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Vinny Vella
Vincent Frank Vella (January 11, 1947 – February 20, 2019) was an American actor, talk show host and comedian. He acted in more than forty films often in the role of a gangster. He was best known for the role of Artie Piscano in Martin Scorsese's ''Casino'' and Jimmy Petrille in the HBO show ''The Sopranos''. Early life Vella was born on Bleecker Street in Greenwich Village, New York City. His father was from Bari, Italy and his mother was from Naples, Italy. Vella's father had a fish store in Little Italy. Career Vella acted in more than forty films often in the role of gangster. He was best known for the role of Artie Piscano in Martin Scorsese's ''Casino''. He played Jimmy Petrille on the HBO show ''The Sopranos''. He was the subject of a 67-minute 2000 documentary called ''Hey, Vinny'' by director John Huba. In New York City, he hosted a public-access television cable TV show on MNN, the Vinny Vella show. He appeared in more than 35 advertisements. Personal life He was m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brackets
A bracket is either of two tall fore- or back-facing punctuation marks commonly used to isolate a segment of text or data from its surroundings. Typically deployed in symmetric pairs, an individual bracket may be identified as a 'left' or 'right' bracket or, alternatively, an "opening bracket" or "closing bracket", respectively, depending on the Writing system#Directionality, directionality of the context. Specific forms of the mark include parentheses (also called "rounded brackets"), square brackets, curly brackets (also called 'braces'), and angle brackets (also called 'chevrons'), as well as various less common pairs of symbols. As well as signifying the overall class of punctuation, the word "bracket" is commonly used to refer to a specific form of bracket, which varies from region to region. In most English-speaking countries, an unqualified word "bracket" refers to the parenthesis (round bracket); in the United States, the square bracket. Glossary of mathematical sym ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Manhattan Neighborhood Network
Manhattan Neighborhood Network (MNN) is an American non-profit organization that broadcasts programming on five public-access television cable TV stations in Manhattan, New York City. The country’s largest community media center, MNN operates two community media centers – in midtown Manhattan and East Harlem – and provides education, equipment, facilities, and programs to community producers and organizations who want to create programming to air on one of MNN's five channels. In 2016, MNN will post more than 5,000 enrollments in their media classes, making one of the largest media education institutions in New York City. In 2012, MNN opened the MNN El Barrio Firehouse Community Media Center in East Harlem. The El Barrio Firehouse (the former quarters of Engine Company 53) is an intergenerational community media center offering educational programs, community activities, and television production trainings in both English and Spanish. The Firehouse is also home to MNN's You ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Find Me Guilty
''Find Me Guilty'' is a 2006 American courtroom comedy-drama film co-written and directed by Sidney Lumet. The film is based on the true story of the longest Mafia trial in American history. Much of the courtroom testimony was taken from the original court transcripts. Vin Diesel stars as Jackie DiNorscio, a New Jersey mobster who is on trial with 19 of his colleagues for racketeering. A wrench is thrown into the system when DiNorscio fires his lawyer and decides to represent himself. The film also stars Peter Dinklage, Linus Roache, Alex Rocco, and Ron Silver. Plot In the mid 1980s, Mafia soldier Jackie DiNorscio (Vin Diesel) and 19 of his peers have been waiting a year for their federal racketeering trial to begin. While out on bail, Jackie is shot by his drug addict cousin Tony Compagna (Raúl Esparza). Afraid of being killed by the extended mob family run by Nick Calabrese (Alex Rocco), Tony agrees to be a government witness for district attorney Sean Kierney (Linus Roache). S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coffee And Cigarettes
