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back to article Goodfella's attack smacks Slack chap for whack crack? It's a fact, Jack

Legendary actor Robert De Niro doesn't think much of tech's "brogrammer" culture, and he made as much known this week when he verbally eviscerated one smart-mouthed app developer. The confrontation (if you could call it that) took place at an awards show in New York hosted by the Wall Street Journal. According to the New York …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Acting out

    I'd like to know why a presumably intelligent guy like Butterfield is mixing with mere actors, of all people.

    As for that "verbal evisceration," usually that term indicates a skillful takedown, which did not happen here.

    Quote:

    “Whoever the last speaker was . . . I thought you were a bit condescending to us actors . . . celebrities. I’m gonna go on record with you just to say that. And I don’t give a f - - k who you are.”

    Uh, Bob? Some friendly advice? Don't try to ad lib anymore, 'kay?

    12 6 Reply
    1. Notas Badoff
      Reply Icon
      WTF?

      Re: Acting out

      Slack, slack? Oh, yeah, Slack... "Slack offers persistent chat rooms organized by topic, as well as private groups and direct messaging." Valued at $2.7 beeelion pre-IPO and all based on chat and ad-libbing. Yeesh!

      I only know of Slack because a technical discussion/chat group I've participated in is having to transition away from Slack because of some limitation they are having. I didn't know this was 2.7G$ 'worth' product - all I could see was a toy project. *What* are they snorting out west?

      15 0 Reply
      1. Anonymous Coward
        Reply Icon
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Acting out

        (Hipster_Name + IRC) ^ (Lots * Peruvian_Dancing_Powder) = 2.7 BVCD

        ...simple valley maths.

        Next exercise: solve the same equation for USENET.

        9 0 Reply
      2. Anonymous Coward
        Reply Icon
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Acting out

        > "*What* are they snorting out west?"

        I dunno, but my current boss (in New Yawk City) made me switch to Slack for dealing with him and his team. Same old same old, as far as I can tell. Perhaps Slack's "mix" of features has hit the magical sweet-spot. Surely something caused that stock spike...

        0 0 Reply
        1. Anonymous Coward
          Reply Icon
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Acting out

          Sweet spot = useful + easy + FREE + viral hype

          The minute they add annoying ads or charge money for core features, Slack is over and everyone's back to the grndstn.com.

          0 0 Reply
    2. tony2heads
      Reply Icon

      Re: Acting out

      Any actor, producer and director that has the staying power of Mr De Niro clearly has some intelligence, and has earned respect.

      7 2 Reply
  2. Voland's right hand Silver badge

    That is not verbal evisceration

    That is "I do not know who the F*** you are, but you are not even worthy of a proper verbal evisceration".

    9 1 Reply
    1. Fraggle850
      Reply Icon
      Thumb Up

      Re: That is not verbal evisceration

      Yes, exactly that, the ultimate smackdown and poetically concise. Thumbs up to Mr De Niro.

      That is the sound of a here-today-gone-tomorrow ephemeral tech bubble bursting against the rocks of a long-established, powerful industry. Welcome to the real world Mr Butterfield, I think you'll find no one gives a shit.

      I have enjoyed De Niro's films, never heard of Butterfield or his startup.

      4 1 Reply
      1. I. Aproveofitspendingonspecificprojects
        Reply Icon

        Re: That is not verbal evisceration

        >That is the sound of a here-today-gone-tomorrow ephemeral tech bubble bursting against the rocks of a long-established, powerful industry. Welcome to the real world Mr Butterfield, I think you'll find no one gives a shit.

        That is the sound manipulation/pose factor behind the AOL TIme Warner Walter lets change the copyright laws an keep Micky Disney and Recording Industry Association of America we don' know how to FAIl but will do so regularly until someone says stop ... oh! ..wait

        FTFY

        0 0 Reply
    2. VinceH
      Reply Icon

      Re: That is not verbal evisceration

      "That is "I do not know who the F*** you are, but you are not even worthy of a proper verbal evisceration"."

      Indeed - but as to the reason; neither the El Reg article nor the linked article is clear as to what actually prompted it. Indeed, the PageSix article itself even says it's unclear what Butterfield said to spark De Niro's response. The only thing quoted sounds like Butterfield expressing that he enjoyed a particular part of a particularly good film.

      I find myself baffled.

