It's not uncommon for a new film to be deemed as being 'as good as The Godfather' by the people behind it, and of course usually that's a bunch of rubbish, what with The Godfather being pretty much untouchable. But now, we have news of a new film that doesn't claim to be 'as good as' the legendary mobster movie, instead it is described as THE NEXT Godfather. That's fightin' talk.The film in question is Gotti: Three Generations, a biopic of the Gotti mob family, who unlike the Corleone clan are very much real and also a lot of them are alive. For those who don't know, John "The Dapper Don" Gotti was the head of the Gambino crime family in New York, who was also known as Telfon Don because for a long time, he managed to dodge a great number of serious criminal charges and didn't make it to jail until 1992, dying ten years later of cancer. He didn't come from a criminal family, but made his way into one and eventually took over the Gambino family. Perfect fodder for a film you'll agree. His family haven't shunned the limelight either - one of his daughters, Victoria, even had her own reality show with her sons a few years ago!
It was only a matter of time before the story reached screens, and now it's well underway, although the 'new Godfather' may be a bit premature. For one, they've actually been consulting with John Gotti Jr. on the whole thing, and there's no way the family would sign off on it if it was some scathing expose (would they?) so I'm expecting something a bit less intense, but still it's promising. No less because John Travolta has signed on to play John himself with JOE PESCI as his best friend. And we all know, if a film about organised crime doesn't have Joe Pesci, it's not worth your time. The film has attracted some tabloid-y attention too with the casting of Lindsay Lohan as John Jr.'s wife, Kim. Personal drama aside, the surprising thing about Lohan is she can actually act so it's not the worst casting ever.
Nick Cassavettes was tapped to direct but that fell apart so at the moment they're still hunting for a helmer. With this type of material it could go either way quality-wise, but with some of the talent on board (I still maintain Travolta is a great actor) it's promising stuff.
Gotti: Three Generations (no idea what the third generation is supposed to be) begins shooting soon (presuming they find a director) and comes out in 2013.
