Hollywood is proof that talent has no age bar, and 10-year-old Connor Esterson is a testament to that. The 5th grader who made his presence felt on screen in Spy Kids: Armageddon has now turned his attention to writing. Esterson has been in talks with bigwigs in the writing fraternity, namely Nick Vallelonga and George Gallo, to pitch a screenplay featuring a young boy’s relationship with a gangster.
The veteran writers were extremely impressed with the aspiring screenwriter’s idea and are now in talks to find ways to get his narrative up and running. While this is a big achievement for someone so young, Esterson’s story is being criticized by netizens for its uncanny similarity to a 1993 Robert De Niro film.
Fans Connect Robert De Niro’s Film And This Young Writer’s Script
Apart from being an aspiring actor, young Connor Esterson is now using his talent to create scripts for Hollywood. The Spy Kids: Armageddon star has written a screenplay for a story that involves a boy who befriends a gangster next door. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the narrative will be a comedy that will be give a ‘Home Alone meets The Godfather’ vibe as described by the young writer himself, although he admitted to never having seen the Coppola masterpiece.
More significantly, the screenplay reached the hands of none other than Green Book writer Nick Vallelonga and Bad Boys writer George Gallo, who were reportedly very impressed with the narrative, which they felt had a lot of scope to be developed for the big screen.
While this makes Esterson one of the youngest writers in Hollywood, his efforts are not fully appreciated by everyone. Following details of the project, netizens took to social media to question the authenticity of the story which had an uncanny similarity to Robert De Niro’s directorial debut, A Bronx Tale, which features a teenager befriending a gangster.
The premise kind of reminds me of A Bronx Tale, but I’m still intrigued regardless.
— Macman521 (@Macman421) March 27, 2024
Robert De Niro finding out about this script. lol pic.twitter.com/fLtAnfyslu
— Daddy Redux 👾 (@DaddyReduxx) March 27, 2024
He hasn’t seen the Godfather but he definitely has seen A Bronx Tale
— Beta Intern (@BustedStops) March 28, 2024
It's called "a Bronx Tale" and it's been done…. ooops
— scott (@scottlear60) March 27, 2024
I swear I've seen a movie with a similar plot to this where a kid befriends a mobster by not telling a cop where thr mobster went
— Colleen Wing (@Colleen_Wing_) March 27, 2024
That kid is gonna be crushed when he watches the bronx tale lol
— Ronnie (@sidewinder) March 27, 2024
Despite netizens flooding the internet with comparisons to the 1993 film, Esterson is also receiving support for his talent, with many fans eager to see how the project will pan out if it gets the greenlight.
Robert De Niro On The Lukewarm Response To A Bronx Tale
In 1993, veteran actor Robert De Niro stepped into directing for the first rime with his film A Bronx Tale, a story about a teenager who befriends a local mobster and gets an initiation into the world of crime. The film unfortunately did not set the box office on fire, making around $17 million on a production budget of $21 million.
In 2023, the Oscar winner attended the Tribeca Festival and was asked about his debut directorial on the occasion of the film’s 30th anniversary. Speaking to Variety about the disappointment he felt following the responses to the film, De Niro said,
“How could you not be disappointed? You do all this work for it. At the same time, I was lucky to be able to make the movie I made.”
The Taxi Driver star stated that the film’s box office failure also damaged his reputation as a director to a large extent as he was not asked to helm anything for a long time until 2006’s The Good Shepherd which proved to be a challenge to make.
