John Travolta to be John Gotti?
| January 30, 2011 11:01 am |Who’s the Boss? Chances are, it’s John Travolta. According to Marc Fiore — the CEO of Fiore Films, LLC — the Pulp Fiction star is in serious talks to play New York City mob boss John Gotti in Gotti, an upcoming film executive produced by Fiore about three generations of the crime family. (A call to Travolta’s representative was not immediately returned.) “We would love to have him,” Fiore tells EW. “He’s a terrific actor. John Gotti, Sr. — he’s an icon. And so is Travolta … The Gottis have an image already. People know who they are. You can’t just be a good actor, you have to be a great actor who can become John Gotti.”
As for who will direct the film about “the Teflon Don”, Fiore is finalizing a deal with Travolta’s Face/Off co-star — and The Notebook director — Nick Cassavetes. And another big name is being tossed around to play John Jr.: James Franco. Fiore says he is in very preliminary talks with Franco, but that he’s one of several “A-list actors” they are speaking to. (A rep for Franco, who already has a busy schedule ahead of him, confirms the preliminary status: “A script was sent to him. That’s all. There are no plans for him to do it at this time.”) Regardless of who jumps on board, Fiore says to expect a film that will recall another famous mobster tale. “It’s going to be the new Godfather,” Fiore says. “It’s a story about a father and a son, but the father happens to be John Gotti Sr.”
It certainly doesn’t hurt that the cast and crew will have help from a valuable source: The Gotti family. Fiore says the entire family has signed exclusives to be consultants on the film — which Fiore hopes to begin filming in summer 2011 — including John Gotti Jr., who worked on the script with writer Leo Rossi (who appeared in Analyze This) “every day.” “We have a real inside look,” says Fiore. “John, Jr. will answer any question you ask him. The Gotti family, they don’t try to put a sweater over things.”