De Niro, Pacino to Shoot New Movie in Prague

In a recent article for Hospodářské noviny, Luboš Kreč discusses some of the new international film and TV projects expected to shoot in the Czech Republic over the rest of the year. 

Those include Knightfall, a new TV miniseries from producer Jeremy Renner, and Borg vs. McEnroe, a Swedish film about the famed tennis rivalry that stars Shia LaBeouf as John McEnroe and begins filming at Prague’s Štvanice Stadium next month.

One particular production piqued my interest: the latest film from Hong Kong martial arts star Donnie Yen (Ip Man), which is set to co-star Hollywood legends Al Pacino and Robert De Niro.

The movie, about a former Chinese policeman who becomes a New York noodle vendor and is drawn into conflict with the arrival of an Asian drug lord, is expected to come with a 720 million crown budget for shooting in the Czech Republic, reports Kreč.

The project was initially announced a few years ago under the title Noodle Man, but few updates have been reported since then. Dočekal mentions the possible title Chinese Justice, American Revenge in the Hospodářské noviny article.

Stars De Niro and Pacino became forever linked by The Godfather, Part II, but didn’t actually appear onscreen together until Michael Mann’s 1995 thriller Heat (and only briefly in that film).

They were reunited in 2008’s Righteous Kill, one of the worst films either has had the misfortune to be involved with, according to many critics. Let’s hope this one fares better.

Star Donnie Yen is now one of the biggest names in the Chinese film industry following the success of the Ip Man movies. He’s also no stranger to Prague, having filmed minor roles for Blade II and Shanghai Knights in the Czech capital.

After shooting in Prague, De Niro and Pacino will immediately reunite for another, higher-profile project. The Irishman, to be directed by Martin Scorsese, is set to begin filming in January 2017. It will mark the tenth time De Niro has worked for the Goodfellas director, but the very first Scorsese-Pacino collaboration.