Jane Austen's Mafia!
Short description
Jane Austen's Mafia! is a 1998 comedy that sends up gangster films, following the rise of Vincenzo Cortino, the son of a Sicilian postman who has to flee his homeland and ends up building a criminal empire in America. Once he is established as a bumbling crime boss, he faces the question of which of his two sons should succeed him: the steady, battle-tested Anthony or the volatile Joey. The story also takes in the family's move into the Las Vegas casino business, where the brothers end up in conflict.
The film was directed by Jim Abrahams, who co-wrote it with Greg Norberg and Michael McManus, with Bill Badalato producing. It is the eighth feature Abrahams directed, arriving after Hot Shots! Part Deux (1993). Lloyd Bridges plays Vincenzo, with Jay Mohr and Billy Burke as his sons, Christina Applegate as Diane Steen, Pamela Gidley as Pepper Gianini and Olympia Dukakis as Sophia. The cast runs to 57 credited performers. Made for about 10 million dollars, it took roughly 20 million worldwide. On IMDb its rating is 5.5 from 225 votes, while critics gave it 4.1 from 42 reviews, a lower figure than the audience score.
What's left behind the scenes
- Audiences at the preview screenings remained unsure if what they saw on screen was actually written by Jane Austen, leading Paramount Pictures executives to order the writer's name be removed from the credits on posters and trailers. However, Jane Austen's name remained in the opening credits on screen.
- At the request of composer John Frisell, his name was 'Italianized,' and he is credited as Gianni Friselli.
- The idea for the film was originally formulated and proposed as a plot for a planned sequel to the comedy 'Airplane!' (Jim Abrahams, David Zucker and Jerry Zucker, 1980), in which Robert Hays' character would introduce Julie Hagerty's character to his relatives, only for it to be revealed that his father is the Godfather, played by Marlon Brando. The management of Paramount Pictures generally liked the idea, but it was shot down by Francis Ford Coppola, who wanted to preserve the possibility of filming 'The Godfather Part III' before the public interest generated by the first two films of 'The Godfather' franchise (1972 and 1974) completely faded.
- This was the final role in Lloyd Bridges' life (he played Vincenzo Cortino). The film was released four months after his death and is dedicated to the actor's memory.
Similar movies
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
