The Irishman trivia: 84 facts about the new Martin Scorsese film

The Irishman is the new Martin Scorsese epic that was produced by Netflix and is bound to garner many Oscar nominations.

Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci lead the cast. It will make its theatrical debut on November 1st, before being available on Netflix on November 27.

1. The Irishman is a 2019 American epic crime film
2. It is directed and produced by Martin Scorsese
3. It written by Steven Zaillian
4. It is based on the 2004 book I Heard You Paint Houses by Charles Brandt
5. Titled onscreen as I Heard You Paint Houses
6. The film follows Frank “The Irishman” Sheeran (Robert De Niro), a truck driver who becomes a hitman and gets involved with mobster Russell Bufalino (Joe Pesci) and his crime family, including his time working for the powerful Teamster Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino)
7. In September 2014, after years of development hell, The Irishman was announced as Scorsese’s next film following Silence (2016)
8. De Niro, who also served as producer, and Pacino were confirmed that month
9. As was Pesci, who came out of his unofficial retirement to star after being asked numerous times to take the role
10. Principal photography began in September 2017 in New York City and in the Mineola and Williston Park sections of Long Island
11. And wrapped in March 2018
12. With a production budget of $159 million
13. It is one of the most expensive films of Scorsese’s career
14. The Irishman had its world premiere at the 57th New York Film Festival on September 27, 2019
15. It is scheduled to receive a limited theatrical release on November 1, 2019
16. Followed by digital streaming on Netflix on November 27, 2019
17. The film received widespread acclaim
18. With critics highlighting the technical aspects, direction, screenplay, and the performances of De Niro, Pacino, and Pesci
19. The Irishman is the story of Frank Sheeran, a mob hitman and World War II veteran who develops his skills during his service in Italy
20. Now an old man, he reflects on the events that defined his career as a hitman
21. Particularly the role he played in the disappearance of labor leader Jimmy Hoffa, his longtime friend
22. And his involvement with the Bufalino crime family
23. Robert De Niro “got the project underway” after reading a copy of the 2004 book I Heard You Paint Houses written by Charles Brandt
24. Martin Scorsese then became interested in directing a film adaptation of the book and in casting De Niro, Al Pacino, and Joe Pesci
25. The film started its development phase in 2007
26. New plot materials and rewrites caused the movie to lose its place in the film release calendar
27. Scorsese went on to direct three more films, Hugo (2011), The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) and Silence (2016), before returning to The Irishman
28. In September 2014, after years of development hell, Pacino confirmed that the film would be Scorsese’s next project after Silence
29. In October 2015, De Niro stated that the film was still happening and could start filming in 2016 and Zaillian was confirmed as screenwriter
30. In July 2017, it was reported that the film would be presented as a series of flashbacks of an older Frank Sheeran
31. Depicted as recollecting his many criminal activities over several decades
32. With De Niro appearing “as young as 24 years and as old as 80”
33. In July 2009, Brandt received a phone call from De Niro that led to a meeting a month later between the two of them, Scorsese and screenwriter Steven Zaillian
34. The meeting was supposed to last an hour but ended up lasting four hours
35. In the opening credits and as a reflection of the writing adaptation process, the final film is titled I Heard You Paint Houses, the name of the novel on which the picture is based
36. While the title The Irishman never appears onscreen
37. In July 2017, Pacino and Pesci officially joined the cast, with Ray Romano also joining and Bobby Cannavale and Harvey Keitel in final negotiations
38. Pesci was offered his role a reported 50 times before agreeing to take part
39. De Niro played a big part in convincing Pesci to take the role, telling to him “We gotta do this. Who knows if there’ll be anything after?”
40. In September 2017, Jack Huston, Stephen Graham, Domenick Lombardozzi, Jeremy Luke, Joseph Russo, Kathrine Narducci, Danny Abeckaser, J. C. MacKenzie, and Craig Vincent joined the cast
