ROBERT DE NIRO - DE NIRO'S HOTEL RAGE

ROBERT DE NIRO caused chaos at a special press event arranged to mark the 25th anniversary DVD release of RAGING BULL last week (27JAN05) - when he refused to set foot in a specific New York hotel.

MGM HOME ENTERTAINMENT booked a suite at the Rhiga Royale hotel, where executives planned to hold a brief question and answers session for the media with De Niro and director MARTIN SCORSESE - but an hour before the event was due to start, the MEET THE FOCKERS star issued a statement through his PR stating that he refused to set foot in the hotel, according to the NEW YORK DAILY NEWS.

Panicked organisers managed to book a room in the nearby Ziegfeld Theater and the event eventually got underway, but only after an apologetic De Niro arrived a full 40 minutes late.

The 61-year-old's spokesperson, STAN ROSENFIELD, said, "No premiere in history has ever started on time."

Scorsese's publicist, LESLEE DART, added, "Premieres are always chaotic, and Marty was just happy to be there, happy that Bob was there and happy that the movie was so well-received."