De Niro gets made for real with Italian citizenship

Movie legend Robert De Niro will pick up the ultimate accolade at next month's Venice Film Festival: honorary Italian citizenship.

The Goodfellas star, aged 60, will travel to the Italian city to promote his new animated film Shark Tale, in which he provides the voice for shark mob boss Don Lino.

Organisers of the annual festival are rushing through paperwork to grant him joint citizenship with Italy and the US.

A spokesman for the event says: "He has grounds for a claim through his great-grandparents who emigrated to America a hundred years ago. This would be the perfect way to start next month's festival."