Everyone knows it’s a tradition in show business to wish “Break a leg!” to an actor before they hit the stage, but we also know it’s just a phrase that isn’t meant to be taken literally. The bad news for Robert De Niro is that that phrase probably seems like more of a curse or a jinx than a cute remark. Because he literally busted his leg while working on Martin Scorsese’s new film Flowers of the Killer Moon.
TMZ reports that Bobby D left the Flowers of the Killer Moon set last night in Oklahoma and flew back to New York City, where he plans to see a doctor today. Sources connected with the set must be huge fans of the game Broken Telephone because TMZ got a wide range of reports about what happened. One source said that De Niro hurt his leg while filming. Another source claims that crew members were told they’d get today off, due to De Niro being out with an injury. Another source claimed that De Niro was planning to fly home to NYC for a few weeks anyway and that his injury didn’t mess up the schedule at all. But the latest source claims that Robert De Niro actually hurt his leg outside of the set and that it had nothing to do with filming. They add that his scenes had already been shot and that it’s not known if he has to come back to shoot anything else.
That same source adds that filming is going along as it should be and that De Niro’s accident didn’t do anything to mess shit up. And, since it reportedly didn’t happen on set, no one has to watch Martin Scorsese pace back and forth, muttering, “Fucking shit, the only thing I hate more than seeing grown adults in tights and capes is having to write out an accident report for that goddamn health and safety union rep.”
Robert De Niro’s rep released a statement to Variety on his injury, and basically, he injured his thigh:
“While at his on-location home in Oklahoma for the filming of Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon, Robert De Niro injured his quadriceps muscle which will be treated medically in New York. This will not affect production as he was not scheduled to film again for another three weeks.”
All those sources who spoke to TMZ, and not one had even the slightest hint at how Robert De Niro hurt his leg. He is 77 years old, and I’m not saying he’s hobbling around with tennis balls on a walker like the old man from Up, but sometimes things happen to septuagenarians, and you trip on a paving stone or slip getting out of the bath. My guess? He tore a muscle while running to the nearest laptop to check that the man in that picture was really Leonardo DiCaprio. And Robert De Niro needs to be fixed up as soon as possible. He has said in his ongoing divorce battle that he doesn’t even want to work so much, but he has to because his estranged wife demands so much money. Or maybe someone can hook Robert De Niro up with some sitting-down, waist-up work. Is anyone shooting anything that films exclusively behind a CEO’s boardroom table or TV anchor desk?
Pic: Wenn.com
