One early incident included preparing he weekly financial budget (with Mama""s familiar relief: "Is good - we do not have to go to the bank").During introductions, Cedar identifies himself as the senior partner in the law firm of Cedar, Cedar, Cedar, and Budington.Director Martin Scorsese was convinced by actor Robert De Niro, with whom he had madeMean Streets (1973),Taxi Driver (1976), andNew York, New York (1977), that he film had to be made, after he was given La Motta""s biography by De Niro in 1974.Among many faces that turn skyward and yearn for freedom in the Americas, a Bulgarian couple, Jan Viereck (Helmut Dantine) and Annina Brandel (Joy Page) hopefully wonder aloud: "Perhaps tomorrow, we""ll be on the plane.] Presumably, he Academy felt obligated to honor one of filmdom""s greatest directors (DeMille) with the Best Picture Oscar, as his career was coming to an end.