Meeting Donnie Brasco on The Red Carpet

"Donnie Brasco" may have boasted one of the best ensemble casts, but let's be honest, that movie was all about Al Pacino. The way he portrayed the real-life gangster should be in the history books, alongside his 'Tony Montana.' Heck, I'd even argue that his 'Donnie Brasco' is better than his outlandish "Scarface" performance. But to each his own. All I know is after seeing that movie, I needed his autograph on the movie poster. 

Fortunately for me, I was already in the autograph-hounding business when Pacino was still more active in Hollywood. Though he's known to be a bit of a recluse, he's more private these days than during the early 2000s. He used to go all sorts of red carpet events, posing for photographers and signing autographs. He did the whole movie star shebang, and let me tell you, he's one of very few who can get away with it. That's how legendary he was and still is.

In 2007, he got cast in the threequel "Ocean's 13," and that's when I took my chance. While most fans had their autograph notebooks for the stars to sign, I only had eyes on one man: Al Pacino. And instead of a notebook, I had "Donnie Brasco" posters. Not only is it my favorite movie of his, but he's the only signature I needed to complete my collection. I already had the other stars sign it from other red carpet events. Even Johnny Depp. But the legend that was Al Pacino had yet to give his autograph, so that was the mission I tried to accomplish that day. 

Well, I'm happy to report that I did accomplish it. When all the major stars went down—George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, etc—I stayed quiet. I still took photos using my tiny digital camera, but I only screamed my lungs out for Al Pacino. In fact, I may have been the only one cause he saw me right away and came up to me. Perhaps the other fans in attendance were bigger fans of the other actors, but not me. And so, even when I was sweating bullets under the hot Hollywood sun, I still chalked up the confidence to ask him to sign my "Donnie Brasco" posters. He gladly did so and the rest was history! 

That day, a true gangster signed my posters. Not just Donnie Brasco, but Al Pacino himself. He may be known for playing them on-screen, but off-screen, he's a gangster in his own right! 

Please note: Our inventory is limited as we may have only received a few posters in total. Most of our items are obtained from film premieres, studios, and from autographed hounds such as the one in the story above.