A star of GoodFellas, directed by Martin Scorsese, criticized AMC for issuing a ‘trigger warning’ ahead of the iconic gangster movie.
‘This film includes linguistic and/or cultural stereotypes that are incompatible with current standards of inclusion and tolerance and may offend some viewers,’ warns a message projected on the network.
The disclaimer caught the attention not only of the general American public, but also of actor Frank Sivero, who played mobster Frankie Carbone in the 1990 film.
called the message ‘an insult to (him) and De Niro’, who starred alongside greats like Joe Pesci and Ray Liotta in the award-winning drama, and cinema in general.
“I’m a little disturbed in a way, that AMC, and even AMC, cut the movie,” the 72-year-old Italian said, framing the move as a telltale sign of cancel culture.
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Italian actor Frank Sivero criticized AMC on Monday for issuing a ‘trigger warning’ ahead of television screenings.
A message in front of the film warns viewers: “This film includes linguistic and/or cultural stereotypes that are inconsistent with current standards of inclusion and tolerance and may offend some.”
‘You don’t listen to the language, they erase it, so why are they so upset?’ he he said TMZ Monday of edits already made to the television version of the film.
“I’m a little disturbed because, thank God, I was able to do my job through improvisation,” he continued, referring to one particular scene in which he came up with some lines on the fist, offering some of the film’s companions. gangster some coffee.
“I created that,” he said, referring to the extremely natural exchange with Pesci, now 81, that eventually made it into the final cut for theaters and television.
“I made those moments real, to take the tension out of those scary moments.”
He insisted that there is nothing stereotypical about the film or his character, not to mention those of the main cast, who helped propel the film to greatness.
They did it largely through improvisation, he said: “bringing a little bit of dark humor into these people’s lives.”
“Not just making a violent scene, like a horror movie,” he further elaborated on the complexities involved in filmmaking that he said are hampered by subsequent edits.
‘A horror movie that will make you dream, you know? You’re not going to dream about that (with Goodfellas).
He played mobster Frankie Carbone in the Martin Scorsese-directed film, which after more than 30 years remains one of the most beloved films of all time, despite its adult themes.
He called the message “an insult to (him) and De Niro,” who starred alongside greats like Joe Pesci and Ray Liotta in the decorated drama, and to cinema in general.
Sivero is seen here in a scene he said he improvised, a facet of filmmaking that he says is hampered by resignations, rejections and additions.
‘You’re going to remember the coffee pot scene. You’re going to remember me warming up the car,” she continues, as streaming services continue to come under fire for removing potentially offensive scenes or themes from their titles.
“Instead of thinking about what the scene is, what it’s called when he gets shot and killed, I’m thinking about the card game,” he said.
“I found a full house and I just lost,” he recalled of another classic, organic scene. ‘So, I’m doing humor. “I just lost, with the full house, a big pot of money.”
He went on to conclude that people already know what they’re getting into when preparing for GoodFellas, citing how it has been out for decades and is widely accepted as one of the most important films of the last century.
Not only that, the film is considered by some to be among the greatest ever made, included in the National Film Registry for perpetual preservation in 2000.
That saw it join classics like Casablanca and Citizen Kane, both created over a century ago but still enduring today.
These types of films serve as a kind of time capsule back to another era, according to critics like Sivero, who was born in Sicily, and they don’t need to be changed.
He said he and the other actors improvised much of the film, and said those decisions were made tactfully and in good taste, without needing a warning. Stars Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro, Paul Sorvino and Joe Pesci are seen on the set of the 1990 film.
Actors also improvise many moments in these types of films, Sivero explained Monday, insisting that those decisions were made with tact and good taste, and therefore do not need a warning.
“Why are they so upset about a movie that is known all over planet Earth in every language you can imagine and every leader in the world has seen that movie?” he said.
He concluded that the improvised and sometimes risky exchanges are what make characters, especially in mafia films, more real and “likeable.”
He called it an insult to dismiss them as offensive stereotypes.