41. In October, Gary Basaraba, Anna Paquin, Welker White, and Jesse Plemons joined the cast of the film
42. Later, Craig Di Francia and Action Bronson were revealed to have joined the cast
43. Sebastian Maniscalco and Paul Ben-Victor were later revealed as being part of the cast
44. The Irishman is the ninth feature collaboration between De Niro and Scorsese and their first since 1995’s Casino
45. The fourth film to star both De Niro and Pacino
46. Following The Godfather Part II, Heat, and Righteous Kill
47. The seventh to star both De Niro and Pesci
48. Following Raging Bull, Once Upon a Time in America, Goodfellas, A Bronx Tale, Casino, and The Good Shepherd
49. The first to star both Pacino and Pesci
50. And the first time Pacino has been directed by Scorsese
51. Filming was originally set to start in August 2017, in and around New York City
52. And would continue through December 2017
53. Principal photography ended up beginning on September 18, 2017 in New York City and in the Mineola and Williston Park sections of Long Island
54. And wrapped on March 5, 2018, for a total of 108 shooting days
55. A posture coach was brought on set to offer tips to De Niro, Pacino, and Pesci on how to comport themselves like much younger men
56. The picture was shot on 35 mm movie film over 117 different locations, for a total of 319 scenes
57. Industrial Light & Magic and visual effects supervisor Pablo Helman handled the effects for the film
58. In August 2015, Scorsese and De Niro made a test reel by recreating a scene from Goodfellas (1990), to see if the de-aging could work
59. In May 2016, Mexican production company Fábrica de Cine had offered $100 million to finance the film
60. And through that deal Paramount Pictures would retain domestic rights
61. IM Global was also circling to bid for the film’s international sales rights
62. STX Entertainment bought the international distribution rights to the film for $50 million beating out other studios like Universal Pictures, 20th Century Fox, and Lionsgate
63. While Fábrica de Cine closed the deal and Paramount retained its domestic rights
64. By February 2017, Paramount Pictures had dropped domestic distribution rights for The Irishman following the announcement that Fábrica de Cine would not be financing the film due to its climbing budget
65. Netflix then bought the film for $105 million and agreed to finance the film’s $125 million budget with a release date set for October 2019
66. In March 2018, it was also reported the film’s budget had ballooned from $125 million to $140 million
67. Due in large part to the visual effects needed to make De Niro, Pacino, and Pesci appear younger at various points throughout the film
68. By August of that year, speculation had arisen that the cost had reportedly risen to as much as $175 million by the time post-production was to have wrapped
69. And some publications asserted that it might go as high as $200 million
70. In August 2019, it was reported that the film’s official cost was $159 million
71. Canadian musician Robbie Robertson supervised the soundtrack
72. It features both original and existing music tracks
73. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 99% approval score
74. Based on 90 reviews
75. With an average rating of 9.11/10
76. The website’s critics consensus reads: “An epic gangster drama that earns its extended runtime, The Irishman finds Martin Scorsese revisiting familiar themes to poignant, funny, and profound effect”
77. Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 94 out of 100
78. Based on 33 critics
79. Indicating “universal acclaim”
80. The Irishman generated positive responses from contemporary filmmakers
81. Guillermo del Toro, commenting on the film on his Twitter account, compared it to Stanley Kubrick’s Barry Lyndon and praised the performances of De Niro, Pacino and, especially, Pesci, calling him “supremely minimalistic” and “masterful”
82. He went on to define The Irishman as a “masterpiece” and “the perfect corollary [to] Goodfellas and Casino”
83. Edgar Wright wrote, “The Irishman […] feels like a riposte to the imitators of Goodfellas who revel only in the parts about the ‘glamour’ of the business. This film coldly makes the point that this way of life leads only to death, inside and out”
84. Ava DuVernay also praised the film, writing: “running time is 3 hours and some change. For me, it flew by […] A film made by a filmmaker who feels free. Who has all the tools. All the time. All the talent. And lives up to it. Wow”