Showbiz411

EXCLUSIVE Robert DeNiro has been such a great presence in Cannes this week as head of the jury. And he’s also been much on everyone’s minds concerning movies. He’s got a wedding movie in the works with Diane Keaton, an Italian film being shown in the market to distributors, and something really cool in the offing.

I’m told that producer Art Linson has written a script that DeNiro loves called “The Comedian.” It’s about an insult comic, described sort of like Don Rickles meets Joan Rivers. Hot shot younger generation Friars Club comedian Jeffrey Ross helped Linson by writing DeNiro’s stand up routines, and they say that DeNiro loves the material.

The movie is all set up and financed–Linson, after all, is a pro of pro’s. And the next step is to convince Martin Scorsese to direct. Of course, Scorsese directed DeNiro years ago as a comedian in the classic 1982 film, “The King of Comedy.” But I’m told this comedian is quite different than Rupert Pupkin, and would be a serious role with Oscar potential for DeNiro.

Roger Friedman

Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News. Friedman previously wrote the Intelligencer column at New York Magazine, He writes for Parade magazine and has written for Details, Vogue, the New York Times, Post, and Daily News and many other publications. He is the writer and co-producer of a film about R&B Music called “Only the Strong Survive,” which was released by Miramax in 2003 and was a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals.