Joe Pesci Joins GOTTI, Lindsay Lohan In Talks

Joe Pesci doesn't do a lot of acting these days but he has just agreed to play Angelo Ogero in the upcoming Gotti: Three Generations, an epic biopic that has John Travolta locked in as American mobster John Gotti Sr, the notorious head of the Gambino family. Nick Cassavetes (John Q, The Notebook) will direct. Pesci's casting as the high-ranking mobster and close friend to Gotti was announced today at a press conference for the film in New York where Lindsay Lohan attended and revealed she is in talks to play Victoria Gotti, daughter of John, though her deal is not yet finalised (presumably it comes down to whether she needs to serve time for her recent misdemeanors). The lead role of John Gotti Jr, who lives in the shadow of his father and wants to leave the gangster life, has yet to be cast. The movie was described as a 'father-son story' and as an "open door insider's look" at the Gotti family which has been pieced together by screenwriter Leo Rossi (writer of low radar crime movies) from interviews with John Gotti Jr., Victoria, family lawyer Charlie Cinelli and others who knew him. In fact Travolta met with John Gotti Jr before agreeing to make the film. Gotti: Three Generations will tell the story of when Gotti Sr passed the gangster torch to his son in 1988 and Gotti Jr's struggle to change and go in a different direction with his life. Having been released from a 9 year prison stint in 2009 and having been tried and not convicted on several racketeering cases in the last decade, Gotti Jr believes a new movie will put the record straight so everyone can move on. Of course, a film will also give the opportunity for Gotti Jr to perhaps have creative license with his own family history. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAC03GnOXVc Lohan's casting feels like a publicity stunt but Pesci's is a coup, simply because he just doesn't work much and he brings with it his history of gangster movies Goodfellas, Casino and Once Upon A Time in America to the table. Principal photography begins in October with Fiori Films, a company whose only credit to date is the straight-to-dvd fare National Lampoon's One, Two, Many are financing and producing the $15 million project. Clearly there's a big and high-profile movie to be made of Gotti but with such heavy handed creative control, this one just ain't gonna be it. And Lindsay Lohan? WTF?
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Matt Holmes is the co-founder of What Culture, formerly known as Obsessed With Film. He has been blogging about pop culture and entertainment since 2006 and has written over 10,000 articles.