Trivia / Malavita

• Actor Allusion: Michelle Pfeiffer asking her husband to not saying 'fuck' all times? Sounds familiar...
• Actor-Inspired Element: Because it was written by a Frenchman (Luc Besson), but the dialogue was modern Americans and Italians interacting, the main cast were asked by Besson to advise him on how the general sentiment would actually be said. D'Leo said somewhat jokingly in an interview that because of it he felt cheated out of a writing credit.
• Dawson Casting: Dianna Agron was twenty six playing Belle, a teenager. John D'Leo, then eighteen, plays thirteen year old Warren.
• Separated-at-Birth Casting: Given the strength of the family resemblance, this is of course in play. It was deliberately invoked in the case of Warren with his father - and maybe part of why John D'Leo was cast is the resemblance to Robert De Niro (note: D'Leo's parents play some of the Manzoni's mafia friends in the film, too). However, the director has said that Dianna Agron was the actress he pictured as Belle (because his daughter made him watch Glee) and so the part was written for her, her appearance irrelevant. As such, it's a remarkable (and super lucky) coincidence that Agron's mother looks just like Michelle Pfeiffer.
• Sleeper Hit: Reviews from critics and viewers alike were mixed, and beyond dedicated Robert De Niro fans there wasn't a massive target fan base — and little marketing. So how did it debut at #2 in the box office after its first weekend?
• Those Two Actors: This won't be the last time that Robert De Niro and Michelle Pfeiffer play husband and wife, as seen in The Wizard of Lies which came out in 2017. They were also together for Stardust, though their characters (Captain Shakespeare and the witch Lamia, respectively) never shared the screen.
• Typecasting: Robert De Niro is a mafioso, once again. This time, he's an old-school gangster in Witness Protection. However, he gets to parody this role in a way since the film is a comedy.