Good Evening

It’s been 25 years since “Goodfellas” was released in 1990 and yet the film still remains a favorite. Well, it is my favorite anyway….

You can see what the cast looks like now after 25 years at that link.

The film was celebrated at the Tribeca film festival today. So enjoy these next few links that discuss the one and only Goodfellas.

‘Goodfellas’ actors spill secrets for 25th anniversary – NY Daily News

Just like the character he played in “Goodfellas,” Ray Liotta sang like a canary Saturday at the 25th anniversary reunion for the mob classic.

Capping the 12-day Tribeca Film Festival, actors Robert De Niro, Lorraine Bracco, Paul Sorvino and screenwriter Nicholas Pileggi more than amused a Beacon Theatre audience with behind-the-scenes tales from the beloved flick, which opened in 1990.

But it was Liotta, who played mob informant Henry Hill, who truly spilled the beans, telling a rapt crowd that Joe Pesci’s famous “Do I Amuse You” sequence was almost entirely improvised.

“Joe was just telling a story in rehearsal about something that happened to him in Queens,” Liotta recalled. “Some guy, who happened to be a connected guy, said, ‘You think that’s funny?’”

Actually, that is not anything new as far as news…we all have heard about that tale from Joe Pesci before.

But more here:

Tribeca 2015: ‘Goodfellas’ Reunion, Martin Scorsese Said He “Denigrated a Certain Ethnic Group” – Hollywood Reporter

Of the many delicious scenes in Goodfellas, the one that lingers longest is that of Paulie Cicero slicing garlic with a razor blade.

“The character in real life actually did that! And people have asked me if those were stunt hands — no, they’re mine,” Paul Sorvino recalled to The Hollywood Reporter of the move, which he recently re-created on Rachael Ray. “But do not mix garlic and onions together — if I hear you did, I’m going to hunt you down.”

Ray Liotta also joked of the scene, “I like it a little thicker — not as thin as they do!” and Debi Mazar, who actually hadn’t ever seen the movie on the big screen before, warned fans, “Don’t slice your garlic with a razor blade — there’s no reason to do that!”

The three shared hugs at New York City’s Beacon Theatre on Saturday night, along with Robert De Niro and Lorraine Bracco, for the 25th anniversary of the Martin Scorsese gangster classic — a reunion that closed the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival and included about a dozen members of the 1990 film’s other cast and crew in the audience.

“Joe Pesci couldn’t be here, but he sent this email: ‘F—, f—, f—, f—ity f—, f—'” read De Niro, introducing the film with fest co-founder Jane Rosenthal. “I’ll translate: ‘Dear Bob, sorry I can’t be there. Love to all. Best, Joe.'”

Scorsese and producer Irwin Winkler sent video messages to the audience, as they’re currently filming Silence in Taiwan. “I remember the previews were one of the worst experiences of my life — we had three of them and they were all in California. … It seemed that the audience had to be prepared for what it was, but there was a lot of controversy,” Scorsese said of debuting the crime drama, in which his parents also appear. He then addressed screenwriter Nicholas Pileggi: “Remember that nice Italian restaurant in Tribeca that we used to go to? And then when the film came out, the owner of the restaurant said we’re not allowed in anymore because we apparently denigrated a certain ethnic group for the picture?”

That I have to say no…I can’t agree with that. Because what I saw, is what I grew up with. Sorry.

The scene with the Mother and Tommy and eating spaghetti and talking about settling down…no, that is as real as it gets.

As far as the mobsters and the violence, ugh….no comment. (Cough…cough.)

11 Things We Learned About Goodfellas — Vulture

Author and co-screenwriter Pileggi didn’t believe it was Scorsese calling him.

After Wiseguy, Pileggi’s book about the life of Henry Hill, came out, Martin Scorsese called the writer numerous times to talk about adapting it. Pileggi, a writer for New York (hey!) at the time, said he would get “these pink slips saying, ‘Call Marty Scorsese.’” But he refused to believe it was Scorsese calling; he thought they were messages from David Denby, then the magazine’s film critic. Scorsese, unable to figure out why Pileggi wasn’t calling him back, got someone in his office to call Pileggi’s wife, the late Nora Ephron, and told her to tell the writer to call him back. Pileggi came home that night to an irate Ephron: “Are you crazy? Marty Scorsese’s been trying to reach you! Call him back!”

That is the first of the eleven, go and see the other ten…

Jon Stewart geeks out over “Goodfellas” at Tribeca: “One of my most favorite movies of all time” – Salon.com

In addition to celebrating the power of film, this year’s Tribeca Film Festival also provided an opportunity for all our esteemed fake news hosts to geek out over their favorite films. Colbert talked to his hero George Lucas about “Star Wars,” John Oliver moderated a lively Monty Python reunion, and last night, diehard “Goodfellas” fanboy Jon Stewart closed out the festival with a celebration of the 25th anniversary of Martin Scorsese’s iconic gangster film.

