robert duvall

Angelina Jolie and her beau Brad Pitt are often called snobs. They travel on private planes and only make themselves available when they have a film to promote. But surely someone with Brad's track record wouldn't snub a screen legend like Robert Duvall - or would he?

Angelina Jolie Beau Brad Pitt Snubs Robert Duvall

It appears that is the case. Pitt and Jolie may be starting to believe their own press clippings from CNN and NBC. A report fro the New York Daily News claims that Pitt wouldn't do a cameo for Robert Duvall for his Western even though he had the gumption to ask Duvall.


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"I was shooting in Calgary, and he was doing his film nearby," Duvall told Ben Widdicombe of Gatecrasher earlier this year at a party AMC threw to launch "Broken Trail," its own original Western. Pitt was a fan of the older actor and traveled to meet him, Duvall recalled. "Brad asked me if I would do a small part in his film," he grinned. "I said, 'Sure! If you'll be in mine.'"

Apparently the too busy Pitt declined. One can only wonder how that went for Brad as Duvall stormed the Emmys last night. Brad is very fortunate that he has the Ocean's franchise with all of those stars to prop him up as his solo stuff has bombed of late. He's treading dangerously close to being one of the most mocked A-list stars in Hollywood and every time he does an interview it makes it worse.


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This week should be quite fun as he promotes his Western, "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford." It opens Friday in limited release. Early life
Duvall was born in San Diego, California. His father, William Howard Duvall, was a Virginia-born U.S. Navy admiral, and his mother, Mildred Virginia Hart,[1] was an amateur actress and a relative of American Civil War General Robert E. Lee.[2] His father was a Methodist and his mother was a Christian Scientist; he was raised in the Christian Science religion.[3] Duvall grew up in a military family, living for a time in Annapolis, Maryland near the United States Naval Academy. He attended Severn School in Severna Park, Maryland. He served in the United States Army (service number 52 346 646) from 19 August 1953 to 20 August 1954, achieving the rank of Private First Class and receiving the National Defense Service Medal.

Duvall studied acting at The Neighborhood Playhouse School of Theatre in New York under Sanford Meisner. While struggling as an actor, he worked at a Manhattan post office as a clerk but quit after six months. Duvall is close friends with actors Dustin Hoffman and Gene Hackman whom he knew during their years as struggling actors. At one point, Duvall roomed with Hoffman while they were looking for work.


[edit] Career
Duvall's screen debut was as Boo Radley in the critically acclaimed To Kill a Mockingbird (1962). Duvall later played the notorious malefactor Ned Pepper in True Grit (1969), and Major Frank Burns in the film version of MASH (1970), but his breakout role was that of Tom Hagen in The Godfather (1972) and The Godfather Part II (1974). He received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor in A Civil Action and for his role as Lt. Colonel Kilgore in Apocalypse Now (1979). He won Oscar's Best Actor in Tender Mercies (1983). His line "I love the smell of napalm in the morning" from Apocalypse Now is now regarded as iconic in cinema history. The full text is as follows:


Duvall (left) alongside Al Pacino in The Godfather (1972)You smell that? Do you smell that? Napalm, son. Nothing else in the world smells like that. I love the smell of napalm in the morning. You know, one time we had a hill bombed, for twelve hours. When it was all over I walked up. We didn't find one of 'em, not one stinkin' dink body. The smell, you know that gasoline smell, the whole hill. Smelled like... victory. (Pause) Some day this war is going to end....

He directed the critically acclaimed The Apostle, about a preacher on the run from the law, and Assassination Tango (2002), a thriller about one of his favorite hobbies, tango. He was awarded the National Medal of Arts in 2005. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on September 18, 2003.

Duvall portrayed General Robert E. Lee in Gods and Generals in 2003 and is actually a relative of the Confederate general. He has stated in several forums, including CBS Sunday Morning, that his favorite role was that of Augustus "Gus" McCrae in Lonesome Dove.


[edit] Personal life
Duvall is close friends with Dustin Hoffman and Gene Hackman, both of whom he has known since their struggling actor days. He has been married four times:

Barbara Benjamin (1964�1975)
Gail Youngs (1982�1986)
Sharon Brophy (1991�1996)
Luciana Pedraza (2005�present)
He met Pedraza on a street in Buenos Aires, Argentina. They were both born on January 5, but Duvall is 41 years older. They have been together since 1997. Duvall speaks fluent Spanish and maintains a farm in The Plains in Fauquier County, Virginia. He has the same birthday as Godfather co-star Diane Keaton who was born in 1946. His favorite city is Buenos Aires. He is an avid Tango dancer and soccer fan.

Duvall's political views are variously described as libertarian or conservative.[4] He was personally invited to Republican President George W. Bush's inauguration in 2001. He attended the event.[citation needed] On Wednesday, September 5, 2007, Duvall announced his support for Republican Presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani.[5]

NEW YORK, Sept. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- On Sunday, September 16th the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences announced the winners for the 2007 Emmy Awards, with American Movie Channel (AMC) receiving 3 for its first-ever original movie event, Broken Trail. Awards included Outstanding Mini-series, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Mini-series or Movie for Robert Duvall and Outstanding Supporting Actor for a Mini-series or a Movie for Thomas Haden Church.

The following is a statement from AMC General Manager and Executive Vice President Charlie Collier:

"The recognition Broken Trail received on Sunday night from the industry is an affirmation that the original scripted programming AMC is introducing to our audience is of the highest quality. We congratulate Robert Duvall, Thomas Haden Church and the remaining cast and crew on their well deserved Emmy wins and for setting the bar so high.

"As the most watched scripted program in all of cable television in 2006, Broken Trail resonated with critics and viewers across the country and helped set a valuable standard for AMC's original programming in the years to come.

"These nominations set a foundation of aspiration of all our original projects and give us added momentum and excitement with what we are trying to uniquely create at AMC. We thank the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences members for the acknowledgement."

The sweeping epic set in the American West at the close of the 1800s, premiered on AMC on June 25 and 26, 2006 and helped launch the network's commitment to original programming. Broken Trail is a powerful two-part drama set in the American Old West of the late 1800s. The four-hour original movie is an authentic and harrowing tale that follows a veteran cowboy (Robert Duvall) and his nephew (Thomas Haden Church) as they drive a herd of horses from Oregon to Wyoming, their trail crossing with five enslaved Chinese girls. A fateful act of decency plunges their lives into peril and forever changes their destinies. Broken Trail follows the complicated paths of each traveler's life, of love forged on a difficult path and hardships inflicted on innocents lost in America.

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