John Travolta as legendary mob boss John Gotti? I’m not too sure myself, but then he is an actor who seems to coast along and then suddenly pull something unexpected and impressive out of the bag, so perhaps he can do it this time, as EW reports that the actor is in serious talks to play Gotti in a planned biopic of the ‘Teflon don’.
Producer Marc Fiore certainly seems keen, saying, “Hes a terrific actor. John Gotti, Sr. – hes an icon. And so is Travolta The Gottis have an image already. People know who they are. You cant just be a good actor, you have to be a great actor who can become John Gotti.
Nick Cassavetes is now locked in to direct the movie, which was ushered into life by Gotti’s son, Jon Gotti Jr., who wants to set the record straight about the relationship between the father and son. The film will follow Gotti’s son as he grew up with a powerful mafioso father, got inducted into the Gambino Crime Family in 1988, and took over in the early 90s when his father was finally imprisoned. For several years, like his dad, he managed to escape conviction, before pleading guilty to racketeering in 1999, at whch point he says he put his life of crime behind him him. That said, he’s spent most of the past decade in court or in prison on charges stemming from both his former life and accusations that he was still involved in crime. Presumably he sees a film as a way to rehabilitate his image. Gotti Sr. died in prison in 2002.
So who’s going to play the son? Well EW says Fiore is in ‘very preliminary’ talks with James Franco. However Franco’s reps suggest it’s less talks and more that the actor has been sent the script – and with his already ridiculous schedule, it’s difficult to see him finding the time for this movie as well.
Apparently the whole Gotti family has signed up to consult on the movie, which should provide some interesting revelations! The plan is to shoot this summer.
Oh, and just because I love the way producers always farcically overhype their projects, Fiore also adds, “Its going to be the new Godfather.” Hmm, well we’ll just have to wait and see about that.