“I’m funny how, I mean funny like I’m a clown, I amuse you? I make you laugh, I’m here to fuckin’ amuse you? What do you mean funny, funny how? How am I funny?”
The studio was initially very nervous due to the film’s extreme violence and language. It reportedly got the worst preview response in the studio’s history. Nevertheless they released it without alteration to overwhelming critical acclaim. Al Pacino had been offered De Niro’s role of Jimmy Conway but turned it down because he was afraid of being typecast. In order to play Henry Hill, Ray Liotta turned down the part of Harvey Dent in Batman (1989). Liotta spent months with the real Henry Hill and listened to FBI phone-tap cassettes of Hill while driving to and from the set. In the scene where Henry and Karen Hill negotiate to enter the Witness Protection Program, former U.S. Attorney Edward McDonald plays himself, re-enacting what he did in real life. After the film’s success, the government kicked out Henry Hill from Witness Protection because he went around bragging to everyone his true identity. Frank Vincent originally wanted the role of Paulie Cicero, which went to Paul Sorvino, but was cast as Billy Batts instead. (The gangster that ended up in Tommy DeVito’s car trunk). Martin Scorsese’s father plays the role of the prisoner who puts too many onions in the tomato sauce while cooking for the gang doing time at Rikers Island. Scorsese’s mother plays Tommy DeVito’s mother, ad libbing the entire dinner scene. Joe Pesci wrote the “You think I’m funny?” scene which was based on his real life experience. The word “fuck” is used 296 times, for an average of 2.04 “fucks” per minute. About half of them spoken by Joe Pesci’s character.
