Why Al Pacino Can Play Phil Spector Without His Input

The Daily News reports that veteran Al Pacino didn’t see any point in meeting convicted murderer, Phil Spector, in connection with his upcoming portrayal of him in the HBO film “Spector,” set to premiere in February.

Spector was convicted in 2009 of 2nd degree murder in the 2003 shooting death of actress Lana Clarkson, but the focus of the film is not on the crime Spector is convicted of committing.  The film explores the relationship between Spector and his defense attorney, Linda Kenney Baden, who is portrayed by award-winning British actress, Helen Mirren.

Pacino indicated that it wouldn’t have been very helpful to him to have a tête-a-tête with Spector. “It would have been meeting a different person,” Pacino observed, “Now he’s been convicted and he’s in prison. I play him before his first trial.”

Other real life people Al Pacino has portrayed include:

• Frank Serpico (whom he not only met but stayed with for a while);
• Jack Kevorkian (aka Dr. Death), whom Pacino never met; and
• Attorney, Roy Cohn.

We don’t know if Pacino ever met Cohn, who died in 1986, but it’s probably safe to assume that Cohn heard of Pacino. Maybe he even saw “The Godfather” (1972) and/or “Serpico” (1973).

Pacino also was supposed to play Aniello “Neil” Dellacroce, underboss of the Gambino crime family, in the Gotti biopic, “Shadow of My Father.” Dellacroce died in  1985.  We bet he at least saw “The Godfather.”