Robert De Niro turned 80 yesterday, and his birthday party drew an A-list crowd. Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas, Martin Scorsese, Paul McCartney, and Uma Thurman—along with her father Robert—among others, were all seen heading into the party at the Tribeca Grill (which he co-owns with restaurateur Drew Nieporent). If there’s one thing Robert De Niro is going to do, it’s promote the sh-t out of all things Tribeca. He is, of course, one of the co-founders of the Tribeca Festival, which was going to mark his 80th year with a three-day “De Niro Con” from September 29 – October 1, but due to the double strike, the celebration of all things De Niro has been moved to 2024.
Also at the party were Alec and Hilaria Baldwin. Their appearance comes on the heels of the news that Alec could be re-charged in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the New Mexico set of Rust. Charges against Baldwin were previously dropped earlier this year, but a new forensic report concluded that the trigger of the gun used in the shooting was pulled “sufficiently” to cause the gun—which had live rounds in it—to fire. This isn’t good news for Baldwin, who maintains he didn’t pull the trigger, but I am still stuck on those live rounds. Who brought live ammunition to the set, and how did those bullets get into that gun? Someone wasn’t observing proper set protocols regarding firearms—which are outlined in various union guidelines—and I still have a lot of questions about that.
