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US Central Command gets a brush with Hollywood
Tampa (Florida), Dec 05: The usual military order that pervades US central command was immediately suspended when Robert De Niro and friends showed up.
Tampa (Florida), Dec 05: The usual military order that pervades US central command was immediately suspended when Robert De Niro and friends showed up.
De Niro, who came to visit troops at Macdill Air Force Base and screen his new movie, "Analyze That," brought along co-star Billy Crystal and pal Kevin Spacey yesterday, touching off a frenzy of several hundred uniformed soldiers clamouring for autographs and pictures with the stars.
After meeting with Gen Tommy Franks, the US central command chief who coordinates the war in Afghanistan, the trio took seats under a bayfront pavilion to chat with soldiers, kiss babies and sign uniform caps, dollar bills, DVD cases and anything else thrust at them.
Later, about 1,400 base personnel trooped into a base hangar to get a sneak peak at "Analyze That," which hits US theaters tomorrow. The comedy has De Niro and Crystal reprising their 1999 "Analyze This" roles as a neurotic mob boss and his twitchy analyst.
"We need to come support everybody and tell them we're behind them, we're with them," said De Niro, whose Tribeca Film Institute hopes to make a habit of screening new movies at military installations.
Two-time academy award winner Spacey, who seemed to have the best time of the three, said De Niro called and asked if he wanted to tag along on the Macdill trip, and he gladly accepted.
"Look at their faces," Spacey said between bites of a hot dog. "What we always have to remember is we come here for an hour or two hours, and we leave. But they don't."
Bureau Report
De Niro, who came to visit troops at Macdill Air Force Base and screen his new movie, "Analyze That," brought along co-star Billy Crystal and pal Kevin Spacey yesterday, touching off a frenzy of several hundred uniformed soldiers clamouring for autographs and pictures with the stars.
After meeting with Gen Tommy Franks, the US central command chief who coordinates the war in Afghanistan, the trio took seats under a bayfront pavilion to chat with soldiers, kiss babies and sign uniform caps, dollar bills, DVD cases and anything else thrust at them.
Later, about 1,400 base personnel trooped into a base hangar to get a sneak peak at "Analyze That," which hits US theaters tomorrow. The comedy has De Niro and Crystal reprising their 1999 "Analyze This" roles as a neurotic mob boss and his twitchy analyst.
"We need to come support everybody and tell them we're behind them, we're with them," said De Niro, whose Tribeca Film Institute hopes to make a habit of screening new movies at military installations.
Two-time academy award winner Spacey, who seemed to have the best time of the three, said De Niro called and asked if he wanted to tag along on the Macdill trip, and he gladly accepted.
"Look at their faces," Spacey said between bites of a hot dog. "What we always have to remember is we come here for an hour or two hours, and we leave. But they don't."
Bureau Report