Yesterday the Cannes Film Festival made a surprising last-second addition to its upcoming slate. Gotti, the long troubled drama starring John Travolta as the head of the Gambino crime family. It’s been developing for years and has undergone numerous changes (remember when they were courting Joe Pesci?) and filmmakers before settling on Entourage star Kevin Connolly. Yeah, him. There’s reason for skepticism, but that Cannes would make room for it suggests we might need to start taking it seriously.
Travolta has been attached from the beginning and clearly feels something for the material. He’s joined by Stacy Keach, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Kelly Preston, Leo Rossi, and Spencer Lofranco in the story of John Gotti’s rise to the head of the New York underworld. Here’s the synopsis:
John Gotti rises to the top of the New York underworld to become the boss of the Gambino crime family. His life takes a tumultuous turn as he faces tragedy, multiple trials and a prison sentence.
The script hails from Lem Dobbs, a frequent Steven Soderbergh collaborator who wrote The Limey, Haywire, and Dark City. Those are some impressive creds.
Gotti hits theaters on June 15th.
