Robert De Niro in New Boxing Film

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Sylvester Stallone Set to Co-Star!

photoIt will be a boxing fan’s dream coming to the big screen soon when global superstars Robert De Niro (“Raging Bull”) and Sylvester Stallone (“Rocky”) team up in a new film entitled “Grudge Match.”

I got a chance to meet New York actor De Niro at a special event last night on the West Coast. In town to celebrate the slew of awards that his current movie “Silver Linings Playbook” is receiving, the thespian known for his work in “Analyze This,” “Casino,” “Meet the Fockers,” “Taxi Driver,” the “Godfather” and more joined seven of his fellow “Silver Linings” cast mates and director David O. Russell (who also directed “The Fighter” about Micky Ward) at the famed Wadsworth Theater in West Los Angeles.

After the screening of the Oscar-nominated film, the director and cast were featured in a lively Q&A session with the audience. The movie has already claimed a boatload of prestigious awards and also is a top contender for the upcoming Golden Globes and Academy Awards. On stage, De Niro was joined by Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence (“Hunger Games”), Chris Tucker, Jacki Weaver and other actors from the star-studded cast.

In the ’80s, De Niro gained boxing fans around the world with his acclaimed performance about former champion Jake LaMotta. Robert is known as one of the greatest American actors of his generation and it was cool to be able to greet the icon.

And now after starring in a boxing film, a baseball flick (“Bang the Drum Slowly”) and “Silver Linings Playbook” connected to football, the “Goodfellas” star will next lock horns–on camera–with the one and only Sylvester Stallone in this new movie about the sweet science. According to early reports, this feature film is in pre-production for a possible 2014 release. Besides superstars Stallone and De Niro, the cast is said to include the glamorous Kim Basinger and funnyman Alan Arkin.

And the premise?

Get ready for fireworks between this pair of “Italian Stallions”!

Word is that the plot is about aging boxing rivals that return to the ring for one final bout.

One local fighter recently received a once-in-a-lifetime chance to also meet with De Niro in an early audition for the upcoming feature film.

walterWalter “Schoolboy” Sarnoi is a Thai-American junior featherweight who is currently training at The Summit in Big Bear with Abel Sanchez. The boxer may be fighting mid-year after he finishes his training to become an L.A. firefighter. A college graduate, Sarnoi has combined his love of education, pugilism–and now acting?

Yep, he is an aspiring actor and through friends, he was called in to meet with the “Grudge Match” star. Walter says it was a dream come true.

“It was great to meet him–it really was a dream come true,” Sarnoi tells me. “I’ve been watching Robert De Niro since I was a kid. I love ‘Raging Bull,’ ‘Once Upon a Time in America,’ ‘Taxi Driver,’ ‘The Deer Hunter,’ ‘Cape Fear,’ I can go on and on!”

With the worldwide fame that De Niro has received through the decades, Sarnoi is impressed by the Tribeca star’s warm welcome. “He is such a cool guy,” Walter comments. “He’s so professional and also very down to earth. It was an honor to meet him!”

Check out some personal snapshots of my moment with Robert De Niro and also fighter Walter Sarnoi’s picture after his audition.

And stay tuned for “Grudge Match” coming to a theater next year.

Photos courtesy of Michele Chong and Walter Sarnoi

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