Goodfellas

One of my favorite Mafia movies ever!

Goodfellas

Did You Know?
-The scene where Pesci says "You think I'm funny?" was from a scene he acted out for Scorsese. When Pesci was younger, he told a mobster he thought the man was funny and the man became angry. So the scene in the movie is based on that


Joe Pesci and Catherine Scorsese. IDK why, but she reminds me of my stepdad's mother, who I call Grandma Rose.

-The F word is used 296 times in the movie, most of them being said by Pesci
-Director Martin Scorsese's mother Catherine plays Tommy's mother. And his father, Charles Scorsese is the prisoner who puts too many onions in the tomato sauce
-After Joe Pesci's mother saw the movie, she asked him if he had to swear so much.

-According to Henry Hill, who Ray Liotta played, Joe Pesci's role of Tommy DeVito was 90-99% accurate, with one problem: the real Tommy DeVito was a strong, muscular, massively built man
-The soundtrack did not include songs that were played in lengthy scenes showing Henry making drug deals. Songs include: Memo from Turner- The Rolling Stones, Mannish Boy- Muddy Waters, Jump Into the Fire- Nilsson, Magic Bus- The Who, Monkey Man- The Rolling Stones, What is Life- George Harrison, Toad- Cream

-At the time of filming, Pesci was in his 40s. His character was supposed to be in his 20s.
-Christopher Serrone, who plays young Henry, actually has brown eyes in real life. He wore blue eye contacts to match Liotta's blue eyes

L-R: Christopher Serrone, Robert De Niro and unknown actor

-During the scene that shows his character getting shot to death by Joe Pesci, Michael Imperioli had to be rushed to the hospital because he broke a glass in his hand.

Plot
-It begins with Henry Hill thinking "As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster." He looked up to the Lucchese crime family growing up in his working class, Italian-American neighborhood of East New York, in Brooklyn in 1955. He quits school, much to the disgrace of his working class Irish father, and goes to work for them. His father tries to stop him from working for the wiseguys after learning he has been cutting school. But the guys have a solution. They run into the mailman, and ask him to deliver all letters from school to them or else the consequences could be deadly. Henry is now able to make a small living for himself, and he learns 2 very important lessons: "Never rat on your friends" and "Always keep your mouth shut." He puts these lessons to work early on in his life after being acquitted of criminal charges.

-He is taken under the caring wing of a local mob capo named Paul "Paulie" Cicero(Paul Sorvino) and his associates, Jimmy "The Gent" Conway(Robert De Niro), who goes nuts for hijacking trucks, and Tommy DeVito(Joe Pesci), who has a hot headed, hair trigger temper who goes psycho at any given time. In 1967, they commit the Air France Robbery, marking the day Henry officially becomes a member of the Mafia, like them. They spend most of their nights at a local club called the Copacabana, with numerous women. That's where Henry meets Karen(Lorraine Bracco), a Jewish girl from the Five Towns. Karen is initially worried by Henry's criminal background, but soon she is seduced by this glamorous life of his. When a neighbor assaults her for refusing his sexual advances, Henry pisto whips the guy in front of her. She suddenly is aroused by this act of violence, especially when Henry gives her the gun and tells her to hide it.

-June 11, 1970: Tommy, along with Jimmy's help, brutally beats a mobster named Billy Batts(Frank Vincent), who is a member of the Gambino crime family. Billy insulted Tommy for being a shoeshine boy when he was younger. However, Batts was a made man, which means he could not be touched with the go ahead from the Gambinos. And because of that, Jimmy, Henry and Tommy need to cover up the murder otherwise they could die, or in Mafia talk, get whacked. They take the body in the trunk of Henry's car and bury it upstate. 6 months later, Jimmy hears the site is going to be developed, so they must move it otherwise the body will be found and an autopsy will be done.

