Latest news with #Costello
UPI
an hour ago
- Entertainment
- UPI
De Niro mob movie 'The Alto Knights' streams June 6 on Max
1 of 5 | Robert De Niro, seen at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, stars in "The Alto Knights." Photo by Rocco Spaziani/UPI | License Photo May 30 (UPI) -- Max announced Friday that The Alto Knights will begin streaming on the service June 6. The movie premieres on HBO June 7 at 8 p.m. EDT. The film stars Robert De Niro in the dual roles of Frank Costello and Vito Genovese, two rival New York mobsters. The film follows their lives from their friendship at New York's Alto Knights social club through an attempted assassination of Costello and the Apalachin meeting of 1957. Barry Levinson directed from a script by Nicholas Pileggi, the writer of Goodfellas and Casino and the books upon which those films were based. Debra Messing plays Costello's wife, Bobbie. In an interview with UPI, Messing said Bobbie was trying to get Costello to retire. The couple moved to Long Island at her urging. Pileggi and producer Irwin Winkler also spoke with UPI about how Costello and Genovese represented "the end of the mob." The film also stars Cosmo Jarvis, Kathrine Narducci, Michael Rispoli and Wallace Langham. Robert De Niro, Debra Messing arrive at 'Alto Knights' premiere Left to right, Kathrine Narducci, Robert De Niro and Debra Messing arrive on the red carpet for the "The Alto Knights" New York premiere at AMC Lincoln Square Theater on March 15, 2025 in New York City. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
Irish Examiner
2 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Munster's healthy problems as Costello ponders whether to stick or twist
It's stick or twist time for the Munster management as they prepare to name their matchday squad for Saturday's URC quarter-final at the Sharks. Munster's place in the play-offs was booked courtesy of back-to-back bonus-point home wins over Ulster and Benetton in the final rounds of the regular season, a return to form based on consistency of selection with interim head coach Ian Costello able to field the same starting 15 and eight replacements in consecutive matches for the first time all season. Never was that luxury more welcome with Munster in metaphorical knockout rugby mode and the prospect of no Champions Cup rugby next season a real possibility if the required top-eight finish was not nailed down. Yet with actual win-or-go-home rugby now looming and a powerful Sharks side lying in wait on home turf at Kings Park in Durban, Costello and his assistants are faced with the question of whether to go again with that same, trusted 23, or pick a more tailored team for the first of what is hoped will be three play-off rounds. Munster have all 23 of that matchday squad available after fly-half Jack Crowley and hooker Niall Scannell overcame knocks. And the 32-player squad which arrived in Durban on Tuesday afternoon has been boosted by the return of fit-again frontline front-rowers, hooker Diarmuid Barron and loosehead prop Jeremy Loughman. That both absences had been impressively catered for by Leinster loanees and permanent summer arrivals Lee Barron, who replaced Scannell against Benetton, and loosehead Michael Milne, who has started the last three games, adds to this healthy conundrum. 'Selection is probably a mixture of a science and an art, isn't it?', Costello said. 'As a coaching group we have long conversations, in-depth conversations. We consider so many different elements when it comes to selection. 'Cohesion is definitely one. There's certain teams around the world that would put a huge emphasis and a huge focus on cohesion. We had cohesion the last two games, we were in a position to select the same 23, but that's got to be right for the next game coming up. 'It's that balance, again, between who's been training well, who's really fresh, who looks like they might add something for the game. And the game's 23 people now, that's the one thing for sure. We saw Bath over the weekend bring people off the bench to win a trophy and it's worth considering how we use our 23 the best way we possibly can. 'That's something we've been in a really good position to do with our squad being healthier. So it's that balance of cohesion versus how we are feeling around how competitive guys are at the moment, and who could bring the most from the start and who could bring the most off the bench. 'It's a fascinating tactical consideration that's emerging across all big games at the moment.'
