The actor shared his concern for the country during People Talk’s exclusive in-person event at People Inc. headquarters in NYC.

Robert De Niro explains why he’s not using the word ‘hope’ anymore: ‘Here we are’

The actor shared his concern for the country during People Talk’s exclusive in-person event at People Inc. headquarters in NYC.

By Shelby Stivale

Shelby Stivale

Shelby Stivale is a senior writer at **. She has been working at EW since July 2026. Her work has previously appeared on Us Weekly and J-14.

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September 11, 2026 9:55 a.m. ET

Robert De Niro attends People Talk’s exclusive in-person event. Credit:

Adela Loconte / Shutterstock for People Inc.

- The People Talk’s exclusive in-person event with Tribeca Festival founders De Niro and Jane Rosenthal, and *TRIBECA 25* director Matt Tyrnauer took place at People Inc. headquarters in NYC on Sept. 10.

- De Niro candidly shared his concerns for the future while addressing the crowd.

- “Who would have thought 25 years ago that this is where we’d be? Unimaginable,” the actor shared.

Robert De Niro isn’t shy about sharing his concerns for the future.

“What I’m concerned now is where we are in this country. What’s gonna happen? That’s everything,” the legendary actor said during People Talk’s exclusive in-person event with Tribeca Festival founders De Niro and Jane Rosenthal, and *TRIBECA 25* director Matt Tyrnauer at People Inc. headquarters in NYC on Sept. 10.

“That’s what I’m really preoccupied with now,” De Niro continued. “That’s what we’re in. Instead of it being from the outside, we have it from inside the country now. Who would have thought 25 years ago that this is where we’d be? Unimaginable. And here we are.”

De Niro said he hopes that this is everybody’s concern at the moment before clarifying.

“I don’t use the word ‘hope’ anymore,” he added. “We have to resolve this.”

Thursday’s panel featured De Niro, Rosenthal, and Tyrnauer as they reflected on the last two decades in New York City following the 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center complex’s Twin Towers. Tyrnauer’s new documentary, *TRIBECA25* — which premiered via Netflix on Sept. 11 — chronicles De Niro and Rosenthal’s 25-year journey building the Tribeca Film Festival, which started as a civic response to 9/11.

The first five minutes of the film feature archival footage of 9/11. Tyrnauer said on Thursday that he “can’t really keep it together watching that” even though he’s seen it several times. Prior to the film’s release, Tyrnauer shared a statement explaining the importance of this film,

“It is, in many ways, a love letter to New York and to the movies—to the belief that storytelling is one of humanity’s oldest and most powerful acts: a way of making meaning, building community, and imagining what comes next,” he said. “Ultimately, it’s a story about resilience, creativity, and the enduring human need to gather, connect, and find meaning in moments of upheaval.”

De Niro and Rosenthal feel similarly. “I hope this film reminds people that we all have a voice, and that what we do with it matters,” the *Taxi Driver* actor said in a statement last month.

PEOPLE president Leah Wyar, Matt Tyrnauer, Jane Rosenthal, Robert De Niro, and Tribeca Enterprises CEO Rebecca Glashow on Sept. 10.

Adela Loconte / Shutterstock for People Inc.

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During Thursday’s conversation, Tyrnauer said that *TRIBECA25 *is an example of “the power of cinema,” especially for a new generation — one that wasn’t alive for 9/11.

“I think there’s a big ‘before times’ curiosity right now because there’s been a generation or so since,” the director said, referencing how Tribeca was in a “large part” of FX’s *Love Story** *earlier this year. “I think there’s a real power, and this is the power of cinema really, to bring you back to a time that you did not experience and then try to interpret it.”

*TRIBECA 25* is now streaming on Netflix.

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