Vincenzo Coccotti
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| Vincenzo Coccotti | |
|---|---|
 |
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| First appearance | True Romance |
| Last appearance | True Romance |
| Created by | Quentin Tarantino |
| Portrayed by | Christopher Walken |
| Information | |
| Nickname(s) | Anti-Christ Vincent |
| Occupation | Gangster |
| Nationality | Italian |
| IMDb profile | |
Vincenzo Coccotti is a fictional character, portrayed by Christopher Walken in Tony Scott's 1993 film True Romance.
Contents |
[edit] Information
Vincenzo "Vincent" Coccotti is a Sadistic Mobster Kingpin who enjoys intense psychological torture sessions with those who do not co-operate with him. Vincenzo is part of the mob that is lead by Drexl who is played Gary Oldman. Vincenzo is called up to find Christian Slater’s character, Clarence Worley, when he goes missing. He is from Sicily, Italy. He also known as Anti-Christ.
[edit] The Sicilian scene
Clarence's father, Clifford Worley (Dennis Hopper), is paid an unwelcome visit by Vincent Coccotti (Christopher Walken), consigliere to a Mafia boss named "Blue" Lou Boyle. Coccotti questions Worley as to the whereabouts of Clarence and the missing narcotics. Clifford realizes during the interrogation that he will be tortured until he gives the information. Apparently to deliberately provoke and enrage Coccotti, ensure a quick death, and protect his son, Worley brings up Sicilians' background. Worley is quoting history on the claim of Sicilian people having Black people's ancestry through the Moors or, as Hopper puts it in the movie: "Sicilians were spawned by niggers." This speech is the precursor to Worley's death.
This scene has been nominated by Tarantino himself (on the True Romance Unrated Director's Cut DVD commentary) as one of his proudest moments. "I had heard that whole speech about the Sicilians a long time ago, from a black guy living in my house. One day I was talking with a friend who was Sicilian and I just started telling that speech. And I thought: “Wow, that is a great scene, I gotta remember that.”
In an interview with MOJO magazine in September 2006 Walken commented on his genuine friendship with Hopper implying that this helped create the warmth that exists between the otherwise antipathetic characters: "we really like each other, but I kill him anyway." He also expressed admiration for the Tarantino dialogue which was too good to improvise around, instead being delivered meticulously as scripted.
On an episode of "Inside the Actors Studio", Hopper was questioned by one of the film students if "the Sicilian scene" was scripted or improvised. After laughing for a moment, Hopper replied that the scene was mostly done as scripted, and the only part that was improvised was the "eggplant" and "cantaloupe" remarks.
This scene has been colloquially named the Sicilian scene and become a cult favorite - and is included in Tarantino's original script.[1] The dialogue from the scene can be found in wikiquote.
[edit] Trivia
- Tarantino wanted the role of Concotti to be played by Robert Forster.
- According to Dennis Hopper, the only words that were improvised in the scene with Christopher Walken were "egg plant" and "cantaloup".
- Following the "eggplant scene", Dennis Hopper was concerned about being "shot" by Christopher Walken with the prop gun so close against his head for fear of being burned by the barrel. Director Tony Scott assured him the gun was 100% safe, and even tested it by having the prop man fire it against his (Scott's) own forehead. But upon firing the prop gun the barrel extended about a third of an inch and Scott ended up on the floor with blood pouring from the wound.
- The character of Blue Lou Boyle was originally a speaking part (with Robert De Niro as the definite favorite), but many cuts were made to Quentin Tarantino's script, including a scene featuring him. Instead, he's briefly mentioned as Vincent Coccotti's superior.
- The opera piece heard during the scene with Christopher Walken and Dennis Hopper is from Lakmé by Léo Delibes. It is also used in The Hunger (1983), another film directed by Tony Scott.
- Christopher Walken also starred in Pulp Fiction, which also written by Quentin Tarantino. Tarantino also want Walken for his films Reservoir Dogs and From Dusk Till Dawn.
[edit] Quotes
- What I have to offer you. That's as good as it's gonna get and it won't ever get that good again.
- I'm talking about a massacre. They snatched my narcotics and hightailed it outta there. Would've gotten away with it, but your son, fuck-head that he is, left his driver's license... in a dead guy's hands.
- I haven't killed anybody... [pause, interrupted by gunfire] since 1984. Goddamn his soul to burn for eternity in fucking hell for making me get my hands dirty. Go over to this comedian's son's apartment, come back with something that tells me where that asshole went, so I can wipe this egg off my face and finish this fucked-up family for good.
- Now, what we got here is a little game of show and tell. You don't wanna show me nothing but you're telling me everything.
- [Deleted scene] Find out who this wing and a prayer artist is and take him off at the neck.
- We're gonna have a little Q&A, and at the risk of sounding redundant, please... make your answers genuine.
- You're a cantaloupe. (to Clifford)
- I'm the anti-christ and you've got me in a vendetta kind of mood.
- Sicilians are great liars. The best in the world. I'm Sicilian. My father was the world heavy-weight champion of Sicilian liars. From growing up with him I learned the pantomime. There are seventeen different things a guy can do when he lies to give himself away. A guys got seventeen pantomimes. A woman's got twenty, but a guy's got seventeen... but, if you know them, like you know your own face, they beat lie detectors all to hell. Now, what we got here is a little game of show and tell. You don't wanna show me nothin', but you're tellin me everything. I know you know where they are, so tell me before I do some damage you won't walk away from.
- That smarts, doesn't it? Getting slammed in the nose. Fucks you all up. You get that pain shootin' through your brain, your eyes fill up with water. That ain't any kind of fun, but what I have to offer you, that's as good as it's gonna get. And it won't ever get that good again. We talked to your neighbors. They saw a Cadillac. Purple Cadillac. Clarence's purple Cadillac, parked in front of your trailer yesterday. Mr. Worley, you seen your son?
[edit] Popular culture references
Actually, film, True Romance have reference to film The Deer Hunter, which Christopher Walken, who played Coccotti get the Academy Award with this film. Film mentioned in Clarence's "That's a Movie" speech. True Romance mentioned in another film of Christopher Walken, Catch Me If You Can.
Vincenco Coccotti was spoofed in 2001 direct-to-video film The Mangler 2, in the Mangler 2, a character at the school does an impression of Christopher Walken's lines about getting hit in the nose causing the eyes to water.