-Henry begins seeing a woman named Janice Rossi(Gina Mastrogiacomo), setting her up with an apartment. Karen discovers this, and she goes to Janice's apartment to confront her, but is not allowed in past the front door. She then confronts Henry, points a gun at his face, and threatens to kill them both, unless he tells her if he loves Janice. Karen can't bring herself to fire the gun and a now angry Henry threatens Karen with the gun and says he has bigger problems, like possibly being killed in the open street. Henry goes and lives in the apartment with Janice until things cool off. Paulie tells him to go back to Karen after completing a job for him. He and Jimmy are sent to get money from a gambler in Florida, which they complete successfully after beating him. However, most of the crew are arrested after being turned in by the gambler's sister, a typist for the FBI.

-Henry is now in prison. He sells drugs to support his family on the side. After he is released in 1978, the crew commits the Lufthansa heist at the John F. Kennedy Airport. Despite Paulie's warning to stop committing crimes, Henry goes farther and farther to establish himself in the drug world, convinving Tommy and Jimmy to join him. Jimmy has the other members of the Lufthansa heist killed after they ignore his warning to not buy anything expensive. Later on, Tommy is killed for the murder of Billy Batts, having been fooled into thinking he is going to be made.

-By the time 1980 rolls around, Henry is a nervous wreck from constant use of cocaine and insomnia. He tries to organize a drug deal with his associates in Pittsburgh. Unfortunately, he is caught by narcotics agents and is sent to prison. On his release, Karen tells him that she flushed $60,000 worth of cocaine down the toilet to avoid the FBI agents finding it during the raid. That makes Henry and his family virtually penniless. Paulie now feels Henry has betrayed him by dealing drugs, so he gives Henry $3,200 and ends his connection with him. Henry decides to enroll his family in the Witness Protection Program after realizing Jimmy intends to have him murdered. Now that he's not in the gangster world anymore, he now has to face life in the real world. "I'm an average nobody. I get to live the rest of my life as a schnook."

-Then as the movie is ending, titles explain that Henry was arrested on drug charges in Seattle, Washington, but has been cleasn since 1987. Paul Cicero died in Fort Worth Federal Prison of respiratory illness in 1988 at 73, Jimmy, in 1990, was serving a 20 year to life sentence in a New York State prison.

Cast

Actor	Role	Based on
Ray Liotta	Henry Hill	Henry Hill
Robert De Niro	Jimmy Conway	Jimmy Burke
Joe Pesci	Tommy DeVito	Thomas DeSimone
Lorraine Bracco	Karen Hill	Karen Hill (née Friedman)
Paul Sorvino	Paul Cicero	Paul Vario
Frank Sivero	Frankie Carbone	Angelo Sepe
Frank Vincent	Billy Batts	William "Billy Batts" Devino
Tony Darrow	Sonny Bunz	Angelo McConnach
Mike Starr	Frenchy	Robert "Frenchy" McMahon
Chuck Low	Morrie Kessler	Martin Krugman
Frank DiLeo	Tuddy Cicero	Vito "Tuddy" Vario
Johnny Williams	Johnny Roastbeef	Louis Cafora
Samuel L. Jackson	Parnell "Stacks" Edwards	Parnell Steven "Stacks" Edwards
Frank Adonis	Anthony Stabile	Anthony Stabile
Catherine Scorsese	Tommy DeVito's Mother	Thomas DeSimone's Grandmother
Gina Mastrogiacomo	Janice Rossi	Linda Coppociano
Debi Mazar	Sandy	Robin Cooperman
Margo Winkler	Belle Kessler	Fran Krugman
Welker White	Lois Byrd	Judy Wicks
Julie Garfield	Mickey Conway	Mickey Burke
Paul Herman	Dealer	Paul Mazzei
Detective Ed Deacy	Himself	Himself
Christopher Serrone	Henry Hill (Youth)	Henry Hill (Youth)
Charles Scorsese	Vinnie	Thomas Agro
Michael Vivalo	Nicky Eyes	Himself
Michael Imperioli	"Spider"	Michael "Spider" Gianco
Frank Pellegrino	Johnny Dio	Johnny Dio
Tony Ellis	Bridal Shop Owner	Jerome Asaro
Elizabeth Whitcraft	Tommy's Girlfriend	Theresa Ferrara
Illeana Douglas	Tommy's Other Girlfriend	Rosie
Anthony Powers	Jimmy Two-Times	Clyde Brooks
Assistant U.S. Attorney Ed McDonald	Himself	Himself
Tony Lip	Frankie The Wop	Francesco Manzo
Joseph Bono	Mikey Franzese	Michael Franzese
Kevin Corrigan	Michael Hill	Michael Hill

