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OTTplay Now You Know - GoodFellas

Today, we’re talking about Martin Scorcese’s Oscar-winning crime drama GoodFellas. Robert De Niro, plays the mob boss James Convay in the film.

OTTplay Now You Know - Goodfellas

Last Updated: 03.42 PM, Apr 17, 2023

Welcome to the podcast that brings you up to speed with lesser-known facts, anecdotes, trivia, and a whole lot more about your favorite movies and shows. This is OTTplay Now You Know and I am your host Nikhil.

Today, we’re talking about Martin Scorcese’s Oscar-winning crime drama GoodFellas.

1. Robert De Niro, who plays the mob boss James Convay in the film, wasn't content with the fake money that the prop coordinator had arranged for the shoot. And in the scene where De Niro’s character walks into a bar and hands out crisp dollar bills to almost everyone he passes, he preferred using real currency notes. To film this scene, the prop coordinator had to fish out 5000 dollars of his own money to pull it off. Once each take was shot, the money was collected and counted and no one was allowed to leave the set.  

2. Few would know this but the first scene shot for GoodFellas was actually not directed by Martin Scorcese, but by Stephen R. Pacca, who had filmed several low-budget commercials. Pacca was pulled in to shoot the intentionally low-budget commercial for Morrie’s wigs in the film.

3. De Niro’s sartorial choices in the movie may be typical of Italian mobsters in Hollywood classics -- tailored suits and slicked-back hair. But as it turns out, De Niro was also fastidious about pairing each suit he wore in the film with a watch and pinkie ring. The prop master Robert Griffon would actually shut down his specialty shop for customers to allow De Niro some privacy while he picked suitable accessories for his character. 

4. Ray Liotta, who won an Oscar for Best Actor for his portrayal of the young mobster Henry Hill actually turned down the part of Harvey Dent in Batman (1989) to shoot for this film. And given the overwhelming response Goodfellas received and turned the actor’s career around, it was the best professional decision he ever took.

These were some of the lesser-known facts about GoodFellas. I shall be back with another new podcast pretty soon, Until then it's your host Nikhil signing out.

Aaj kya dekhoge OTTplay se poocho 

Last Updated: 03.42 PM, Apr 17, 2023