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WhenScarfacefirst came out, it was extremely controversial, as you’re free to imagine.
But it stays in our lexicon, in a way.
Its part of our culture.
The origins of the project vary, depending on who youre asking (and when).
I said, I think we could do this thing.
Theres a remake here.
Wed had dozens of these things.
I started to hit the trail in 79, and continued till 82, he told Seitz.
I dont think my writing benefited from cocaine, but I did writeScarfacecompletely sober.
Enter Brian De Palma.
De Palma figured hed knock out this highly commercial gangster movie and get back in the industrys good graces.
Should be an easy gig, right?
Well, Tony Montana was a gangster, Stone explained to Seitz.
His mother and his sister represent the clean-cut Cuban community.
His mother scolds him:Youre a scumbag, get out of my house!
Youre ruining your sister!So there is a strong morality in the movie.
I knew about the criticisms even in advance, that Cubans were not like that.
But Im sorry: A lot of CubansdidbecomeMarielitos.
If Id done it about Colombians, they wouldve said the same thing:Youre anti-Colombian.
They last thing I need is to end up having militants chasing us around the block.
Not that the relocated shoot, which began in November of 1982, was smooth sailing from there.
The production was twice halted by major weather interruptions in California.
(And then a premature bomb explosion injured two stuntmen during a scene shot in his absence.)
(I didnt cast her because she wasnt right for the part, he said.
Im a director, I have to make choices.)
They kept me there.
It cost too much, went over, and was a black sheep from the get-go with Universal.
We have been designated as a pornographic film, Bregmanfumed to theTimes.
Well accept the X rating and appeal.
Theyd have to fire him and find somebody else to do it, or take the X.
And I told Marty, and Marty said, Well go to war with these people.
And thats what we did.
Were going with the original version.
We beat the censor board.
Now they just needed the movie to be a hit.
TheVillage Voices Andrew Sarris dismissed it as camp for the coke crowd.
T-shirts flew off flea market shelves; posters became dorm-room standbys.
Pop-punk band Blink-182 took its name from the number of times Pacino says fuck in the film.
Maybe were more willing to examine them now.
Or maybe were just at a safe enough distance to obscure them with the lens of nostalgia.