Animaniacs

This is a cartoon I grew up on!!!! If you're a 1990s kid, you might remember this cartoon!

Animaniacs

-Animated series created by Steven Spielberg
-This cartoon combined the elements of old fashioned wit, slapstick, pop culture references and parodies, cartoon violence, and just general cartoon craziness
-Also featured segments that were educational, covering subjects such as math, geography, history, astronomy, science and social studies.
Did You Know?
-On Wikipedia, it says that Jess Harnell, the voice of Wakko, modeled his voice after Beatle Ringo Starr, but apparently he instead modeled it after Beatle John Lennon
-Pesto's voice is based on Joe Pesci
-The Goodfeathers is a parody of the 1990 film Goodfellas, which was directed by Martin Scorsese. The pigeons were made to resemble the film's main actors. Bobby(blue pigeon) is made to look like Robert De Niro, Squit(gray pigeon) is made to look like Ray Liotta and Pesto(purple pigeon) is made to look like Joe Pesci, even right down to the hot headed temper.

Background
-The Warner siblings and other characters live in Burbank, California. The Animaniacs live in the Warner Brothers water tower. The Animaniacs characters have had run ins with famous people and creators of the past and present along with mythological characters and characters from modern day TV.
Characters
-Yakko, Wakko and Dot.
-Voiced by Rob Paulsen, Jess Harnell and Tress MacNeill.
-Yakko(wears pants) is the oldest. He's a fast talking smart alec, very reminiscent of Groucho Marx.
-Wakko is the middle child. He wears a red hat and blue sweater. He has a huge appetite and is often seen sticking his tongue out. He also is the only one to have an accent. People try to figure out what it is, whether it might be a form of a British accent or Australian. Jess Harnell modeled the Scouse accent after Beatles drummer Ringo Starr. So the former Beatles drummer is a slight inspiration for Wakko's accent
-Dot is the youngest one. She is cute and sassy, using her apparent innocence to try and manipulate and annoy those who are in her way. Most of the skits involve them being chased by Ralph, the security guard.

Wakko

Yakko

Dot

Dr. Otto Scrachandsniff
-German accented psychiatrist
-Acts as a substitute father figure to them because he is so fond of them

Hello Nurse
-Buxom blonde nurse who Yakko and Wakko are crushing on

Ralph
-Dim witted security guard chasing the Animaniacs around

Thaddeus Plotz
-Greedy, short, hot tempered CEO of Warner Brothers Studios.

Slappy Squirrel
-Aged cartoon star who can easily outmaneuver bad guys and educate her nephew, Skippy Squirrel.
-Her catchphrase is "Now that's comedy".
-She loves whacking people with her purse, using high explosives.

Buttons and Mindy
-Follows little blonde Mindy anywhere, trying to keep her out of trouble. She is about 3 or 4, with blonde hair and overalls, and loves to say "Ok, I love you bye bye" and refers to her mother as "Lady"

The Goodfeathers
-Modeled after Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci and Ray Liotta of the Goodfellas movie. The 3 pigeons are Bobby, Squit, Pesto. These pigeons always manage to get into an argument, with them beating each other up. It's usually Pesto beating up Squit and Bobby laughing. It grew from the line Pesci used in the movie "How am I funny? Like a clown? I amuse you?" Squit narrates it like Liotta did in Goodfellas, and they always land on a statue depicting Goodfellas director Martin Scorsese

