Joe Pesci Keeps Rejecting Robert De Niro, Martin Scorsese Gangster ‘The Irishman’


Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci reunited in public at the Guy Choice Awards on Saturday, and while it was hard not to instantly travel back in time and start reliving the numerous times that they’ve shared the big-screen together, we also got an update on the chances of the pair being in the same film again in the future, too.

Over the last few months, it has been heavily speculated that Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci would reunite with their Goodfellas, Casino, and Raging Bull director Martin Scorsese for The Irishman. But while Robert De Niro and Martin Scorsese are already intent and signed up for the gangster film, they’re hellbent on convincing Joe Pesci to come out of his self-imposed retirement to join them.

There’s just one problem, Joe Pesci doesn’t really want to return. Speaking at the Guys Choice Awards where 1995’s Casino was being inducted into the Guy Movie Hall Of Fame, Robert De Niro didn’t just speak about the fantastic cast of Casino, but he also discussed how Joe Pesci keeps on rejecting their approaches to join them. According to Entertainment Weekly De Niro declared the following.

Casino had Sharon Stone, Jimmy Woods, and Don Rickles, and it was the last time that… Joe and I did a picture with Marty. But, hopefully that is gonna change, Joe. Marty and I are planning to get back together for a movie I think will be a future ‘Guy Hall Of Fame’ entry, that is if Joe has any more f**** left in him. So far all he keeps saying is ‘Go f*** yourself.”

Joe Pesci didn’t just let Robert De Niro get away with these comments, though. The 73-year-old, who was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Raging Bull, which he eventually won for his turn in Goodfellas, even threw in a little homage and reference to the latter.

“Thank you Bob… I think: You insulted me just a little bit, just a little bit. It is okay, I am used to it… Anyway, I would like to say thank you for the honor. I appreciate the accolades and everything, but [you] cannot be good by yourself. Every actor will tell you the better the actors around you, the better you are going to be.”

Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, and Martin Scorsese have worked on three films together. Their collaborations started with 1980’s Raging Bull and was followed by 1990’s Goodfellas, and then concluded with 1995’s Casino. But there is increasing hope that they will add a fourth film to this roster with The Irishman.

Based on Charles Brandt’s novel I Heard You Paint Houses: Frank ‘The Irishman’ Sheeran And The Inside Story Of The Mafia, The Teamsters, And The Last Ride Of Jimmy Hoffa, the film has been in development for several years now.

It’s based on the life of Frank Sheeran, who would be played by Robert De Niro, a Teamster with various criminal connections to the gangster collective known as the Bufalino family in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Sheeran not only insisted that he killed Jimmy Hoffa, but he confessed to being involved in the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

It wouldn’t just involve the collective cinematic talents of Robert De Niro, Martin Scorsese, and, hopefully, Joe Pesci, but also, Al Pacino has allegedly been approached to star, too. Which is pretty much as good a cast and director as the gangster genre has ever produced.

[Image via Kevin Winter/Getty Images]

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