In 1996, Gotti, a film showcasing the life of John Gotti, the American Mafia's most well known and glamorized mobsters was released featuring Armand Assante. Assante portrayed John Gotti in a memorable role and performance. Assante had the swagger and charisma to accurately portray the mobster known as the "Dapper Don," and "Teflon Don."
Now after more than 15 years after the release of the original Gotti film, there has been a lot of hype surrounding a new John Gotti film. Fiore films is the company behind the film, Gotti: In the Shadow of My Father. Set to portray Gotti is screen legend John Travolta. Travolta best known for his roles as disco dance king Tony Manero in Saturday Night Fever and Danny Zuko in Grease is not a stranger to gangster films. In Quentin Tarantino's 1994 film Pulp Fiction, Travolta's career was revitalized with his role as mob hit man Vincent Vega. Travolta's popularity soared after the release of Pulp Fiction. The one question that keeps circulating amid the hype of Gotti: In The Shadow of My Father, is whether or not Travolta will be able to realistically portray the "Teflon Don."
The supporting cast for Gotti: In The Shadow of My Father, is turning out to be quite impressive. Al Pacino will reportedly portray the ruthless gangster Aniello Dellacroce. Ben Foster is set to portray John Gotti Jr..Victoria Gotti will be portrayed by John Travolta's wife Kelly Preston. Chazz Palminteri will portray the former boss of the Gambino family Paul Castellano and Ella Bleu Travolta will portray Angel Gotti. Lindsay Lohan is also rumored to still be part of the cast.
Joe Pesci was supposed to have portrayed Angelo Ruggiero in the film but Pesci has allegedely pulled out of being in the film due to contract problems. Sylvester Stallone was one of the first actors to have been in talks with John Gotti Jr. to be in the movie but is has been alleged that Stallone wanted too much creative control of the movie. There were several other actors rumored to have been considered for the role of John Gotti Jr., including James Franco, Channing Tatum, and Dominic Cooper.
Barry Levinson who has produced the gangster films Bugsy, Donnie Brasco and Analyze That is credited with being the director and co-writer for Gotti: In The Shadow of My Father.
In many people's eyes, John Gotti appeared as a larger than life character, even appearing on the cover of Time magazine in 1996. Only time will tell if the yet to be released Gotti: In The Shadow of My Father film can live up to the hype and be as huge a film as the man behind the biopic.
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