All About Al: The Pacino podcast

Nobody was ready for a film about Artifical Intelligence in Hollywood back in 2002. Simone tells the story of film director Viktor Taransky (Al Pacino) who creates a new female lead actress from a computer programme for his new film because the real lead actress has quit. But Taransky is being blackmailed by two reporters who know the truth. The film flopped at the box office and has, over the yea...

Al Pacino and his producing partner Barry Navidi have been trying to make a biopic of the Italian painter & sculptor Amedeo Modigliani for decades. Either Pacino was too busy or they couldn't get the financing or the script wasn't right. To the point where they both almost gave up. That is until Pacino told his friend Johnny Depp that he should direct the film. Depp stepped up and made Modigli...

Warren Beatty's adaptation of Dick Tracy was a huge success at the box office when it was releases in 1990. It had an all-star cast including Madonna, Dustin Hoffman, James Caan, Catherine O'Hara, Dick Van Dyke and many more. It also went on to win three Oscars including one for best make-up. To celebrate the film's 35th anniversary, Doug Drexler recalls his time working on the film as a make-up a...

Based on True Events. The Ritual is the harrowing true story of the exorcism of Emma Schmidt, and the two priests (Al Pacino, Dan Stevens) who went to war with Satan to save her soul. Director David Midell and Producer Enrico Natale (they also co-wrote the film) join the podcast to discuss making an exorcism film based on the most well documented cases in North American history. They talk about ho...

Now recognised as one of the great crime films of all time, Scarface had a struggle getting to the big screen initially. And even upon release it never found an audience and disappeared without a trace pretty quickly. However, over time it has grown into the now legendary film about the immigrant Tony Montana coming to America to seek his fortune. Scarface producer Peter Saphier discusses what it...

Al Pacino loves Chinese Coffee . Not coffee imported from China. Instead he loves the play by Ira Lewis. So much so that he performed it many times on stage. Then decided to make a film of it starring himself and Jerry Orbach ( Dirty Dancing ). That's when Pacino started to struggle. Chinese Coffee is a film with an unusual road to release. To talk about the film actor Sarah Lynn Dawson ( I Lost M...

To celebrate Al Pacino's 85th birthday on 25th April 2025, writer Lawrence Grobel joins All About Al: The Pacino Podcast to discuss his book Al Pacino: In Conversation with Lawrence Grobel . He talks about their first meeting, how their friendship developed over the decades, why he bet Al money about some cookies in a jar and what really happened when Pacino went to meet William Friedkin during th...

Michael Mann's Heat is, arguably, one of the all-time great crime movies. It's a film that constantly invites new discussions and criticism. Bringing together two of the greatest actors of any generation - Al Pacino and Robert De Niro - for the first time ever on-screen. Heat is a triumph of realism. The film is as well known for its actors and story as it is its location, right in the heart of Lo...

Heathcote Williams' play The Local Stigmatic was made into a feature film by Al Pacino. However, it took over five years for it to be finished and then was only shown in a handful of select screenings including it's first showing at New York's Museum of Modern Art in March 1990. The play is about two British sociopaths wo spend their days wander the dog tracks of London while also being obsessed w...

Danny Collins is a comedy with a real family drama at the heart of it. It see's Pacino's Danny Collins, a one-hit wonder from decades previous, try to rekindle his relationship with his estranged son while also playing to sold-out crowds. You'll laugh and cry at it. But sadly it is an underseen Pacino film. Now, on it's 10th anniversary (it was released March 2015), the inspiration behind the init...

Upon release in 2011, Jack And Jill was reviled by most film critics. However, it did exceptional business at the box office. Starring Adam Sandler (in both titles), Al Pacino, Katie Holmes and Eugenio Derbez, this comedy has become the stuff of internet memes thanks to one segment of the film - the Dunkaccino advert. Dancing alongside Pacino in that advert was comedian/writer/actor Andy Goldenber...

Cruising was a notorious movie upon release. It stoked up a lot of controversy over its footage and themes of homosexuality and violence. It also bombed at the box office and started Pacino's slump for the next few years. It derailed director William Friedkin's career for a couple of years too. However, over the past decade it has started to be re-assessed by film critic and cinephiles. Joining th...

When Al Pacino became obsessed with Oscar Wilde's Salome, he didn't make it easy on himself when trying to put it on camera. Salome is a filmed version of the stage production that featured Pacino as King Herod and Jessica Chastain ( Interstellar , Zero Dark Thirty , IT Chapter Two ) as Salome. Wilde Salome is a behind the scenes look at trying to stage the production. While also trying to make a...

