It could be the greatest gangster movie ever made, or it could be proof that all these old iconic stars are a bit over the hill. Either way, if things fall into place the way we hope they will, this could be a very interesting film to watch out for. Deadline reports that Joe Pesci and Al Pacino are now circling a film that's been in development for awhile now, with Robert De Niro and Martin Scorsese already attached.
It's called The Irishman, and it's based on the book I Heard You Paint Houses, which itself is based on the life of mob hitman Frank "The Irishman" Sheeran, who, among other things, claimed that he killed Jimmy Hoffa. The title of the book refers back to the first words Hoffa ever spoke to Sheeran (and in case you didn't know, to "paint houses" in mob-speak means to kill a person – so, yeah, painting houses is a bad thing).
From the Amazon description of the book: "For the first time the Irishman tells all — a lifetime of payoffs (including hand-delivering bags of cash to Nixon's attorney general John Mitchell) and manipulation (supporting Joe Biden's election to the Senate with a Teamster action) — for the book that would become his deathbed confession. He died on December 14, 2003.
Sheeran also provides shocking new information on notorious mob hits: Joseph "Crazy Joey" Gallo — blown away as he celebrated his forty-third birthday in New York's Little Italy; Salvatore "Sally Bugs" Briguglio — long suspected of being a player in the plot to kill Hoffa. And offers new insights to the crusading of Robert Kennedy and the death of John F. Kennedy.
This historic account is based on interviews of Frank Sheeran by Charles Brandt, who researched, cross-checked, and illuminated what Sheeran told him and turned it all into a gripping narrative that is sure to become an instant true crime classic."
De Niro is already attached to play The Irishman, though if the film is to track his entire life then they'll probably need to get a younger actor to play the younger versions of Sheeran, a la Goodfellas. Needless to say, a film directed by Martin Scorsese starring Pacino, De Niro and Pesci is one I'm certainly buying a ticket for regardless. No word on whether Scorsese will definitely make this his next project after finishing up his 3D Hugo Cabaret movie, but we're hopeful.
What say you? Is this not an enticing cast, or what?
