You can kind of understand why some Italian-American groups get so upset by the why Hollywood portrays them, as so many of the character actors who most noticeably come under the Italian-American banner have had careers where they’re most well known for playing gangsters. Chazz Palminteri (A Bronx Tale, The Usual Suspects) is certainly one of those, and now he’s taken another role that’ll rile up the protest groups, by agreeing to play Mafia boss Paul Castellano in Gotti: In The Shadow Of My Father, according to Variety.
Barry Levinson is directing the movie, which starts shooting in New York in early January, with John Travolta, Ben Foster, Kelly Preston and Al Pacino, already in the cast. Palminteri commented, “I have seen this film come together from the very start, and am pleased to be able to work alongside such great talent to bring this story to the big screen. I have been a longtime admirer of Barry Levinson and am looking forward to working with him.”
Gotti: In the Shadow of My Father reveals the relationship of infamous mobster John Gotti, who lived and died by the mob code and his son, who chose to leave that world behind and try to redeem himself. Paul Castellano meanwhile succeeded Carlo Gambino as head of the Gambino crime family. After Castellano’s much-publicized murder in 1985, John Gotti became head of the notorious crime family.