Nicholas Pileggi Quotes

United States, Producer
February 22, 1933

Nicholas Pileggi (/pɪlɛɡiː/) is an American producer, author and screenwriter. He is best known for writing the non-fiction book Wiseguy and co-writing the screenplay for Goodfellas, its 1990 film adaptation, for which he received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.

Also known as Author, Screenwriter

Las Vegas is a city of kickbacks. A desert city of greased palms. A place where a $20 bill can buy approval, a $100 bill adulation and $1,000 canonization.

Nicholas Pileggi
- Buy
- Approval
- Las Vegas
For most of the guys, killings got to be accepted. Murder was the only way that everybody stayed in line. You got out of line, you got whacked. Everybody knew the rules.

Nicholas Pileggi
- Rules
- Murder
- Killings

Everybody gets pinched but you did it right. You told them nothing and they got nothing. You learned the two greatest things in life: Never rat on your friends and always keep your mouth shut.

Nicholas Pileggi
- Friends
- Mouth
- Shut
As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster.

Nicholas Pileggi
- Remember
- Want
- Gangster
Let me tell you something. Nobody goes to jail unless they want to. Unless they make themselves get caught. They don't have things organized.

Nicholas Pileggi
- Caught
- Jail
- Organized
I know there are women, like my best friends, who would have gotten out of there the minute their boyfriend gave them a gun to hide. But I didn't. I got to admit the truth. It turned me on.

Nicholas Pileggi
- Women
- Truth
- Gun