The King of Comedy (film) Reagan administration in contrast to other films made during the administration's early years (although the script was written well before Reagan's election, and shooting began less than five months after Reagan took office). "At a time when the film world piles on simple-minded sentiment in thick gooey gobs, a picture like "The King of Comedy" appears a frontal assault. The triumph of the 'little guy' is revealed to be nothing more than lumpen neo-Fascist blood lust." Pauline Kael of "The New Yorker" was one of the critics who disliked the film, describing the character of Rupert Pupkin as "Jake LaMotta
A Bronx Tale (play) The play had a sold-out run and Palminteri received a 1989–1990 Special Award from the Outer Critics Circle. Academy Award winning actor Robert De Niro attended a performance of "A Bronx Tale" and offered to buy the film rights to the show. Palminteri agreed to sell the film rights on the conditions that he would be able to write the screenplay and that he be cast as the role of Sonny. The film version of "A Bronx Tale" premiered in 1993. The film version marked the directorial debut of De Niro and helped catapult Palminteri's film acting career. In 2007,