Donald Trump would never hack it as a mob boss, says Goodfellas writer

Nicholas Pileggi said Mr Trump is lacking “self-control” and is too “prickly”
Not got it: Donald Trump wouldn't make a good Mafia boss says Nicholas Pileggi
AP
Rashid Razaq2 February 2017
The Weekender

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The writer of classic gangster movie Goodfellas says Donald Trump would fail to make it as a Mafia boss because he “lacks self-control”.

Ex-crime reporter Nicholas Pileggi’s 1990 film — playing throughout this month at BFI Southbank as part of a Martin Scorsese season — is based on the real-life story of mobster Henry Hill and stars Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci, Robert De Niro, Paul Sorvino and Lorraine Bracco.

Lambasting the reality TV star turned US president’s leadership abilities, Pileggi, 83, told the Standard: “Trump wouldn’t last two seconds as a mob boss. He’s got no self-control and he’s too prickly. Those guys were very controlled and calculated in everything they did.

“He’s president and he’s acting like he’s still a reality TV star. It hasn’t dawned on him the power of the job. He was upset because the media reported the crowds at his inauguration weren’t as big as Obama’s. So what? Why do you care? You’re president of the United States and you’re picking fights like you’re in a competition on TV?”

Film stars: Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro, Paul Sorvino, Joe Pesci in Goodfellas

Pileggi wrote Goodfellas’ screenplay — based on his book Wiseguy, a biography of Hill — with Scorsese, who directed. The pair won a Bafta and were nominated for an Oscar.

Pileggi, who also wrote the screenplays for Casino and City Hall, said the history of the Italian-American Mafia was as much the history of immigration to the US.

He said: “The mob no longer exists like it did. Italian-Americans have moved on, inter-married. It thrived in the close-knit communities among the first and second generation.

“Now the wave of immigrants coming over are Hispanic or Asian. The US is a country of immigrants. The only ones who weren’t immigrants are the Native Americans and we shot and killed most of them.”

The former Associated Press and New York Magazine journalist also lashed out at “fake news”, saying Twitter has meant anything can be published at the “push of a button” whereas newspapers have traditionally felt a responsibility to their readers to publish the truth.

“I find the end of facts frightening,” he added.

Donald Trump attends inaugural balls across Washington

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