L-R: Pesto(Joe Pesci), Bobby(Robert De Niro), Squit(Ray Liotta). That's who the 3 pigeons are supposed to be in the cartoon, modeled after the 3 in the picture below

Voicing
-Jess Harnell said that he did a John Lennon impression for Wakko, but changed it to resemble a young Ringo Starr

Adult intended humor
-A great deal of the comedy in this cartoon was geared towards adults, who would get it better than kids. In fact, cartoons were never originally intended for kids, only adults, because they would get the jokes and the kids wouldn't.
-For example, the Goodfeathers skit. Only those who have seen the movie Goodfellas would get that Pesto is supposed to be Joe Pesci, Squit is supposed to be Ray Liotta and Bobby is, well, obviously supposed to be Robert De Niro

Parodies
-These include:

1. Diana Ross
2. Mel Gibson
3. Barbara Walters
4. David Hasselhoff
5. Whoopi Goldberg
6. Whitney Houston
7. Howard Stern
8. Robin Quivers
9. Sandra Bullock
10. Sharon Stone
11. Jerry Seinfeld
12. Michael Jackson
13. Oprah Winfrey
14. Rush Limbaugh
15. Bruce Willis
16. Jaleel White
17. Demi Moore
18. Christopher Walken
19. Marlon Brando
20. Frank Sinatra
21. Winona Ryder
22. Paula Abdul
23. Jim Carrey
24. Sylvester Stallone
25. Robert De Niro
26. Barbra Streisand
27. Mariah Carey
28. Liza Minelli
29. Regis Philbin
30. Kathie Lee Gifford
31. Shirley MacLaine
32. Siskel and Ebert
33. Lionel Richie
34. Tom Cruise
35. Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen
36. David Letterman
37. Tina Turner
38. Prince
39. Aretha Franklin
40. Madonna
41. Cher
42. Sigourney Weaver

Film Parodies

1. The Lion King. Yakko took on the role of Rafiki, and Yakko accidentally drops the Simba character off the cliff and says "I thought they were supposed to land on their feet."
2. Beauty and the Beast. Rita the cat sings and Runt the dog says "That sure was pretty, Rita. I hope we don't get sued."
3. Raiders of the Lost Ark. Dot interacts with the character "Illinois Smith"
4. The Godfather. In the Goodfeathers skit, an older pigeon arrives to break up trouble, talking and looking just like Don Corleone.
5. Rocky. Bobby has to train to box another bird similar to the way Burgess Meredith did, calling Bobby a bum

TV Parodies

1. Star Trek: The Original Series. The Animaniacs board the Enterprise, with characters like "Squatty" instead of Scotty, "Spork" instead of Mr. Spock.
2. Scooby Doo, Where Are You?
3. The Beatles were even parodied in a light, funny way.

Trends
-Instead of the song Macarena by Los Del Rio, this one is called Macadamia Nut, and is performed by the Warners

Episodes

1941

1941

-1979 period comedy directed by Steven Spielberg
-The film is about a panic in the Los Angeles area about the sighting of a Japanese naval submarine just offshore right after the attack on Pearl Harbor

Did You Know?
-The scene where 'Wild Bill' Kelso slips and falls off the plane is a real accident.
-According to co-writer Bob Gale, many of the incidents in the movie are based on real incidents. The army really put an anti-aircraft gun on the yard of a homeowner in Maine, a Japanese sub shelled a refinery on the California coast, a false air raid siren went off in Los Angeles, making the citizens think the Japanese were attacking, and finally the famous 'Zoot Suit' riots in LA were in May and June 1943
-Mickey Rourke's film debut
Plot
-On Saturday, Dec. 13, 1941 at around 7:01 am, a car pulls up to a beach and a woman gets out. She is wearing a white robe that says "Polar Bear Club" on the back, meaning that she goes swimming in the winter. She goes swimming off the coast of California, only to run into a Japanese submarine surfacing under her. The crew realizes they are in Hollywood, and they submerge while the woman gets away fast

