New York fixture Robert De Niro may be granted Italian citizenship next month at the Venice Film Festival. The idea of De Niro becoming a citizen has drawn criticism from some Italian cultural groups. The Order Sons of Italy in America sent a letter to the Italian Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, in an attempt to change his mind. They believe that De Niro's movies damage the "collective reputations of both Italians and Italian Americans."
Born in New York, De Niro started his own film festival - the Tribeca Film Festival - in 2002 to help the economy of Lower Manhattan. Gothamist took a look at his list of movies, and he certainly does do quite a bit of films where he is "playing gangsters of Italian descent."
What do you think? Is this really an issue that the OSIA should take up?
