A look inside Hollywood and the movies. : FILE: ARTISTE : It Started Out as a Special Little Film and Then It Just, Well, Ballooned

Oscar-winner or no, Robert De Niro’s career path from actor to director should have been a lot easier than what’s happening with “A Bronx Tale.”

Universal Pictures was set to finance the movie, based upon Chazz Palminteri’s critically acclaimed play, and the studio at least initially gave De Niro the kind of support he would need as a first-time director. After all, two of De Niro’s most recent hits were made at Universal--”Midnight Run” and “Cape Fear”--and the studio was eager to return a favor.

But there’s a breaking point for every Hollywood deal.

Apparently, the respected actor’s cachet wasn’t enough to persuade Universal to increase the budget on “A Bronx Tale” beyond the initial $12 million the studio expected to spend for what is essentially a character study with a handful of speaking parts.

“We thought it would be an inexpensive movie. Were we wrong,” said one Universal production executive, confirming that the studio finally rejected the project once the budget grew to $22 million. Not wanting to say anything negative about De Niro, the executive damned with faint praise the actor’s desire to hire the best (read: most expensive) production crew for the film.

“He doesn’t come from a guerrilla filmmaking school,” the executive said. The actor wasn’t inclined to settle for conditions other new directors must endure.

Sources say De Niro asked Oscar-nominated cinematographer Michael Ballhaus (“The Fabulous Baker Boys,” “GoodFellas”) to cut his usual fee and help out an old friend. Ballhaus reportedly declined. (His agent did not return phone calls.)

“A Bronx Tale” will now be made by De Niro’s TriBeCa Productions with additional financing provided by a group of investors. It will be the first film to be released under the newly formed marketing and distribution company, New York-based Savoy Pictures Entertainment with overseas money coming from Penta International of Italy, among other sources.

Three years ago, actor Palminteri wanted to control every aspect of “A Bronx Tale,” his semi-autobiographical story about growing up at the corner of 187th Street and Belmont Avenue in the ‘60s. It was a monologue as originally produced, first in 1989 at Theater West in Los Angeles and later at New York’s 91st Street Playhouse.

The writer-actor spins a colorful yarn that begins at age 9 when he witnesses a murder, continues as he grows up and comes under the influence of a mobster named Little Johnny and culminates in a violent denouement in his blue-collar Sicilian-American enclave.

The play was an overnight sensation in Los Angeles and Palminteri, who previously did guest stints on television shows like “Hill Street Blues” and “Dallas,” quickly gained attention by holding up the sale of the movie rights over the condition he write the screenplay and star in the film. He rejected Universal’s original offer of $250,000 and opted to take the production to New York instead, financed by an old friend, New York nightclub owner Peter Gatien (now executive producer on the movie).

De Niro saw Palminteri’s performance at the 91st Street Playhouse and wanted to be involved. With De Niro’s influence, Palminteri finally won out with Universal, which paid an impressive $1.5 million for the rights and agreed to Palminteri’s conditions he’d write and star. For De Niro, comfortable with the play’s Italian-American theme and relatively uncomplicated dramatic structure, it presented the perfect opportunity to try his hand at directing. (De Niro was not available for comment for this story; TriBeCa executive vice president Jane Rosenthal did not return a reporter’s calls and co-producer Jon Kilik would not comment.)

As Universal envisioned it, Palminteri would “open up” the play to include several speaking parts, including De Niro in a small role as Palminteri’s father, but the entire production would basically be a one-setting affair. Even with a union crew and shooting in New York, the studio figured the production couldn’t cost much more than $10-$12 million. For example, Spike Lee’s “Do the Right Thing,” a Universal picture shot on the streets of New York with a non-union crew, came in at about $7 million.

But in recent weeks, the deal began to unravel. Universal, smarting from the disappointing $70-million “Far and Away “ and reportedly up in arms with the New York unions over their demands during the filming of an untitled movie starring Michael J. Fox, decided to cut its losses.

Palminteri, meanwhile, is reported to be working alongside De Niro in casting and hiring a crew.

Ironically, the final line in a bio of the playwright reads: “Chazz Palminteri doesn’t want to compromise, he wants the best. In a town filled with dreams, Chazz Palminteri is watching his come true.”