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Published 17:35 IST, May 15th 2020

Robert De Niro used real money in Martin Scorsese's 'Goodfellas' and other trivia

Released in 1990, 'Goodfellas' is a crime movie directed by Martin Scorsese. The movie stars Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci and Ray Liotta. Read its trivia here

Reported by: Aditya Vyas
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Released in 1990, Goodfellas is a crime movie directed by Martin Scorsese. The movie stars Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, and Ray Liotta in the lead roles. Goodfellas is a classic mob movie and arguably among the best movies of Scorsese’s career. Did you know that Robert De Niro used real money in the film? Read about the interesting facts and trivia from Goodfellas below. 

Also read: Robert De Niro & Jennifer Lopez Share Heartfelt Messages To Hospital Workers Of New York

Goodfellas facts and trivia:

  • Robert De Niro used real money during the scene where Jimmy hands out money to everyone. This is because the actor didn't like the way fake money felt in his hands. The prop arranger gave De Niro $5,000 of his own money. At the end of each take, no one was allowed to leave the set until all the money was returned.
  • Al Pacino turned down the role of Jimmy Conway because he was afraid of typecasting.
  • Ray Liotta turned down the part of Harvey Dent in Batman (1989) to play the role of Henry Hill in this movie. 
  • In reality, the Lufthansa heist was actually solved in 2014, and most of the surviving members were arrested.
  • At Scorsese's request, associates of the real gangsters were always present on the set of the film. They provided helpful and essential information about mob life, settings, and moods.

Also read: Robert De Niro Calls Out Trump's 'blatant Abuse Of Power' At SAG Awards

  • While filming his mother Catherine Scorsese’s scenes, Martin did not tell her that her character's son Tommy DeVito had just killed someone and that a body was in the trunk of his car. He only told her that her son was home for dinner and to cook for them. In this scene, Jimmy Conway is seen having an Irish meal. 
  • Ray Liotta has said that Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci were inseparable during the film.
  • The film has 43 songs that comprise over four whole albums. Martin Scorsese had thought about the songs and where they would be played throughout the film long before he started filming. 

Updated 17:35 IST, May 15th 2020

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