-Later on, a crew from the 10th Armored Division, consisting of Sgt. Frank Tree(Dan Aykroyd), Corp. Chuck Sitarski(Treat Williams), Privates Foley(John Candy), Reese (Mickey Rourke), and Henshaw, are at a restaurant where dishwasher Wally Stephens(Bobby Di Cicco) works. Wally is hoping to enter a dance contest with Betty Douglas(Dianne Kay), against the hopes of her dad Ward Douglas(Ned Beatty). Sitarski dislikes Wally almost immediately, and he trips him. A fight breaks out, leading Wally to get fired. Later, Wally takes his friend Dennis(Perry Lang)) shopping for zoot suits and steals a suit for him.

-In Death Valley, Major General Joseph W. Stilwell(Robert Stack) is trying to bring order to the city. He is at a press conference at Daugherty Air Field in Los Angeles. Captain Loomis Birkhead(Tim Matheson) is attracted to the beautiful secretary of the General's, Donna Stratten(Nancy Allen). He lures her into a bomber plane and tries to seduce her, but she warns him that her father was a Marine who taught her to defend heself. She knocks him out, but he lands on the bomb release lever, sending a bomb rolling across the runway towards the conference. Stilwell escapes right after saying "There will be no bombs dropped here."

-Later that afternoon, at the Douglas family home in Santa Monica, Wally is told by Betty and her friend Maxine(Wendie Jo Sperber), that they are both hostesses, meaning they can only dance with servicemen. Wally is forced to hide in a crawlspace above the car in the garage when Ward shows up. Soon, Tree and his crew show up with the delivery of an anti-aircraft gun. Sitarski sees Betty and is immediately attracted. He is ready to ask Betty to go to the dance with him when Wally falls from the crawlspace. Ward and Sitarski dump him into the arriving garbage truck.

-Meanwhile, out in the ocean, the Japanese sub becomes lost trying to find LA because the compass is broken. Commander Akiro Mitamura(Toshiro Mifune) orders a landing party be organized and they end up capturing Hollis "Holly" Woods(Slim Pickens), who only gives them his name, occupation and social security number. They see he has a small compass from a pack of Cracker Jacks, but he swallows it, escaping with the hopes of finding the cops

-Later that night, Stilwell goes to see the movie Dumbo. Birkhead and Donna are at the 51st Bomb Disbursement Unit in Barstow, where Colonel "Mad Man" Maddox(Warren Oates) shows them the unit's only aircraft. Maddox is convinced that the Japanese are parachuting into the hills and alfalfa fields near Pomona, and he lets Birkhead and Donna borrow the plane, assuming they are there to do reconnaissance.
-Outside the USO, Sitarski kicks Wally and drags Betty into the dance. Maxine tags along, and Wally sneaks in with a stolen uniform from a Shore Patrol officer. He steals Betty away and they end up winning the contest while evading Sitarski. He punches Wally and this starts a major fight between the various branches of the Armed Servicemen. Tree arrives with his crew, just as L.A. goes to Red Alert with an unknown aircrft in the skies. At the Doulgas home, however, Ward spots the sub from his deck. Birkhead and Donna fly over L.A., and anti-aircraft guns open fire. Kelso shoots Birkhead's plane thinking that it's a Japanese pilot, then he sees the submarine, only to have his plane shot down by 2 spotters in a ferris wheel who mistake his plane for a Japanese bomber.

-Sitarski drgas Betty under a tank, but Wally comes to her rescue. Thye find Kelso, who tells them that there is a Japanese sub in the coast. Wearing the uniform, Wally commandeers Tree's tank and heads towards the coast, to the Pacific Ocean Amusement Park. Ward opens fire at the sub with the gun, destroying his home in the process. The submarine returns fire, hitting the ferris wheel, which sends it careening down the pier into the ocean. When the tank comes on to the pier, it collapses. Kelso then drives a motorbike into the ocean, swimming towards the submarine.

