You Probably Didn’t Know These Shocking Facts About ‘Goodfellas’: Secrets From the Set

Test Screenings Were a Disaster

While the film was a smashing success, the test screenings were anything but remarkable.

In the scene where Joe Pesci’s Tommy DeVito stabs Frank Vincent’s Billy Batts, the test viewers were not too impressed.

“We noticed the moment Joe took out the knife people started laughing, they were outraged,” director Martin Scorsese recalled to Entertainment Weekly. “When he stabbed Billy Batts in the trunk, after the first two [stabs], people started leaving. And then he did it a third time and more people left. And then I asked [editor Thelma Schoonmaker], ‘How many more we got left?’ And she says, ‘7.’ So OK. We didn’t need them leaving this soon, OK? We see the knife, we get it.”

All About Martin Scorsese’s Mom’s Cameo

Martin’s own mother, Catherine Scorsese, portrayed Tommy DeVito’s mom in the film. She leaned on improv for most of her scenes.

“The key there is ultimately the warmth between all of them and particularly my mother playing his mother; he may be a psychopathic killer, but he’s still her son. When people talk about improvisation, this really was improvisation,” he explained. “We had a few ideas on set we played … but basically once we started shooting, she picked up on something and started speaking. Joe answered her, Bob [Robert De Niro] did what he did, Ray [Liotta] did what he did, I had two cameras, we’re in a small house in Queens, and I think the only written line was about a painting that she did.”

Paul Sorvino Wanted to Quit

Paul Sorvino played Paulie Cicero in the film, but he wasn’t certain he wanted to take on the role.

“I was quitting after almost four weeks and we were supposed to start three days later and I called my manager and said, ‘Get me out of this, I can’t do it,’” he said at the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival.

“It took two months, and I never thought I’d get it,” the late star added at the time. “[But] one day I passed a mirror and startled myself.”

The Food Was Real

Who could forget the delicious looking Italian food featured in some of the scenes? It was actually cooked by Martin’s mom.

“Marty had his mom cooking for the scenes where they were eating Italian food, because he wants his actors to feel like they’re in the real place doing stuff for real,” production designer Kristi Zea revealed.

There Was a Lot of Improvisation

Martin’s mom wasn’t the only person who was improvising her lines.

“The whole film was improvised, really,” editor Thelma Schoonmaker once revealed. “Scorsese always tells them they have to begin a certain place and end a certain place, but what they want to do in between is OK. For example, when Pesci shoots Spider.”

“The only line in that scene that was actually scripted was the last one Spider says, which was ‘Go f–k yourself,’” Michael Imperioli added.

Joe Pesci Had Some Strong Thoughts

While the movie is synonymous with Joe, he initially wasn’t too keen on the idea of one scene in particular.

“I’ll never forget the first time I saw the scene where Pesci is saying, ‘You think I’m funny?’ and he pretends like he’s going to kill Ray Liotta. Now everybody knows it, but there was a first time when no one knew what he was going to say and do. We were on the edge of our seats, like, ‘Oh my God! He’s gonna f–king kill him!’” Kevin Corrigan explained.

“When I asked Joe to be in the film, he didn’t want to do it. We went up to my apartment, and he said, ‘Let me tell you a couple of stories. If you could find a place for this sort of thing, then I think we could make it special,’” Martin revealed.