Robert De Niro has shared a serious concern about America’s future. The actor said he feels deeply preoccupied by what is happening in the country. He addressed his fears at a People Talk event in NYC. His comments came as he and his Tribeca Festival co-founders reflected on the past 25 years.
Robert De Niro says he is ‘preoccupied’ with what will happen to America
De Niro spoke at People Inc. headquarters on Sept. 10 with Jane Rosenthal and director Matt Tyrnauer. He said, “What I’m concerned now is where we are in this country. What’s gonna happen? That’s everything.” De Niro added, “That’s what I’m really preoccupied with now,” while discussing the situation. He said, “Instead of it being from the outside, we have it from inside the country now.”
The actor reflected on how things have changed since the 2001 terrorist attack on the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center. “Who would have thought 25 years ago that this is where we’d be?” he said. De Niro called the situation “Unimaginable” and added, “And here we are.” He said he hopes this issue concerns everyone before adding, “I don’t use the word ‘hope’ anymore.”
De Niro then made it clear what he thinks should happen next. “We have to resolve this,” he said during the conversation. The panel focused on TRIBECA25, Tyrnauer’s documentary about De Niro and Rosenthal building the Tribeca Film Festival. The festival started as a civic response to 9/11 and the documentary opens with archival footage of the attacks.
Tyrnauer said he still struggles to watch that footage, after seeing it several times. He described TRIBECA25 as a “love letter to New York and to the movies” and called it a story of resilience, creativity and connection. The film TRIBECA25 hit Netflix theaters on Sept. 11.
