Mr. De Niro, whom nobody’s seen on any screen for at least 11 minutes, soon faces us again. He’ll play Madoff the rat. Michelle Pfeiffer’s Mrs. Madoff. The network’s HBO. The title: “The Wizard of Lies.” The brain behind the production — producer/director Barry Levinson.
Levinson: “We shot it in the city. Actual neighborhoods where this took place. It was a 41-day shoot. Interiors were on a Long Island soundstage because the towns are so busy.
“Our script paints no personal picture. This story, in terms of the actual destruction of a family, is like Arthur Miller’s ‘All My Sons.’ A very wealthy man’s greed — under cloak of secrecy — destroying thousands of people’s lives.
“The idea to film this has been around all of us awhile. Bob originally optioned it for himself years back. HBO’s been developing it awhile. The question was finding a time slot. May 20, 2 hours 15 minutes, and it’ll be on at 8 p.m.”
Did they meet Madoff?
“We never received authorization and couldn’t get to do it because there was no indication he wanted to meet. The script adapted some of Diana Henriques’ book about him. We had those rights. Having actually interviewed him, she plays herself in this.
“Michelle Pfeiffer spent some time with Mrs. Madoff, so she got a sense of what the woman was like and conversations that might’ve taken place. Whether Mrs. Madoff will attend the screening, no idea. There’s not much family left. We really only have her.
“Bernie’s for sure not going anywhere.”
Baby’s murder, still unsolved, heads to TV
And speaking of baddies, Investigation Discovery’s knocking off another special three-part TV special April 9 at 10 p.m.
Henry Schleiff, the cable channel’s president, brings us back to July 15, 2008. Silver Spring, Md. Orlando police. A 911 call. A frantic grandma’s 2-year-old granddaughter, Caylee Marie, missing over a month.
The investigation overlooks a key player — Caylee’s mother, Casey Anthony.
“Casey Anthony: An American Murder Mystery” provides exclusive interviews: grandparents Cindy and George. A look inside the Anthony family still haunted by the case. Attorney Brad Conway. Clint House, a former Casey friend. Judge Belvin Perry Jr. Alternate juror Russ Huekler harangued for the decision to acquit Casey. Former Orange County sheriff Kevin Beary, who investigated the case. Crime reporters who covered the trial. Specialists who worked on the case.
Sex, betrayal and deceit are the heart of this bombshell prosecution, as Casey Anthony’s tried in A) the court of law and B) the court of public opinion.
Farewell to a gentleman
The just-lost David Rockefeller spent his 101 years with only the best.
At his friend Brooke Astor’s funeral, he spoke but, instead of his reserved front-row seat, chose the bleachers in order to stiff the son and loathed daughter-in-law who choreographed the service.
At Charles and Camilla’s MoMA party everyone curtsied to the king-in-waiting and former mistress who’s no longer waiting. Knowing what’s proper when near a near queen — and not the Greenwich Village kind — in came David Rockefeller. He wore a fawn-gray suit and chatted quietly with Camilla.
Mr. Rockefeller. A very proper gentleman.
The mayor continues his crackdown on X-rated businesses. Banning anything to do with sex within 500 feet of schools, churches and homes. The comment:
“The trouble is that’s where all the sex is going on — in schools, churches and homes.”
Only in New York, kids, only in New York.