Al Pacino
So bin auf die Info gestoßen, ist leider auf Englisch.
ic Liverpool meldet...
[...] Henry Hill, New York mobster turned state informer and the inspiration for the classic film Goodfellas, was making his first visit to Liverpool for a much-anticipated after-dinner speech.
Such is the legend surrounding Hill that, even at £50 a go, tickets were a sell-out weeks ago.
He shot to notoriety in 1980 when he broke the sacred Mafia code of silence - Omerta - and turned state's evidence on senior members of the notorious Lucchese crime family to escape a prison sentence for drug pushing.
Hill, who remains on a Mafia hit-list more than two decades after turning "stool pigeon", was forced to enter the Federal witness protection programme and take on a new identity. It was after entering the programme that Hill wrote Wiseguy, later made into the Oscar-winning movie, Goodfellas, by acclaimed director Martin Scorsese, with Ray Liotta playing Hill.
Now 60 and having left the witness protection programme after 21 years, Hill was free to take up an invitation from Liverpool businessman Neil Clegg to talk about his fascinating life.
So more than 200 people gathered to hear tales of the men who had been brought so vividly to life by the likes of Robert de Niro, Joe Pesci and Paul Sorvino.
But, rather bafflingly, the diminutive Hill, dressed appropriately in black, seemed reluctant to share the stories which everybody was so desperate to hear.
Having seemingly partaken rather too liberally of the hospitality, his Brooklyn East drawl was at times virtually incoherent, and he talked more about his appearance on Richard and Judy than his escapades with Jimmy Conway.
It was clear though that he had turned his back on his old life. "I lived in fear of my life every day. Crime doesn't pay - period," he said.
The natives grew restless. "What's it like to be a rat," shouted someone at the back. "Better than being a fing big mouth putz," replied Hill.
Thankfully the evening was turned round, thanks to a brilliantly entertaining auction hosted by Frankie Hargreaves, which included signed Goodfellas prints, one of which made £ 1,500. Original watercolours from Hill proved rather less popular, reaching just £5. "They'll be worth 40 times more when I get whacked," joked Hill.
One, a mess of red, apparently represented someone's brains - "It's my therapy," said Hill.
Visibly relaxing, he proved much more interesting in a later Question and Answer session which the audience took over themselves.
What was it like to turn his back on all the friends he had grown up with when he turned state's evidence?
"It was hard, you know I could not forgive myself for 10 or 15 years. I could have put a gun in my mouth every day," he said with visible emotion.
"I laid my life on the line every day for these guys but, when you hear your friend (Jimmy Conway), planning to kill you on the FBI tapes and your boss giving it the go-ahead, you just think f--- 'em. They had killed 11 of my friends, two of their wives and my family would have been next."
And was de Niro's portrayal of Jimmy Conway a realistic one? "You know, Jimmy was a homicidal maniac but an absolute genius. I spoke to de Niro about five times before every scene and he nailed it."
The most exciting news was Hill's revelation that he is completing the follow-up to Wiseguy, which is expected to be the basis of a Goodfellas II film.
Hier gelangt ihr zur Quelle .
ic Liverpool meldet...
[...] Henry Hill, New York mobster turned state informer and the inspiration for the classic film Goodfellas, was making his first visit to Liverpool for a much-anticipated after-dinner speech.
Such is the legend surrounding Hill that, even at £50 a go, tickets were a sell-out weeks ago.
He shot to notoriety in 1980 when he broke the sacred Mafia code of silence - Omerta - and turned state's evidence on senior members of the notorious Lucchese crime family to escape a prison sentence for drug pushing.
Hill, who remains on a Mafia hit-list more than two decades after turning "stool pigeon", was forced to enter the Federal witness protection programme and take on a new identity. It was after entering the programme that Hill wrote Wiseguy, later made into the Oscar-winning movie, Goodfellas, by acclaimed director Martin Scorsese, with Ray Liotta playing Hill.
Now 60 and having left the witness protection programme after 21 years, Hill was free to take up an invitation from Liverpool businessman Neil Clegg to talk about his fascinating life.
So more than 200 people gathered to hear tales of the men who had been brought so vividly to life by the likes of Robert de Niro, Joe Pesci and Paul Sorvino.
But, rather bafflingly, the diminutive Hill, dressed appropriately in black, seemed reluctant to share the stories which everybody was so desperate to hear.
Having seemingly partaken rather too liberally of the hospitality, his Brooklyn East drawl was at times virtually incoherent, and he talked more about his appearance on Richard and Judy than his escapades with Jimmy Conway.
It was clear though that he had turned his back on his old life. "I lived in fear of my life every day. Crime doesn't pay - period," he said.
The natives grew restless. "What's it like to be a rat," shouted someone at the back. "Better than being a fing big mouth putz," replied Hill.
Thankfully the evening was turned round, thanks to a brilliantly entertaining auction hosted by Frankie Hargreaves, which included signed Goodfellas prints, one of which made £ 1,500. Original watercolours from Hill proved rather less popular, reaching just £5. "They'll be worth 40 times more when I get whacked," joked Hill.
One, a mess of red, apparently represented someone's brains - "It's my therapy," said Hill.
Visibly relaxing, he proved much more interesting in a later Question and Answer session which the audience took over themselves.
What was it like to turn his back on all the friends he had grown up with when he turned state's evidence?
"It was hard, you know I could not forgive myself for 10 or 15 years. I could have put a gun in my mouth every day," he said with visible emotion.
"I laid my life on the line every day for these guys but, when you hear your friend (Jimmy Conway), planning to kill you on the FBI tapes and your boss giving it the go-ahead, you just think f--- 'em. They had killed 11 of my friends, two of their wives and my family would have been next."
And was de Niro's portrayal of Jimmy Conway a realistic one? "You know, Jimmy was a homicidal maniac but an absolute genius. I spoke to de Niro about five times before every scene and he nailed it."
The most exciting news was Hill's revelation that he is completing the follow-up to Wiseguy, which is expected to be the basis of a Goodfellas II film.
Hier gelangt ihr zur Quelle .
