On the verge of the premiere of Idiots and Angels at Tribeca, Oscar-nominated animator Bill Plympton talks about embarking in a new direction and cutting a deal with Tom Waits.

Q: What was your inspiration for Idiots and Angels?

A: All I can recollect is that I was in France about three years ago, walking down the street with a guy. He asked me what my next film was. I said, "Some a--hole guy who grows wings and he doesn't like it because the wings make him do good things." All that night I started doing sketches and plotting ideas and doing character designs.

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Chazz Palminteri was born to be a gangster -- or at least to play one in the movies. He got his big break when his idol Robert De Niro stumbled upon his quasi-autobiographical play A Bronx Tale and turned it into his directorial debut. Barely a year after that flick made him an overnight success, Palminteri was nominated for an Oscar for his role in Woody Allen's mob comedy Bullets Over Broadway. Straight or side-splitting, Palminteri's performances are always pitch-perfect. He recently spoke with Shootout about his five favorites.

Palminteri's Favorite Palminteri Pictures

• A Bronx Tale
• Bullets Over Broadway
• Analyze This
• Hurlyburly
• The Usual Suspects

Palminteri credits others for his success: De Niro was "a great director who would not compromise and dealt with subject matter truthfully," Woody gave him "a chance to show my comic timing," and Hurlyburly's Anthony Drazan was "a great director who had vision." And as career "gangster," he clearly owes a debt to the genre's classic films.

Continue reading "Chazz Palminteri Favors Gangster Roles and Cagney as a Gangster" »