      10 0 Reply
      1. Desidero
        Reply Icon

        Re: That is not verbal evisceration

        Bob said, "You talkin' to me? there's about a geelion fuckin' actors here and youze a nobody - you talkin' to me? I dont even know who the fuck you are"

        And with that he snorted another line of coke off his Breguet watch, and looks at the crowd... "Whaaatt? watcha lookin at? My name is Rupert Pupkin and I've been lookin' for this theater all night - I asked my mom how to get here from Jersey, and she said 'practice practice practice'.... I sez, 'Ma, that's terrible - they told that joke in the 30's'. 'she says, "and what? you're over 30"

        Really, Butterfield was lucky he didn't get whacked - you don't fuck around with the mob - look at that greaser in Goodfellas - had a temper like a firecracker. Should have asked De Niro about his plumbing - that movie (Brazil) was at least a comedy. Kinda.

        0 0 Reply
  3. keithpeter Silver badge
    Windows

    Getting Slack

    My reading of the sub head had me seeing Pat 'The Man' attempting to get De Niro to 'see Bob'.

    I must try to keep up...

    0 0 Reply
    1. Paul Kinsler
      Reply Icon

      Re: Getting Slack

      Getting slack? Easy!

      http://www.slackware.com/getslack/

      :-)

      4 0 Reply
  4. chivo243 Silver badge
    Devil

    Can't by me Love

    Looks like money doesn't buy class either...

    Tip to Butterball, get to know people before you tell jokes like you're his best friend. How to win friends and influence people must be under the short leg of the couch?

    4 0 Reply
  5. x 7

    I've heard of de Niro

    Never heard of Slack, or Mr Butterhead.

    What do Slack do - make oversized gents clothing??

    3 0 Reply
    1. chivo243 Silver badge
      Reply Icon

      Slack?

      "make oversized gents clothing??"

      Ahhh, that clears it up. Butterball is Homer Simpson's tailor ;-}

      0 0 Reply
  6. Anonymous Coward
    Facepalm

    WTF is Slack?

    ...an android app I stopped using (along with android gmail, and soon android itself) when an update required access to all my contacts. That's enough of that.

    ...a web-based IRC knockoff that sends email notifications when someone @-mentions you and you don't look at it within 2 minutes. Or 2 days, if it's truly urgent.

    ...yet another useless tech startup riding wodpress's coattails.

    ...with useless integrations with hundreds of other useless cloud apps.

    ...and last but not least, EMOJIS.

    5 0 Reply
    1. Fraggle850
      Reply Icon

      Re: WTF is Slack?

      Ah, that explains the multi billion dollar valuation and the WSJ's enthusiasm. Another unicorn then?

      2 0 Reply
  7. skeptical i
    Paris Hilton

    Angelina Jolie got an award?

    re: "at the WSJ Magazine's Innovator Awards right before De Niro was slated to present another award to friend Angelina Jolie", not to disparage Ms. Jolie or her work, but for what project was she being given an "innovator" award? Celebs dropping money into tax deductions, er, charities is not particularly new.

    0 0 Reply
  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Celebs dropping money into tax deductions, er, charities is not particularly new.

    .. but some making an actual difference is. Angela Jolie is at least an A-lister who does something else with income and fame than just build yet another grand house and show off to others, yet never in a way that suggests she is somehow something more than just someone who seeks to help - she has a reputation for being very level headed. Her award acceptance speech is in itself an example - notice the absolute absence of the word "me". That is also why she got this award -

    I have not seen much in the way of humanitarian effort emit from the VC and tech cliques that self-congratulate each other on their ability of milking a fortune from something that is at best of peripheral value to mankind, and that is expressing it more politely than it deserves.

    1 0 Reply
    1. skeptical i
      Reply Icon
      Happy

      M'kew

      Thanks, A.C., for the clarification.

      1 0 Reply
  9. DubiousMind

    There's no such thing as bad publicity

    Imagine the scenario before going on stage: -

    Butterfield: "Hey Bob, I really admire you and the work you've done. I think you're one of the greatest actors of our time. Nobody really knows who I am yet, but I'd really could do with getting my name out there. If you wouldn't mind having a dig at me out there, it would really make my night."

    Bob: "Sure, no problem".

    And the rest is history.

    0 0 Reply
  10. enormous c word

    ...and - what?

    So the story goes that a young guy (that nobody has heard of) made a throw-away comment that an old guy (that everyone has heard of) has a hissy fit over. There's no story here.

    0 0 Reply

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