Author! Author! was released in 1982. It is an autobiographical film written by playwright Israel Horovitz ( The Indian Wants the Bronx ) and directed by Arthur Hiller ( The Out-of-Towners ). It starred Al Pacino as Ivan Trevalian, a playwright trying to fix his play on Broadway while also looking after his five children after his girlfriend leaves him. It's a comedy of errors mixed with a bit of...

Any Given Sunday is a huge, bombastic movie about the world of American Football, and specifically the fortunes of the Miami Sharks. It features an all-star cast including Cameron Diaz, LL Cool J, Jamie Foxx, Matthew Modine, John C. McGinley, Ann-Margaret, James Woods and many ex-football stars. It also features Al Pacino, and see's him deliver one of this greatest speeches in film history. It's a...

The Godfather Part II is unquestionably one of the greatest film sequels ever made. Now celebrating its 50th anniversary, it continues to be lauded as one of the greatest crime films ever. Actor Gianni Russo, who played Carlo Rizzi in The Godfather Part I and II, joins the podcast to discuss what it was like working on the legendary films, how Al made him cry in a scene fifteen times and what Mafi...

In 2004 Al Pacino lead a big screen adaptation of William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice. Directed by Michael Radford (Il Postino, 1984, Flawless), it featured a star-studded mainly British cast and was a respectable hit at the worldwide box office. Lecturer in English, ex-BBC producer and authoritative voice on Shakespeare's work, Dr. Andrea Smith joins the podcast to discuss this adaptatio...

N.Y.P.D. was an American crime series that ran for two seasons between 1967 - 69. It centered around three New York police detectives – Lieutenant Mike Haines (Jack Warden), Detective Jeff Ward (Robert Hooks), and Detective Johnny Corso (Frank Converse) – who fight a wide range of crimes and criminals. The show featured many real New York City locations, as well as episodes based on actual New Yor...

Is The Insider one of the greatest films about whistleblowing? As it seems to be forgotten about at times when discuss movies in that genre. However, it's an outstanding contemporary thriller with two powerhouse performances from Al Pacino and Russell Crowe. Actor Lindsay Crouse ( Slap Shot , The Arrival , Mr Brooks ) joins ALL ABOUT AL: THE PACINO PODCAST to talk appearing in the film as Sharon T...

Sonny Boy is the autobiography from Al Pacino. In this memoir he talks about landing his first lead role in The Panic In Needle Park , then onto The Godfather , Dog Day Afternoon , Serpico and The Godfather Pt II . From the 1970s highs to the 1980s lows of Cruising , Revolution and Scarface . Then back to some of his greatest works including Dick Tracy , Heat , Glengarry Glen Ross , Donnie Brasco...

Once Upon A Time in Hollywood features a brief yet memorable performance from Al Pacino as acting agent Marvin Schwarz. Which isn't bad considering he is up against Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie. Film critic and author of Quentin Tarantino: The Unofficial Guide Dan Jolin joins the podcast to discuss Pacino's performance and the film itself. He also talks about helping rank Al Paci...

...And Justice For All was originally released in October 1979. A courtroom drama with elements of slapstick comedy in it. It featured a large cast including John Forsythe ( Dynasty , Charlie's Angels , Scrooged ), Jack Warden ( Shampoo , Heaven Can Wait , Brian's Song ), Jeffrey Tambor ( Arrested Development , Transparent , The Hangover ), Lee Strasberg ( The Godfather , Going In Style , The Cass...

The Irishman is, arguably, the last great mob movie. Directed by Martin Scorsese ( Goodfellas , Taxi Driver , Killers of the Flower Moon ) and features a huge ensemble cast including Robert De Niro ( Raging Bull , Taxi Driver , A Bronx Tale ), Joe Pesci ( Casino , Goodfellas , Home Alone ), Harvey Keitel ( Reservoir Dogs , Pulp Fiction , The Piano ), Anna Paquin ( X-Men , True Blood , The Piano ),...

Ocean's Thirteen may not reinvent the heist movie. However, everyone involved had a damn good time making it. The third outing of Danny Ocean (George Clooney) and his gang saw them face off against casino owner Will Bank (Al Pacino) as they looked to get their own back after Bank double-crosses one of Ocean's team. Released in 2007, Ocean's Thirteen was met with favourable reviews and a decent box...

Empire Magazine has been at the forefront of film journalism since it's inception in the 1990s. It has featured so many interviews with the great and good of the film & TV world. In 2019, one of it's big pieces was an interview with Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci and Martin Scorsese for their forthcoming crime epic THE IRISHMAN. It was tasked to Nick de Semlyen to interview all of them o...