It is 10pm and I am standing at the door of a West Hollywood club so exclusive and secret it is called No Name: the burly bouncer regards me truculently, arms folded. “Al Pacino,” I say. His countenance changes and the heavy wooden doors swing open. It may be a few decades since Pacino became the world’s most famous mobster in his role as Michael Corleone in The Godfather, but his name still works its magic.
Interviewing Pacino is an adventure — a breath of fresh air in the tightly controlled Hollywood publicity machine. This is the third time I have seen him today. First we met at his home, then he invited me to a screening, now this club. Inside, a band is