Al Pacino - In Conversation with Lawrence Grobel is a unique biography that consists of conversations between great friends Pacino and Grobal over more than twenty-seven years.
Grobal was a freelance writer who was requested by Pacino for a Playboy magazine interview, chosen after reading his article on Brando. The two hit it off due to Grobal's naturally relaxed and easy conversational style. After a few introductory pages on his life and career, we get right into the transcriptions of their interviews. The truly unique aspect is the meetings occur every few years since 1979 - while they do talk about his hit films, and the ones that he turned down for various reasons, he is at that time filming the controversial Cruising. Later in 1983, Pacino is filming his iconic role in Scarface, in 1990, The Godfather III - all the way through Dick Tracy and Insomnia to Angels In America to present day. Throughout it's clear Pacino's first love is the theatre, as he eschews the media and trappings of a film star for personally funded projects whether they will be released or seen by anyone or not. A true New Yorker, he stills walks the streets, often being recognized:
"AL PACINO! I don't like you anymore".
Regarded as one of the greatest actors, this is a terrific and often surprising portrait of an artist, who is down to earth enough to stop the interview for an arm wrestle or squash game.
I would say for students of theatre, film and acting, a must read.
They have become great friends over the years, it seems close as brothers, and present an overview of a career that looks both forward to current projects and looks back to see how they were received. To have access to his process over such a period of time has created an invaluable biography. Unvarnished and authentic, it's one of the best acting biographies I've read.
2006 / Hardcover / 246 pages
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