After leaving The Walking Dead Frank Darabont told sources he wasn’t done with TV.  So to no real surprise TNT has announced that they’ve ordered a pilot for a drama series called L.A. Noir that Darabont will write, direct, and executive produce. It is based on the book L.A. Noir: The Struggle for the Soul of America’s Most Seductive City which focuses on the struggle between Los Angeles police chief William Parker and mobster Mickey Cohen. Darabont says of the project:

“The goal is to deliver on the tone that the title L.A. Noir promises: a smart, gritty, authentic, period noir drama.”

Michael De Luca (The Social Network) Elliot Webb (Tall Time Tales) will serve as executive producers, with Alissa Phillips (Moneyball) serving as co-executive producer. Darabont spoke about the allure of a noir project:

“Noir is a passion of mine, so I feel blessed to delve into a project that speaks in the hardboiled vernacular. John Buntin’s superb book, though non-fiction, is our touchstone and inspiration for the stories we’ll be telling, weaving fiction throughout the facts and facts throughout the fiction. The book provides elements that are irresistible, a big canvas with endless possibilities.”

The Working Title Of The Live Action ‘Star Wars’ TV Show

The long-rumored, much-anticipated, live-action Star Wars TV series has a long way to go, George Lucas has said that until technology lowers production costs, there is no way to produce it.  IGN recently spoke to LucasFilm producer Rick McCallum about their upcoming Red Tails and asked about the show. He did share some news and refers to the show by a new working title: Star Wars: Underworld.

A ‘Goodfellas’ Series Is In The Works At AMC

AMC has put in development a series version of  the 1990 Martin Scorsese mob classic Goodfellas. Nicholas Pileggi, who wrote the movie based on his book Wiseguy, is on board to co-write the series adaptation with TV writer-producer Jorge Zamacona (Homicide: Life On The Street). The two will executive produce with the film’s producer Irwin Winkler and his son David. [Deadline]

The plan to make Goodfellas a TV show has been around for awhile as we talked about it last October, this could be the real deal – stay tuned for more.  Goodfellas follows the rise and fall of the Lucchese crime family associate Henry Hill (Liotta) and his friends from 1955 to 1980 and is my favorite movie of all time.

Fox Picks Up Rob McElhenney Comedy Pilot

Fox has given the green light to a single-camera comedy from It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia creator/star Rob McElhenney.  The project, titled Living Loaded, is based on the book of the same name by Dan Dunn. It centers on a loose partying blogger forced to change his career plans when he becomes a radio host.  In addition to Sunny and Living Loaded, McElhenney and Rob Rosell are executive producing FX’s upcoming animated series Unsupervised. [Deadline]

Author Nicholas Pileggi (Wise Guy) and director Martin Scorsese announced a few months ago that they were working on a Goodfellas television series. Now, Pileggi has new details; firstly the series will go back to Henry Hill’s early days and act as a prequel to the film. Second, Martin Scorsese is involved in some way or another. Pileggi is currently writing the pilot script.

Pileggi said the following:

We’re trying [to develop the TV series]. I want to do it, Marty wants to do it, Warner Bros wants to do it. Of course, you can’t pick up from Goodfellas, since we murdered everybody, or rather, everybody was murdered! There’s nobody left. But I think we’re going to figure out a way to do the early years – sort of a prequel. The part of the movie people often like best is the opening third, where all the funny stuff is happening, and there’s so much we could fit in.

Not sure how I feel about the prequel aspect, how many years are we talking? Henry was not even a teen when he was working for the mob, and then we saw his life over the years (the good parts anyways). Adding more stories to the already perfect Goodfellas isn’t really needed. Although, The Sopranos went off the air in 2007, I could really use a gangster fix by now. What do you wise guys think? Via: Digital Spy

One dog goes one way, the other dog goes the other way, and this guy's sayin', Whadda ya want from me?

If you’re new to The City of Films (hi there), then you may not know how obsessed we are with Goodfellas.  It’s a perfect film and deserves daily recognition for everything it’s done for influences on just about everything considered entertainment today.  Too much?  I don’t think so.

