The very name brings back the image of Michael Corelone. Hang on. It was not the only movie that the great thespian and the Oscar Winner (Scent of a Woman) was part. The blindman act in the Oscar-winning flick was marvelous. I never knew about his comic sense till I saw Frankie & Johnny a few weeks ago, courtesy Sangita Sundaresan of Muscat. That was his first outing with Michelle Pffiefer. Well, why am I talking about Al Pacino all of a sudden?
On my exit from Muscat (16 October), I picked up Al Pacino – An Authorised Biography at the Turtles bookstore at the departure lounge on the first floor. The entire book (240 pp) written by Lawrence Grobel was unique in the sense the whole story is unveiled in a q&a format. The Grobel-Pacino dialogue actually had begun in 1979 and continued till 2006. They are comfortable with each other – despite the fact that Grobel asks a lot of uncomfortable questions. Pacino has written a Foreword, giving the sanctity that was not ‘heard on the street’ but authentic.
Why did the great actor permit himself to be captured in a pen portrait by Grobel? Primarily because the one and only Marlon Brando allowed Grobel to publish Conversations with Brando. ‘Knowing Brando as I did, if he liked Larry, he he could speak to him so openly, I felt that I could too. … He (Larry) has a genuine interest in people, which is why’s he’s such a good writer. He has taken an interest in me for some reason”.
‘I have forgiven him for writing this book. I hope he forgives me for writing this foreword,’ guffaws Michael … oops! Pacino.
I could not sleep in the midnight flight back to Delhi. My co-passenger, seated in the middle seat, kept wondering whether I was preparing for an entrance exam to be attended on landing at Delhi! It was so absorbing and I kept the reading light on even while the entire cabin lights were switched off enabling passengers to doze off.
In a career spanning 37 years (beginning from 1969), Pacino has acted in 38 films and 31 plays. I had hardly seen 5 of his magnum opuses (including The Godfather triology) which basically means I have not seen his entire oeuvre. Now I will.
I will return soon to share some of his gems from the book.
Cheers
On my exit from Muscat (16 October), I picked up Al Pacino – An Authorised Biography at the Turtles bookstore at the departure lounge on the first floor. The entire book (240 pp) written by Lawrence Grobel was unique in the sense the whole story is unveiled in a q&a format. The Grobel-Pacino dialogue actually had begun in 1979 and continued till 2006. They are comfortable with each other – despite the fact that Grobel asks a lot of uncomfortable questions. Pacino has written a Foreword, giving the sanctity that was not ‘heard on the street’ but authentic.
Why did the great actor permit himself to be captured in a pen portrait by Grobel? Primarily because the one and only Marlon Brando allowed Grobel to publish Conversations with Brando. ‘Knowing Brando as I did, if he liked Larry, he he could speak to him so openly, I felt that I could too. … He (Larry) has a genuine interest in people, which is why’s he’s such a good writer. He has taken an interest in me for some reason”.
‘I have forgiven him for writing this book. I hope he forgives me for writing this foreword,’ guffaws Michael … oops! Pacino.
I could not sleep in the midnight flight back to Delhi. My co-passenger, seated in the middle seat, kept wondering whether I was preparing for an entrance exam to be attended on landing at Delhi! It was so absorbing and I kept the reading light on even while the entire cabin lights were switched off enabling passengers to doze off.
In a career spanning 37 years (beginning from 1969), Pacino has acted in 38 films and 31 plays. I had hardly seen 5 of his magnum opuses (including The Godfather triology) which basically means I have not seen his entire oeuvre. Now I will.
I will return soon to share some of his gems from the book.
Cheers
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