While promoting the production of ‘The Irishman,’ we’ve found there are many disparate niches of fans for this film. For example, Vincent D’Onofrio, Christopher Walken, Val Kilmer, Ray Stevenson and many of the other actors have dedicated fan groups and dozens of fan sites and busy message boards.
Ray Stevenson as Danny Greene in 'The Irishman'
There are folks who have a personal association with the Cleveland mob wars and others who care mostly that the film is made in Detroit. Then of course, there are mafia movies fans AND also the historians and researchers who adeptly chronicle every nuance of the situations, characters and compare/contrast the reality with the movies.
A perfect example of the latter is the New Criminologist who published an deep-dive article into the story by Ron Chepesiuk called The Irishman: Inside an Upcoming Major Hollywood Mob Flick.
For those who are following *everything* MovieSet releases from The Irishman, you are really gonna enjoy Chepesiuk’s discourse. Here’s the set-up to whet your appetite:
"To Kill the Irishman" by Rick Porrello
What is it that attracts us to Mafia movies like steel clips to a magnet? Most of us have seen The Godfather, a movie considered by many to be the greatest ever made. But it’s just one of a long line of great Mob flicks that extend back to Hollywood’s early years where we had such classics as Public Enemy Number 1 and Little Caesar. Just in past two decades or so Hollywood has released such great flicks as Casino, Donnie Brasco, GoodFellas, Jackie Brown, A History of Violence and The Departed, among others.
With so many superb mafia flicks around, we might ask: Has Hollywood seen its best days when it comes to this genre of movie? The quick answer is, no way.
Titled simply The Irishman, the movie depicts the story of Danny Greene, an Irish-American mobster who takes on the La Cosa Nostra in a vicious and violent gang war that had the bodies piling up on the streets of Cleveland in the 1970s.
Vincent D'Onofrio as John Nardi in 'The Irishman'
Chepesiuk also relates some additional insight to Greene’s personal habits:
The quirky Irishman was handsome, obsessed with physical fitness and followed a strict diet of fish, vegetables and vitamin supplements. To minimize his hair loss, Greene underwent painful hair transplants.
“Green took his personal hygiene very seriously,” Porrello explained. “He even had a nail brush in the union bathroom to keep his manicured nails scrubbed clean.”
Greene had no problem with using car bombs to blow his enemies to smithereens, but he was also known as an animal lover who put out food for birds and squirrels.
Read the whole she-bang by Ron Chepesiuk at The Irishman: Inside an Upcoming Major Hollywood Mob Flick – Like the author of the article, we’re very curious to see how the film is treated by historians since it happened in such recent times. He also mentions a documentary in post-production about the same characters detailed in the book by Rick Porrello “To Kill the Irishman: The War that Crippled the Mafia
You can read the book to find out what happened and watch the movie to see how Hollywood treats the story. We will reveal, though, that the subsequent Mafia war had consequences beyond Cleveland. Besides leading to the murder of dozens of gangsters, the war also created a chain reaction in which the Mob remained in perpetual war not only in Cleveland but also Milwaukee, Kansas City, Los Angeles and other cities across the country.
Meanwhile, Greene became a legend.
Porrello concludes his page turning narrative with a lyrically Irish sounding refrain from The Ballad of Danny Greene: “One day he’ll lie, as all we must, some will laugh but most will cry. His legend will live on for years, to bring his friends mixed pleasure.”
If you haven’t caught onto this movie yet, peruse this archive of video clips from explosions to interviews:
‘The Irishman’: Interview with Costume Designer Melissa Bruning
Hair and Costumes for ‘The Irishman’ – Behind the Scenes Video
Exploding Cars in ‘The Irishman’ – Behind the Scenes Video
Christopher Walken – Interview from the set of ‘The Irishman’
Ray Stevenson discusses his character ‘Danny Greene’ in ‘The Irishman’
Vincent D’Onofrio in ‘The Irishman’ – Interview about his character John Nardi
Vinnie Jones in ‘The Irishman’ – Interview about acting as a Union Thug
Val Kilmer from the set of ‘The Irishman’ discussing the story and violence
Linda Cardellini on set of ‘The Irishman’ playing Joan Madigan
Laura Ramsey on set of ‘The Irishman’ playing Ellie O’Hara
Paul Sorvino on set of ‘The Irishman’ playing Tony Salerno
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