GoodFellas based on the bestseller ‘Wiseguy’, by Nicholas Pileggi and directed by Martin Scorsese (also known as the man) is turning 20, to mark the film’s anniversary, GQ interviewed nearly sixty members of the cast and crew, along with some noteworthy admirers of the picture.  It’s an extensive look back that worth the read, have fun everybody!  Now go home and get your fuckin’ shinebox.  [Check it out]

Liotta (Henry Hill): I think I was the first person that Marty met, but it took maybe a year. It was a very long process.   I was new. I’d only done three movies at the time. All I heard was that the studio wanted somebody else—”What about this?” “What about Eddie Murphy?”

Isiah Whitlock, Jr. (Doctor): If I start watching it, I’ll be up all night. Sometimes I hate to put the movie on because it’s like, I’ve got shit to do.

On the current state of the project:
“We’re still working on the Sinatra script. It’s very hard because here is a man who changed the entire image of the Italian-American. And that’s just one thing. Along with his political work, civil rights, the Mob…”

What films of his might SINATRA most resemble. Goodfellas?  The Aviator?
“I was hoping it would be a combination of the two. Yeah, because in structure I’d like it to be more like GoodFellas. But like The Aviator, it only deals with certain times in his life. We can’t go through the greatest hits of Sinatra’s life. We tried this already. Just can’t do it. So the other way to go is to have three or four different Sinatra’s. Younger. Older. Middle-aged. Very old. You cut back and forth in time – and you do it through the music. See what I’m saying? So that’s what we’re trying for. It’s very tricky [laughs].”

Scorsese’s asked what actors he’d like to one day work with (not for Sinatra):
“Johnny Depp is one. I like him. He’s unique. I don’t know how he does it. George Clooney.  Brad Pitt is interesting.  And Tobey Maguire. There’s a lot of good people.”

No more shines, Billy. - Tommy DeVito

Country: United States, 1990
Director: Martin Scorsese
Screenplay: Nicholas Pileggi & Martin Scorsese, based on “Wiseguy” by Pileggi
Cast: Joe Pesci, Ray Liotta, Robert Deniro, Paul Sorvino, Lorraine Bracco
Total Gross: $46,836,394

The film opens by introducing us to 13-year old Henry Hill, it’s the ’50s in New York City, and becoming a member of the mob looks like one of the coolest employment opportunities around. “As far back as I can remember,I wanted to be a gangster.” Henry tells us. “Being a gangster was better than being the President of the United States.” Henry pursues his goal and soon has become a gofer for the brother of Paul Cicero (Paul Sorvino), the neighborhood boss. By 1970, Henry has achieved a position of some importance in the organization. He and his two closest associates, Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci) and Jimmy Conway (De Niro), are becoming involved in areas that aren’t approved of by everyone in the mob – in particular, drug dealing. Henry, now married to a nice girl named Karen (Lorraine Bracco), leads an increasingly more reckless life that results in his taking on multiple mistresses, becoming involved in Tommy’s murder of a “made” mobster, and spending a term in jail. Once Henry returns to the outside world, he becomes aware that old alliances are shifting and that his life may be in jeopardy from those he once considered his closest friends. There are two principles of the gangster way – never rat on your friends and always keep your mouth shut – and Henry may have to violate both in order to preserve his life.

It’s easy to see why Goodfellas continues to resonate: It’s brilliantly acted, shockingly violent, unnervingly tense, and wickedly funny.  It has one of the best soundtracks of all time as well.  Hearing “Gimme Shelter” by the Rolling Stones is a given now with any Scorsese mob film, but using Derek and the Dominoes’ “Layla” the way he did, masterful.  Who could forget the long tracking shot with The Crystals’ “Then He Kissed Me” playing as Karen is introduced into the underworld.  Over the years, few directors have exhibited Scorsese’s ability when it comes to using pop music to set a scene or cement the atmosphere. On many occasions, the appropriation of period songs seems like a transparent attempt to sell the movie’s soundtrack album. But, in Goodfellas, Scorsese’s selection of “Then He Kissed Me”, “Ain’t That a Kick in the Head”, “Gimme Shelter”, “Monkey Man”, “The Magic Bus”, “What Is Life”, and dozens of others proves to be invaluable.