Following a screening of a remastered print of the film at New York’s Beacon Theater, Stewart moderated a Q&A with stars Robert DeNiro, Ray Liotta, Paul Sorvino, Lorraine Bracco and screenwriter and “Wiseguy” author Nicholas Pileggi.

“What a thrill for me tonight, this is one of my most favorite movies of all time,” said Stewart upon introducing the panel, adding that the film was “one that, when I saw back in 1990, nearly ruined my life, because at that point, I could only talk in ‘Goodfellas.’ I was a comedian, so you can only imagine our conversations ended with ‘funny, how?’”

Scorsese, who couldn’t be there because he was shooting in Taipei, sent a taped video message, in which he chatted candidly about the film and gave a shoutout to the panel’s moderator, saying: “Jon, if you were around at the time, we would’ve put you in the picture. I’m not exactly sure where, but…”

[…]

Super-fan Stewart, meanwhile, appeared to still be holding out hope for a sequel. “When you do a classic like this and then you think about ‘Godfather 1,’ ‘Godfather 2,’ ‘Godfather 3,’ do you think ‘Goodfellas,’ ‘Greatfellas?’” he quipped to the group. “You could have ruined this very easily.”

And now a bit of the real thing:

The Real Goodfellas: The Mysterious Fate of Tommy DeSimone

Goodfellas buried Tommy DeVito in a closed coffin. The real Tommy D came to a more crushing end.

SPOILER ALERT:This article is all about endings, but it is still has no finish.

In Martin Scorsese’s classic gangster film Goodfellas, Tommy DeVito, played by Joe Pesci, gets whacked by John Gotti’s family in retribution for killing made man Billy Batts, played by Frank Vincent. Robert De Niro’s character “Jimmy the Gent” Conway gets the news in a phone booth which he pummels in a fit of rage. Scorsese got his dope from Henry Hill, who ratted out his friends to the feds and told all in a best-selling book called Wise Guy. In the movie, Tommy has to be buried in a closed coffin because he was shot in the face.

Tommy DeVito is based on Tommy DeSimone, aka “Two-Gun Tommy” or “Tommy D.” Most news reports, including one of mine, are based on Wise Guy and the press reports surrounding the $6 million dollar Lufthansa heist at John F. Kennedy International Airport. The problem is, the Gotti crew had nothing to do with the death of DeSimone. Tommy wasn’t buried in a closed coffin. He was never buried at all. His body was never found.

I’ve posted this next link before, but what the hell: Loretta Lynch Versus the Goodfellas – NationalJournal.com

And just for shits and giggles: The Bizarre, Fantastic Joe Pesci Link Between Jersey Boys and Goodfellas | TIME

Pretty much everyone is familiar with Joe Pesci, either from his role in popular Christmas-themed children’s film Home Alone or his role in Martin Scorsese’s Oscar-winning gangster classic Goodfellas. He largely retired from acting in 1999, but starting today, you can see him on the big screen in Clint Eastwood’s Jersey Boys. Just one hitch: you’ll be seeing an actor (Joseph Russo) playing the character “Joe Pesci” rather than the actor Joe Pesci playing a character in the film.

Jersey Boys the film is based on Jersey Boys the play, which tells the story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons from the group’s inception all the way through to (spoiler alert) the group’s reunion at the 1990 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Turns out, Joe Pesci actually played a not-inconsequential role in the formation of the popular doo-wop band. Growing up near Newark, N.J., young Pesci was friendly with Tommy Devito and the rest of the band and, according to the canon that the film presents, Pesci connected DeVito (the band’s behind-the-scenes leader at the time) with “Short-Shorts” writer Bob Gaudio, who would later write nearly all of the Four Seasons’ most popular songs. Now, according to the movie, DeVito works for Pesci. Yeah, that Joe Pesci. Small world, right?

The connection doesn’t end there, though. Later, Pesci—the actor, not the Jersey Boys character, who was a real person but not played by Joe Pesci because real-life Pesci was already in his 60s by the time Jersey Boys the play arrived on Broadway in 2005—starred in Scorsese’s Goodfellas. His name in the film? Tommy DeVito. And in case that weren’t enough of an in-joke, at one point during Goodfellas, Karen (Lorraine Bracco) confronts Henry (Ray Liotta), and says to him, “”Who the hell do you think you are, Frankie Valli or some kinda big shot?” Valli, in addition to being the lead singer in the Four Seasons, also allegedly had ties to the Italian mob (as did DeVito), so there’s more than enough self-referentiality going on here.

Anyhow, here’s the point: without Joe Pesci, we likely wouldn’t have The Four Seasons, Jersey Boys (the play or the film), Goodfellas or My Cousin Vinny. There are likely plenty more links to be made, but probably best to stop here before the universe collapses on itself.