RTÉ News
3 days ago
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Ian Costello: Quarter-final not a 'free shot' for Munster
While the pressure of securing Investec Champions Cup qualification is off their backs, Ian Costello insists Munster are by no means in bonus-territory ahead of Saturday's BKT United Rugby Championship quarter-final against the Sharks. A 32-man squad arrived in Durban this week for what could be two weeks in South Africa; if they win on Saturday, they will likely move on to Pretoria for a semi-final versus the Bulls. There was great relief at the province this month when wins over Ulster and Benetton saw them scrape into the play-offs, and crucially secured their Champions Cup place for next season. And although Costello admits that has lifted a weight off their shoulders, he says there is still a pressure for them to deliver in knockout rugby. "It absolutely isn't a free shot," Munster's interim coach said, ahead of Saturday's quarter-final. "There's an expectation we need to be in knockout rugby, there's a lot of pressure to get there. But now that we're here, we're very, very ambitious on what we want to achieve. "We all know that we had to get into the play-offs. We had to get into the Champions Cup, that's the expectation that comes with Munster, rightly so. "I think it was really important that we drew a line under that first. We put an awful lot into that physically, mentally and particularly emotionally in that last two weeks. There was so much to be pleased with in those last two weeks." While the play-offs officially start this weekend, Munster have effectively been playing knockout rugby for much longer, with their season on the line for those games against Benetton and Ulster. And while those games were physically and emotionally draining experiences, Costello says they've come to South Africa feeling fresh after a much needed weekend off. "This group, over the last couple of weeks, have really showed how much they care about each other. It came out in the way we trained, prepared, what we would have seen behind closed doors and what you would have seen in the performances. "You don't get the intensity and physicality of a performance like that unless there is a real deep care and it means a huge amount to this group. "I think that was huge to get that job done, but we've had a taste of play-offs before, we've played a few knock-out this year, more than we would have liked, especially over the last couple of weeks. That's set us up to have a real crack at this week, so it's a fresh focus and just really excited about play-off rugby." Saturday's quarter-final also brings them back to the site of one of this season's low points when they were beaten 41-24 by the Sharks in Round 5 of the regular season, with head coach Graham Rowntree leaving his role just a few days later. But Costello, who has been in interim charge since then, says they aren't motivated by what happened on that tour. "No, that hasn't come into it at all of I'm honest. "I think the squad is in a different place. You look at the squad that actually travelled over here, we looked at it yesterday and there's a huge difference between the squad that travelled over in October versus the squad that's over here this weekend, or this week. "It feels like there's an awful lot more experience, guys really hitting their form, as I said, really competitive. We've had two weeks and that really helps. "We know them [the Sharks] really well. We've looked at their last half dozen games as we always do. But a huge amount of focus has been on us, if I'm honest. Look at how we've improved over the last period and how we've managed two very, very high pressure games. "Essentially, we're into the third knockout game in a row now because effectively that's what it was. So we've extracted a lot of our learnings around that, that has confidence in the group and it keeps the focus on who we are and what we do well as well." There was positive news this week with confirmation that out-half Jack Crowley (below) will be fit after recovering from a rib injury picked up in Round 18, while Diarmuid Barron and Jeremy Loughman are also back on deck after missing time with injury. And Costello says a healthy squad will be vital if they're to go on a repeat run of their title win from 2023. "I suppose you go back six months and our availability was not where we would have liked it to be. There was a lot of challenges and changes at the club, and we probably didn't have the deep squad to select from those early games and that's what's so pleasing about where we're at now. The squad is really competitive. "That comes out in selection, but it also comes out in training every day, so it means every single training session is better. People are really driven to perform in training, they know that training matters and there's probably 27, 28 guys that are really competitive to make a 23, or even a 15 at the moment. That drives standards right across the board. "Bar a couple of players, we're in a pretty good position in terms of the health of our squad this week, and will need to be," Costello added.
Irish Examiner
3 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Costello believes Munster's 'deep purpose' can help province upset odds away to Sharks
Ian Costello believes the 'deep purpose' driving his Munster squad after a difficult campaign can help the province deliver the very best performance he believes will be required to upset the odds and beat South Africa's third-seeded Sharks in Saturday's URC quarter-final in Durban. The 2023 champions will likely have to repeat their remarkable run of three away knockout wins that brought a first trophy to Munster in 12 years two seasons ago, if they are to emerge from 2024-25 with silverware. The first leg of their title bid comes at Kings Park this weekend against a Springbok-heavy Sharks side that beat the Irishmen 41-24 on their most recent visit to Durban last October. That proved to be the final game of title-winning head coach Graham Rowntree's tenure with Munster's Head of Rugby Operations Costello assuming the role of interim head coach for what has been the majority of the season. His side only secured Champions Cup rugby for next term on the last day of the URC regular season, with a second consecutive bonus-point home win, against Benetton in Cork on May 16, sealing sixth place in the final standings and booking a ticket into the knockout rounds. Munster arrived in Durban on Tuesday ahead of their last-eight clash but Costello is under no illusions about the size of the task facing his squad on Saturday evening, describing the challenge as being against 'a serious side… and a very tough place to go and play them.' Yet speaking from South Africa shortly after the 32-player squad's arrival by the Indian Ocean on Tuesday afternoon, the interim boss dismissed the notion that the quarter-final was a free hit for his squad, and though the pressure of European qualification had been lifted, he explained there had been a deliberate shift in Munster's mindset. "I think we probably very explicitly shifted focus over the last couple of weeks to make it about people, make it about people that we care about and individuals within the squad and what they contributed to Munster, and that brings a different type of pressure,' Costello said. 