Goodfellas is as compelling and absorbing as any crime drama I have ever seen. Goodfellas is not about Mafia dons, but about those who exist on a lower level, you like The Sopranos?  You can thank Goodfellas.  Scorsese’s tactic of using two narrators (sometimes Henry’s voiceovers are replaced by Karen’s) even leaves open the possibility that Henry might not survive the film.  To give a woman a voice in mob film was unheard of at the time.  Goodfellas is a masterpiece in every aspect of filmmaking.  Film critics will argue over which represents Scorsese at his best – Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, or Goodfellas. Each movie has its advocates, Taxi Driver and Raging Bull are more focused on an individual than Goodfellas, which examines how a culture shapes values, life choices, and relationships. Each film individually represents amazing motion picture accomplishments, with Goodfellas standing tall as the best film ever made.

Favorite Scene #1: No more shines Billy. [See The Simpsons version]

In Vegas, everybody’s gotta watch everybody else. Since the players are looking to beat the casino, the dealers are watching the players. The box men are watching the dealers. The floor men are watching the box men. The pit bosses are watching the floor men. The shift bosses are watching the pit bosses. The casino manager is watching the shift bosses. I’m watching the casino manager. And the eye-in-the-sky is watching us all. – Ace Rothstein

If we learned one thing from Goodfellas, it was that when you team up the likes of Martin Scorsese, Robert DeNiro, and Joe Pesci, something magical happens. 15 years have passed since it’s release in 1995 and that shovel scene at the end is still a cause to cringe. The cinematography, the acting, the premise; all felt very gritty. I mean this movie holds a Guiness World Record for most swear words feature length film. The “F-Bomb” is dropped 422 times, that’s an average number of 2.4 times per minute (thanks IMDB for that interesting statistic). Casino is more of a, ‘remember the good ole days’ cautionary tale of what mob life did to the Vegas strip. It’s a story of one man’s rise from complete obscurity to take a city by storm, only to lose touch with the ever changing moral foundation of a city with a lack there of.

Synopsis: Casino is the story of Sam ‘Ace’ Rothstein (Robert DeNiro), a former bookie turned casino operator and his quest to make the Tangiers casino a success while satisfying his mob connections fiscal demands. This is of course made increasingly difficult by his money grubbing wife, Ginger (Sharon Stone), and ambitious boyhood friend turned Vegas mob leader, Nicki Santoro (Joe Pesci). As Vegas is ever changing, Sam is either forced to change with the times, or lose all he has worked so hard to build. Just remember, you don’t stay at the top forever.

Director: Martin Scorsese
Writer: Nicholas Pileggi
Cast: Robert DeNiro, Sharon Stone, Joe Pesci
Total Box Office Gross: $116,112,375

Favorite scene: House of the Rising Sun montage. Without spoiling too much, near the end of the movie, the mob ties up a whole bunch of lose ends. Narrated by Nicki; if there was ever a moment to prove that crime did not pay, this was it. An excellent way to tie up loose ends, plus we get to see Robert DeNiro in a very snazzy orange suit. What a stud.

Click here to view the embedded video.

I don’t think my movie going life has been influenced by anyone more than Martin Scorsese.  His filmography is nothing more than amazing when you look at the work and effort put into each piece of art he makes.  Every title stands alone in the museum of movie history.  He has touched many themes over the years in his films providing some form of feeling to anyone who watches a Scorsese film.  He is a master at what he does and is always quick to point out in his amusing modesty that it is because of past masters that he does what he does.  It’s clear that his influence has reached the top of Hollywood’s “A” list including Quentin Tarantino, Spike Lee, and John Woo, the man has given us a lot to be thankful for.

With his latest, Shutter Island, hitting theaters this Friday, we’ve decided to dedicate an entire week to one of our heroes and quite frankly, one of the reasons this site is here.  We will do our best to direct you towards the greatest moments of Martin Scorsese’s career.  Join us for reviews of our favorite Scorsese movies, interviews and insight into the master’s life.  It’s MARTIN SCORSESE WEEK!

Now go home and get your fuckin' shinebox.