-The next day, Sunda, Dec. 14, Stilwell arrives at what used to be the Douglas home. Tree thinks and tells Stilwell that 1942 will be "the really big year of the war". The General simply says "It's gonna be a 'long' war."

Cast

Dan Aykroyd as Motor Sergeant Frank Tree

Ned Beatty as Ward Douglas

John Belushi as Captain "Wild" Bill Kelso, U.S. Army Air Corps

Lorraine Gary as Joan Douglas

Murray Hamilton as Claude Crumn

Christopher Lee as Captain Wolfgang von Kleinschmidt

Tim Matheson as Captain Loomis Birkhead

Toshirō Mifune as Commander Akiro Mitamura

Warren Oates as Colonel "Madman" Maddox

Robert Stack as Major General Joseph W. Stilwell

Treat Williams as Corporal Chuck "Stretch" Sitarski

Nancy Allen as Donna Stratton

Eddie Deezen as Herbie Kazlminsky

Bobby Di Cicco as Wally Stephens

Dianne Kay as Betty Douglas

Slim Pickens as Hollis P. Wood

Wendie Jo Sperber as Maxine Dexheimer

Lionel Stander as Angelo Scioli

Jordan Brian as Macey Douglas

John Candy as Private First Class Foley

Perry Lang as Dennis DeSoto

Patti LuPone as Lydia Hedberg

Frank McRae as Pvt. Ogden Johnson Jones

Steven Mond as Gus Douglas

Michael McKean as Willy

John Landis as Mizerany

Mickey Rourke as Reese

Joe Flaherty as Raoul Lipschitz

Ignatius Wolfington as Meyer Mishkin

Lucille Benson as Gas Mama (Eloise)

Elisha Cook Jr. as The Patron (Dexter)

Susan Backlinie as Polar Bear Woman 

Production
-The only American film in which Japanese actor Toshiro Mifune used both his Japanese speaking voice and English speaking voice

Hot Man Wednesday: Tom Hardy

Tom Hardy

Name: Edward Thomas Hardy
DOB: Sept. 15, 1977
Where: Hammersmith, London, England
Occupation: Actor
Nationality: British
Years Active: 2001-present

-British actor known for roles in Star Trek: Nemesis, RocknRolla, Inception, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, This Means War. I wonder what the difference is between British and English? Isn't it the same thing?
-He will appear as the primary villain Bane in the new Batman movie The Dark Knight Rises

Early Life
-Born an only child, and was raised in East Sheen, London.
-His mother, Anne, is an artist and painter, while his father, Edward "Chips" Hardy, is an advertisement, comedy and novel writer.
-Studied at 2 private schools, Reed's School and Tower House School
-Began his career in war dramas, such as the role of United States Army Private John Janovec in the BBC and HBO miniseries Band of Brothers.
-His film debut: Black Hawk Down

Career
-Joined the cast of Band of Brothers in 2001


L: Tom Hardy




-In 2003, he played the Reman Praetor Shinzon, a clone of USS Enterprise Captain Jean-Luc Picard(Patrick Stewart) in the film Star Trek: Nemesis
-In the 2008, Guy Ritchie-directed film RocknRolla, he played gay gangster Handsome Bob, in the criminal gang The Wild Bucnh, led by One Two(Gerard Butler), who Bob has a crush on.
-Hardy replaced Michael Fassbender in the 2011 adaptation of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier Spy
-In 2012, he starred opposite Chris Pine and Reese Witherspoon in This Means War, which is about 2 spies vying for the attention of a lovely female spy.

Personal Life
-Married Sarah Ward in 1999, divorced in 2004. Has a son named Louis Thomas Hardy with ex-girlfriend Rachel Speed. In a Now Magazine interview, it was asked if he has ever slept with men or if he was bisexual, he said he has "played with everything and everyone".
-Battled alcoholism and crack cocaine addiction in his early to mid 20s. Entered rehab and has been clean and sober since 2003.

Filmography
-Black Hawk Down: Spc. Lance Twombly

-Inception: Eames

-Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy: Ricki Tarr

-This Means War: Tuck