'It's very personal. It's very deep. And then playing at home in front of your fans, your friends and your family, that brings a huge amount of pressure as well. But it also deflected away from maybe the league table and the pressure in the Champions Cup. "And again, this week for us, there are just people who are with the group, that it's their last season. We've been through a lot in the last six, seven months, so there is a real deep purpose and a deep cause within the team. "It absolutely isn't a free shot. There's an expectation we need to be in knockout rugby, there's a lot of pressure to get there. But now that we're here, we're very, very ambitious on what we want to achieve. But again, this is the first test and a really difficult one on Saturday.' Costello insisted the Munster squad, led by captain Tadhg Beirne, was good enough to score a famous result over the Sharks, but added: "We need to get our best or very, very close to it. 'We need to be accurate. We need to execute well and physically, mentally and emotionally, we need to be at the right pitch. If we are, I absolutely believe that we have the ability to. "I have a huge amount of faith in the players. I have a huge amount of faith in the coaches, Mike (Prendergast), Denis (Leamy), Mossy (Lawler), George (Murray), Alex (Codling), the plan that they've put together. So I absolutely do agree. "There's a lot that goes into winning a game of that size against a team of that quality. But if we're close to our best and we execute the way we know we can, we absolutely do believe this squad is good enough to give them a real good crack on Saturday.'
Irish Daily Mirror
3 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Bullish prediction made for Munster's URC quarter-final if the Reds are firing
Munster interim head coach Ian Costello insists that the Reds can savage the Sharks and make the semi-finals - but must perform at their best to do so. The province lost 41-24 to the same opponents in Durban in round six of the regular season, a defeat that ended Graham Rowntree's tenure as head coach. Costello maintains, however, there is no added motivation to take down the Sharks for that reason after the Reds rallied late in the campaign to set up Saturday's quarter-final. "No, that hasn't come into it at all, if I'm honest," he said. "This group, over the last couple of weeks, have really shown how much they care about each other. It came out in the way we trained, prepared, what we would have seen behind closed doors and what you would have seen in the performances. "You don't get the intensity and physicality of a performance like that unless there is a real deep care and it means a huge amount to this group. "I think that was huge to get that job done, but we've had a taste of play-offs before, we've played a few knock-outs this year, more than we would have liked, especially over the last couple of weeks. That's set us up to have a real crack at this week, so it's a fresh focus and just really excited about play-off rugby." It is two years since Munster famously went on the road to claim the URC title and they will have to do the same this year to repeat that success. The Sharks finished in third spot in the table, having only managed 14th last season, but they have been unable to marry up performances with a consistent win ratio. Nevertheless Costello spells out what it will require for Munster to get the job done. "We need to get our best or very, very close to it," he said. "We need to be accurate. "We need to execute well and physically, mentally and emotionally, we need to be at the right pitch. If we are, I absolutely believe that we have the ability to win. "I've a huge amount of faith in the players and the coaches, the plan that they've put together. There's a lot that goes into winning a game of that size against a team of that quality. "But if we're close to our best and we execute the way we know we can, we absolutely do believe this squad is good enough to give them a real good crack on Saturday. "We all know that we had to get into the play-offs. We had to get into the Champions Cup, that's the expectation that comes with Munster, rightly so. I think it was really important that we drew a line under that first. We put an awful lot into that physically, mentally and particularly emotionally in the last two weeks. There was so much to be pleased with in those last two weeks." The news that out-half Jack Crowley is available after suffering a rib injury is a massive boost for the province, while hookers Diarmuid Barron and Niall Scannell, plus loosehead Jeremy Loughman, are also available. "It's huge," Costello said. "Look, I suppose you go back six months and our availability was not where we would have liked it to be. There were a lot of challenges and changes at the club, and we probably didn't have the deep squad to select from those early games and that's what's so pleasing about where we're at now. The squad is really competitive. "That comes out in selection, but it also comes out in training every day, so it means every single training session is better. People are really driven to perform in training, they know that training matters and there's probably 27, 28 guys that are really competitive to make a 23, or even a 15 at the moment. That drives standards right across the board. "Bar a couple of players, we're in a pretty good position in terms of the health of our squad this week, and will need to be."
