Lionsgate has pulled the upcoming mob drama from the release schedule just ten days before its premiere, selling the film back to production company Emmett/Furla/Oasis Films.
- Dec 6, 2017
AceShowbiz - John Travolta's Gotti biopic has just got whacked. Lionsgate has pulled the upcoming mob drama from the release schedule just ten days before it's set for domestic release under the studio's Lionsgate Premiere banner. The film has now been sold back to production company Emmett/Furla/Oasis Films.
There's no immediate reason given for what prompted the sale. The Tracking Board first broke the news, further indicating that the company, having produced the biopic with Highland Film Group and Fiore Films, will seek new distributor soon. Now it seems likely the film will be released sometime next year, instead of the originally planned December 15 bow.
Directed by "Entourage" star Kevin Connolly from a script written by Lem Dobbs ("The Limey") and veteran actor Leo Rossi, "Gotti" has Travolta playing the infamous mobster. It also stars Travolta's real-life wife Kelly Preston as Victoria Gotti and Stacy Keach as the Gambino Crime Family boss' mentor, Aniello Dellacroce. The supporting cast includes Pruitt Taylor Vince, Spencer Lofranco, William DeMeo, Leo Rossi, Tyler Jon Olson, Megan Leonard, Lydia Hull and Ashley Cusato.
The biographical drama follows infamous crime boss John Gotti's rise to become the "Teflon Don" of the Gambino Crime Family in New York City. Spanning three decades and recounted by his son John Jr. (Lofranco), the film examines Gotti's tumultuous life as he and his wife attempt to hold the family together amongst tragedy and multiple prison sentences.
Director Connolly previously told Entertainment Weekly of the biopic, "There are nice cars and fancy suits in the movie, but we're also showing where all that eventually leads." The helmer continued, "HBO made a Gotti movie in 1996, but his death, which was horrible, hasn't been covered too much. That's a different angle that we're going to explore."
Gotti was acquitted in three separate criminal trials before he was eventually convicted of murder in 1992. He died of cancer in prison in 2002 at the age of 61.
