Las Vegas Review-Journal (Sunday)
Tough role
Oscar Goodman got to play himself, but that was hard
“It was one of the highlights of my life,” Oscar Goodman says of his time on set, portraying himself, in “Casino.”
Considering the life the former mayor has lived, that’s high praise, indeed.
During his years as an attorney, Goodman counted Frank Rosenthal and Tony Spilotro among his regular clients. He represented Geri Rosenthal, on occasion, as well. When screenwriter Nicholas Pileggi was researching what would become both the movie and the book, “Casino: Love and Honor in Las Vegas,” he met up with Goodman at a speaking engagement in California and rode with him back to Las Vegas.
Goodman introduced the writer to Rosenthal, and the interviews that followed — during which the casino executive opened up about his personal life in ways he never did to Goodman — would form the backbone of “Casino” and Robert De Niro’s portrayal of Sam “Ace” Rothstein.
“The thing I was most surprised about — and a lot of people doubt me when I tell them this honest-to-God truth — I had no idea — assuming it’s true, because I don’t have any personal knowledge — that there was any relationship between Tony Spilotro and Geri Rosenthal, particularly an amorous one,” says Goodman, 81. “I would have bet a billion dollars that that was not taking place.”
He never saw a hint of that, Goodman insists, not even when the Rosenthals were in his office discussing the dissolution of their marriage.
“When you represent somebody and they’re in trouble all the time — and these two fellas were in trouble all the time — you spend a tremendous amount of time with them, talking about everything,” Goodman says.
Those relationships led to his inclusion in the film.
“There came a time when they were casting the movie, and Marty Scorsese said to Rosenthal and Pileggi, ‘Well, who should play the lawyer?’ And Rosenthal said, ‘How about my lawyer?’ ”
Goodman accepted, even though he admits to being unable to memorize a thing.
Asked his favorite recollection of his time in front of the camera, Goodman says it was when they finally wrapped his big scene, representing Rothstein in front of the state gaming commission.
“We finally resorted to cue cards. They didn’t even work,” he says. “(Scorsese) finally said, after three days of shooting the same scene over and over and over and over again, he said, ‘Just do it like you would in real life.’”
Another favorite memory: Once he’d gotten to know the movie’s principals, Carolyn Goodman suggested he invite some of them for dinner and a home-cooked meal. Goodman still delights in the fact that Steve Wynn, his neighbor at the time, called and asked to join the party and was rebuffed.
“‘You’re not coming. It’s my house. It’s my party. You’re not coming.’ I really meant it,” Goodman says, laughing. “It was going to be a good time for me.”
That joy lasted right up until Elaine Wynn called Carolyn, Goodman says, and declared of her then-husband, “Let him come to dinner. He’s driving me nuts!”
Scorsese, De Niro and Pileggi attended, as did Joe Pesci and Sharon Stone. Carolyn made brisket, which most of their guests thought was pot roast. The evening ended — because this was 1994 — with Carolyn Goodman, Elaine Wynn and Sharon Stone, who would earn an Oscar nomination for her role as Ginger Rothstein, washing dishes.
When it comes to his “Casino” performance, Goodman remains in good spirits.
“The night the movie came out, my mother called up and said, ‘Oscar, I saw your movie, and it’s a good thing you’re a lawyer.’ ”