What has to happen to “Gangs of New York” for it to be marketable?
You know, I don’t know; I never understood enough about the money. I just know that this was a tough one to make. We all made sacrifices. I put most of my salary in the picture, for the first time in my life. I believed in it that way. [Question from the audience]: What do you think about your films’ influence on America’s fascination with the gangster, and the popularity of television shows like “The Sopranos”? Well, the fascination with the gangster is interesting. I have to tell you, when I was growing up in the 1940s and 1950s, I was part of a world that had that as an element. Maslin: I think you once said, “If I can buy toothpaste for 19 cents from a fellow on a truck, instead of buying it for 50 cents …” Oh, yeah. That was the thing. Hey, you know, sometimes my mother would ask, “Hey, what fell off the truck today?” Not that she’s a thief, but you buy it. “Yellow sweaters! Hey, look what the guys got off the truck,” you know, and you bring it around. You gotta beat the system
