Madonna says the role came down to her and Sharon Stone.
Nicole Kidman was considered.
Melanie Griffith was considered.
Traci Lords reportedly gave an impressive audition.
Sharon Stone’s repeatedly canceled auditions and Scorsese’s personal appeal are recounted.
The panel prefers Stone to the alternatives.

Diane Lane, Madonna, Lady Gaga, and Scarlett Johansson are proposed around Nicky’s wife and Ginger.

In the discussion (4)

Approx. transcript time · 01:34:51Read transcript

Research covers real people, costumes, a murder attempt, profanity, improv, sets, ribs, cigarettes, restaurants, and high rollers.

In the discussion (15)

Approx. transcript time · 01:37:15Read transcript

Frank Cullotta served as technical adviser and appeared as a hitman.
The costume budget was one million dollars, with 70 De Niro outfits and 40 Stone outfits.
Joe Pesci’s then-wife Claudia Haro was later convicted in an attempted-murder scheme against another ex-husband.
The film uses the F-word 435 times.
James Woods improvised dialogue and the detail that Lester was with a prostitute using cocaine during the wedding call.
The count-room set was constructed because productions are not allowed into a real count room.
Frank Rosenthal’s television-show guests included Sinatra, Hope, Liberace, O. J. Simpson, and Rickles.
Pesci suffered a rib injury during the cornfield sequence.
De Niro maintained cigarette length for continuity.
Piero’s restaurant stood in for the Leaning Tower.
Future Las Vegas mayor Oscar Goodman appears as an attorney.
Nobu Matsuhisa plays Ichikawa.
Akio Kashiwagi’s casino debts and murder are discussed.
Ace’s house was later bought by Suge Knight.
Frank Rosenthal’s later nightclub, online-betting, and family life are summarized.

Lester, security deposits, girlfriends, commission relatives, shootings, deposits, jewelry, and trust in Ginger produce distinct nitpicks.

In the discussion (8)

Approx. transcript time · 01:48:38Read transcript

Ace not killing Lester is questioned.
Giving Ginger sole access to a two-million-dollar security deposit is questioned.
Ace’s lack of another girlfriend before Ginger is questioned.
Nicky not killing the county commissioner’s relative is debated.
The physical staging of public shootings is questioned.
Ginger withdrawing the deposit while police watch is questioned.
The film’s jewelry includes pieces from the wrong decades.
Ace trusting Ginger with everything is identified as the story’s core practical problem.

The pen victim, car bomb, and Frank Vincent’s alignment drive the questions.

In the discussion (3)

Approx. transcript time · 01:53:53Read transcript