intimate details of the former First Couple. He said he primarily lived in the White House and was 'always in close proximity to both Bill and Hill', which made him quickly learn that the mood of the day 'depended solely on the presence or absence of Hillary.' 'We used to say that when Hillary was gone, it was a frat party. When she was home, it was Schindler's List,'' Patterson wrote in a scathing X post that has received over five million views. Patterson served as Clinton's Senior Military Aide from 1996 to 1998, and his role saw him carry the 'Presidential Emergency Satchel' to allow the president to launch a nuclear strike from anywhere in the world. He said in his X post that the day-to-day work for Clinton varied dramatically based on Hillary's whims, as he scathingly described her as 'evil, vindictive, profane' and 'a b****.' 'Among the military who served in the White House and the professional White House staff, the Clinton administration was infamously known for its lack of professionalism and courtesy, though few ever spoke about it,' he wrote. 'But when it came to rudeness, it was Hillary Clinton who was the most feared person in the administration. She set the tone.' Patterson, an outspoken Donald Trump supporter, said he was warned from the get-go that Hillary Clinton was the most daunting figure in the White House, not her president husband. 'When I first arrived to work in the White House, my predecessor warned me: 'You can get away with pissing off Bill but if you make her mad, she'll rip your heart out,'' he wrote. 'I heeded those words. I did make him mad a few times, but I never really pissed her off. I knew the ramifications.' In a response to an X user asking what he did that 'pissed off' Clinton, Patterson said he once didn't let him go to a restaurant when he was hungry because the Secret Service hadn't swept it. He said while these small issues could be brushed over by Bill, Patterson 'realized there were different rules for Hillary.' 'She instructed the senior staff, including me, that she didn't want to be forced to encounter us,' he said, adding that staff were seen scrambling to avoid her 'no matter their position in the building.' 'Many a time, I'd see mature, professional adults, working in the most important building in the world, scurrying into office doorways to escape Hillary's line of sight,' he wrote. 'She was the Nazi schoolmarm and the rest of us were expected to hide as though we were kids in trouble.' Patterson served over 20 years in the Air Force and was deployed on tours to regions including Bosnia, Haiti, Rwanda and Somalia. But he said reverence for military service was scant in the Clinton White House, and recalled a time ahead of the 1996 election when Hillary 'attempted to ban military uniforms in the White House.' 'She was trying to craft the narrative that the military was not a priority in the Clinton administration,' he wrote. 'As a military aide, carrying the football, and working closely with the Secret Service, I objected to that. It simply wasn't a matter of her political agenda; it was national security. 'If the balloon went up, the Secret Service would need to find me as quickly as possible. Seconds matter. Finding the aide in military uniform made complete sense. Besides, what commander in chief wouldn't want to advertise his leadership and command?' Patterson said Hillary 'finally relented because the Secret Service weighed in', but said the incident was a telling moment for his understanding of how the White House worked under the Clintons.
