Entertainment
Jack Nicholson Makes The Departed Better With One Simple Genius Method
By Robert Scucci
| Published
Some people don’t like knowing how the sausage is made, but when it comes to Hollywood insider stuff, I’m always a fan of when the curtain is pulled back in order to explain how certain iconic movie scenes came to be. After recently rewatching Martin Scorsese’s The Departed, I fell down a rabbit hole that led me to an interview Matt Damon had on What a Joke, a Netflix is a Joke radio show hosted by comedian Tom Papa, describing what it was like working with Jack Nicholson, laying out in great detail just how involved the Shining actor was in rewriting one of the more disturbing sequences in the 2006 crime thriller.
According to Damon, he was sitting alone with Jack Nicholson, who, unprompted, told him that “I never would’ve made this far in this career if I wasn’t a great f*cking writer” during a pre-production meeting for The Departed. The discussion in question was about the iconic “she fell funny” sequence involving an execution – a simple scene with no dialogue – that Jack Nicholson added his flare to in the form of increasingly morbid humor that led to the final cut that we know and love today.
“She Fell Funny”
Coming from the Roger Corman School, Jack Nicholson’s method for this scene in The Departed involved leaving the camera rolling so he could ad-lib a number of lines that Scorsese would then have final say on what actually made it into the final cut, giving the legendary director a number of options to work with. The original scene, as written, involved Nicholson’s Frank Costello executing a man kneeling in the marshes without a single line of dialogue, or anybody else in his company for that matter.
Jack Nicholson, the great writer that he is, took a number of creative liberties because he “thought he could make it better” without adding to The Departed’s runtime or budget, like executing a woman instead of a man, and then turning to Ray Winstone’s Frenchie, who’s holding an axe to dismember her corpse after she unceremoniously meets her fate.
“But If You Leave The Camera Rolling …”
Wanting to illustrate in no uncertain terms just how twisted of an individual Costello actually is in The Departed, Jack Nicholson lays out his ideas in order, always ending with “now you could end the scene there, but if you leave the camera rolling…”
What started as a simple passing scene in The Departed became the stuff of legend because Jack Nicholson decided that not only would he shoot the woman in the back of the head, he’d say “jeez, she fell funny,” turn to Frenchie, who’s holding an axe, mention that he’d like to violate her corpse, only to laugh it off before Frenchie says, “Francis, you really should see somebody.”
Each and every escalating line of dialogue Jack Nicholson proposed for this scene in The Departed paints a vivid picture of Costello’s bleak worldview, and how these executions are such a regular part of his life that he’s unphased by the whole incident to the point of making light of the situation, causing his partner in crime to be concerned about his mental state.
The final cut of The Departed that we’re familiar with includes the execution, the now-classic “jeez, she fell funny” line, and Frenchie’s response, while the other exchanges found themselves on the cutting room floor. But because of Jack Nicholson’s willingness to punch up the script, and Martin Scorsese’s instinct as a director to work with what Nicholson gave him when they left the camera rolling, Costello’s character is elevated to a level that we’d never have a chance to see if he performed the scene as written.
Entertainment
The Bang & Olufsen Beosound Explore Bluetooth speaker is at the lowest price weve seen all year
SAVE $75: The Bang & Olufsen Beosound Explore Bluetooth speaker is on sale for $224 at Amazon, down from the standard price of $299. That’s a 25% discount.
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at Amazon
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Packing up for an adventure means figuring out how to bring along a soundtrack. A trip to the cabin or a lakeside campground all deserve to be experienced with a great playlist. If you could use an upgrade before summer to get a waterproof Bluetooth speaker, check out this deal at Amazon.
As of April 22, the Bang & Olufsen Beosound Explore Bluetooth speaker is on sale for $224 at Amazon, marked down from the normal price of $299. That’s a 25% discount that takes $75 off the price. It’s also the lowest price we’ve seen at Amazon so far this year.
A compact speaker with a scratch-resistant aluminum shell is exactly what we should be packing on adventures. With an attached carabiner, the B&O Explore speaker is designed to clip onto your backpack when you hit the trail. Or you can utilize the rubber base to set it on a rock or even in the sand. It’s both waterproof and dustproof, adding to the durability.
Bang & Olufsen notes this model gets up to 27 hours of playtime before it needs to recharge. It weighs under 1.5 pounds, so it won’t add much bulk to your gear. It takes about two hours to recharge the Beosound Explore.
Mashable Deals
Before summer kicks into high gear, add the Bang & Olufsen Beosound Explore speaker to your pack. It’s ready for any adventure you have planned.
Entertainment
Get some new wrist candy with the CMF Watch Pro 2 at its lowest price ever
SAVE $39.01: As of April 22, get the CMF By Nothing Watch 2 Pro for $39.99 at Amazon, down from its usual price of $79. That’s a discount of 49% and the lowest price we’ve seen.
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There are tons of smartwatches on the market if you’re in need of one. But if you’re willing to look beyond the Apple Watches or Samsung devices out there, you’ll find an awesome alternative from the Nothing brand that’ll save you some serious cash. Not only is it more affordable than the competition, but it’s got everything you could want and then some. In fact, one of the models is on sale right now.
As of April 22, get the CMF By Nothing Watch 2 Pro for $39.99 at Amazon, down from its usual price of $79. That’s $39.01 off and a discount of 49%. It’s also the lowest price we’ve seen.
This affordable smartwatch not only comes in an attractive form factor, but it has just about everything you could ask for. It has your average comms tools like Bluetooth calling and gesture control, a built-in mic and speaker, contacts, message reminders, and music control. But from there, it offers a wide range of sensors and data to help you take control of your health.
It offers a portable blood oxygen saturation monitor, a heart rate monitor, sleep tracking, and so much more. All of this data, including workout information, steps, and much more, can be synced across all your favorite fitness apps, including Apple Health and Google Health Connect. There are 120 sports modes to choose from, GPS positioning, and even a 3D warm-up exercise guide to help get you on your feet each day.
Mashable Deals
With interchangeable watch straps and an attractive face, this extremely reasonable smartwatch is definitely one to rival Apple and Samsung. You’ll want to grab yours while it’s still down to the lowest price we’ve seen.
Entertainment
Get Ankers 14-in-1 Thunderbolt 5 Dock for $60 less at Amazon
SAVE 15%: As of April 22, you can get the Anker Prime 14-in-1 Thunderbolt 5 Dock for $339.99, down from $399.99, at Amazon. That’s a 15% discount or $60 savings.
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Working off a laptop is great until you realize you only have two ports and need to plug something in. If you’re hooked up to an external monitor, keyboard, and mouse, you’re pretty much out of luck on the rest. Not only that, but your previously uncluttered desk will most likely look like a Best Buy exploded (a rat’s nest of cords isn’t cute or helpful for anyone getting work done).
If you literally hate mess and cords as much as I do, you need a docking station to hide all that chaos and protect your aesthetic. Right now, Anker’s Prime TB5 Docking Station is on sale for $339.99 at Amazon, down from $399.99. (That’s a $60 price cut.)
Mashable Deals
Are you going to use all 14 ports at the exact same time? Probably not, but you’ll never have to dig through your bag for a specific adapter again. You just plug a single cable into your laptop, and the dock handles the rest. It features a Thunderbolt 5 upstream port, two Thunderbolt 5 downstream ports, two USB-C ports, three USB-A ports, SD and TF card readers, a 2.5Gbps Ethernet port, an audio jack, and your choice of HDMI 2.1 or DisplayPort 2.1. It’s also fast enough to transfer a 150GB file in 25 seconds.
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