Martin Scorsese "Goodfellas", and its excessive violence that garnered it a reputation as possibly the most violent American gangster film ever made. Indeed, many of the tropes and tricks of the earlier film resurfaced more or less intact, most obviously the casting of both Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci, Pesci once again playing an unbridled psychopath. Sharon Stone was nominated for the Best Actress Academy Award for her performance. During the filming Scorsese played a background part as a gambler at one of the tables. Scorsese still found time for a four-hour documentary in 1995, titled "A Personal Journey with Martin
Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro Scorsese's semi-autobiographical "J. R. trilogy", which also would have included his later film, "Mean Streets". Scorsese had impressed many with the film and made friends with Francis Ford Coppola, Brian De Palma, George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, and Robert Zemeckis, known as the influential "movie brats" of the 1970s. It was De Palma who introduced Scorsese to the young actor Robert De Niro. De Niro had known De Palma for several years previously, and his first film role in collaboration with De Palma materialized in 1963 at the age of 20, when he appeared in "The Wedding Party". However, the film