''Coffee and Cigarettes'' is the title of three short films and a 2003 feature-length anthology film by independent film director Jim Jarmusch. The feature film consists of 11 short stories which share coffee and cigarettes as a common thread, and includes the earlier three short films. Themes The film is composed of a comic series of short vignettes shot in black and white built on one another to create a cumulative effect, as the characters discuss things such as caffeine popsicles, Paris in the 1920s, and the use of nicotine as an insecticide – all while sitting around drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes. The theme of the film is absorption in the obsessions, joys, and addictions of life, and there are many common threads between vignettes, such as the Tesla coil, medical knowledge, the suggestion that coffee and cigarettes don't make for a healthy meal (generally lunch), cousins, The Lees (Cinqué and Joie, and a mention of Spike Lee), delirium, miscommunication, mu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
This Thing Of Ours (film)
''This Thing of Ours'' is an American 2002 crime drama film directed by Danny Provenzano and starring him alongside Frank Vincent, Edward Lynch, Vincent Pastore and James Caan. The title is a reference to the Italian term ''Cosa Nostra'', "This Thing Of Ours", which refers to the American Mafia. Colombo crime family underboss, John Franzese, was an associate producer of the film. The film garnered primarily negative reviews, earning a 40% score on ''Rotten Tomatoes'' and receiving a 36/100 on the review aggregator ''Metacritic'', signifying generally unfavorable reviews. Plot Using the internet and old-school mafia traditions, a crew of young gangsters led by Nicholas "Nicky" Santini attempt to pull off the biggest heist in the history of the mafia. Nicky must first convince his uncle Danny Santini, a respected caporegime of the Genovesso crime family in New Jersey, to put up the necessary "seed money", $50 million. When Danny agrees, Nicky along his partner and friend Johnny "Ir ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Analyze That
''Analyze That'' is a 2002 American mafia comedy film directed by Harold Ramis and produced by Paula Weinstein and Jane Rosenthal. The film is a sequel to the 1999 film ''Analyze This''. The film starred Robert De Niro and Billy Crystal who respectively reprise their roles as mobster Paul Vitti and psychiatrist Ben Sobel. Following the success of the first film, Warner Bros. developed a follow up to the film, with much of the same cast and crew returning. ''Analyze That'' was released on December 6, 2002, however, did not achieve the commercial success that the first film had, grossing only $55 million worldwide against its $60 million budget. Plot Near the completion of his sentence in Sing Sing, Paul Vitti's life is threatened by assassins and corrupt guards while incarcerated. He starts singing showtunes from ''West Side Story'' to get the attention of Ben Sobel, who previously hung up on him while attending his father's funeral. The FBI calls in Ben to perform psychiatric ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kissing Jessica Stein
''Kissing Jessica Stein'' is a 2001 American independent romantic comedy film, written and co-produced by the film's stars, Jennifer Westfeldt and Heather Juergensen. The film also stars Tovah Feldshuh and is directed by Charles Herman-Wurmfeld. It is one of the earlier film appearances of actors Jon Hamm and Michael Showalter. The film is based on a scene from the 1997 off-Broadway play by Westfeldt and Juergensen called ''Lipschtick''. Plot 28-year-old Jessica Stein is an attractive, Jewish, neurotic copy editor at a New York City newspaper. Her brother Dan has just gotten engaged, her best friend Joan is about to start a family, and her mother Judy is worried that Jessica will end up alone. Having endured several awful blind dates searching for Mr. Right, Jessica's interest is piqued by a personal ad that includes her favorite quote about relationships by Rilke. Jessica discovers it is in the " Women Seeking Women" section of the newspaper. The ad was placed by Helen Cooper, wh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wannabes (film)
''Wannabes'' (2000 film) is a crime drama film starring William DeMeo, Conor Dubin, Joe Viterelli and Joseph Donofrio. Plot At the beginning of the film, Vinny Minieri (Joseph Donofrio) and his two men are beating a man. It finishes with Vinny burning the man's face with a cigarette. Two brothers, Angelo Argono (William DeMeo) and Paulie Argono (Conor Dubin) are leading a poor and boring life on the streets of Brooklyn, New York City, along with their childhood friends Pete (Daniel Margotta) and Dominic "Dom" (John Palumbo). Brooklyn is owned by mob boss Santo Minieri (Joe Viterelli), an old but ruthless crime boss. The Argono brothers are working in a local restaurant belonging to Mr. Letto (Robert Constanzo) as waiters. Although they can't stand their boss, they are forced to work there. All changes when Angelo decides to quit his job. He, Paulie, Pete and Dom borrow cash from a loan shark called Hector and start a bookie business, although their Uncle Tommy (Raymond Serra) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ghost Dog
''Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai'' is a 1999 internationally co-produced martial arts crime thriller drama film written and directed by Jim Jarmusch. Forest Whitaker stars as the title character, the mysterious "Ghost Dog", a hitman in the employ of the Mafia, who follows the ancient code of the samurai as outlined in the book of Yamamoto Tsunetomo's recorded sayings, ''Hagakure''. Critics have noted similarities between the movie and Jean-Pierre Melville's 1967 film ''Le Samouraï''. The film opened to largely positive critical reception, and was nominated for both an Independent Spirit Award for Best Feature and a César Award for Best Foreign Film. Plot Ghost Dog sees himself as a retainer of Louie, a local mobster, who saved Ghost Dog's life years earlier. While living as a hitman for the American Mafia, he adheres to the code of the samurai, and interprets and applies the wisdom of the ''Hagakure''. Louie tells Ghost Dog to kill a gangster, Handsome Frank, who is sl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Donnie Brasco (film)
''Donnie Brasco'' is a 1997 American crime drama film directed by Mike Newell, and starring Al Pacino and Johnny Depp. Michael Madsen, Bruno Kirby, James Russo, and Anne Heche appeared in supporting roles. The film, written by Paul Attanasio, is based on the 1988 nonfiction book '' Donnie Brasco: My Undercover Life in the Mafia'' by Joseph D. Pistone and Richard Woodley. The film is loosely based on the true story of Pistone (Depp), an FBI undercover agent who infiltrated the Bonanno crime family in New York City during the 1970s, under the alias Donnie Brasco, a jewel thief from Vero Beach, Florida. Brasco maneuvers his way into the confidence of an aging Mafia hitman, Lefty Ruggiero (Pacino), who vouches for him. As Donnie moves deeper into the Mafia, he realizes that not only is he crossing the line between federal agent and criminal, but also leading his friend Lefty to an almost certain death. ''Donnie Brasco'' premiered in Century City on February 24, 1997, and was r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Casino (1995 Film)
''Casino'' is a 1995 American epic crime film directed by Martin Scorsese, produced by Barbara De Fina and distributed by Universal Pictures. It is based on the 1995 nonfiction book '' Casino: Love and Honor in Las Vegas'' by Nicholas Pileggi, who also co-wrote the screenplay along with Scorsese. It stars Robert De Niro, Sharon Stone, Joe Pesci, Don Rickles, Kevin Pollak, and James Woods. The film was the eighth collaboration between director Scorsese and De Niro. ''Casino'' follows Sam "Ace" Rothstein (De Niro), a Jewish American gambling expert handicapper who is asked by the Chicago Outfit to oversee the day-to-day casino and hotel operations at the Tangiers Casino in Las Vegas. Other major characters include Nicky Santoro (Pesci), a "made man" and friend of Sam, and Ginger McKenna (Stone), a streetwise chip hustler who Sam marries and has a daughter with. The film details Sam's operation of the casino, the difficulties he confronts in his job, the Mafia's involvement w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New York Daily News
The New York ''Daily News'', officially titled the ''Daily News'', is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, NJ. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in tabloid format. It reached its peak circulation in 1947, at 2.4 million copies a day. As of 2019 it was the eleventh-highest circulated newspaper in the United States. Today's ''Daily News'' is not connected to the earlier '' New York Daily News'', which shut down in 1906. The ''Daily News'' is owned by parent company Tribune Publishing. This company was acquired by Alden Global Capital, which operates its media properties through Digital First Media, in May 2021. After the Alden acquisition, alone among the newspapers acquired from Tribune Publishing, the ''Daily News'' property was spun off into a separate subsidiary called Daily News Enterprises. History ''Illustrated Daily News'' The ''Illustrated Daily News'' was founded by Patters ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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