Martin Scorsese's next gangster flick has been acquired by Netflix.
The Irishman, which will reunite Scorsese and Robert De Niro (Al Pacino and Joe Pesci are also involved) for the ninth time, was initially going to be distributed by Paramount, but according to IndieWire the exit of the studio’s longstanding chairman Brad Grey means the director and his team have reportedly made a new deal with the streaming giant.
According to a source quoted by IndieWire the Netflix package was the best one for the film. “Scorsese’s movie is a risky deal, and Paramount is not in the position to take risks,” they told the website. “This way, he can make the project he wants.” Netflix are yet to comment.
Steve Zaillian has adapted the film’s screenplay from Charles Brandt‘s book, I Heard You Paint Houses, which chronicles the life of Frank “The Irishman” Sheeran, a notorious mobster hitman who was accused of having ties to the Bufalino crime family. Before his death in 2003, Sheeran confessed to killing ex-leader of the Teamsters Union Jimmy Hoffa, whose body has never been found.
The film, which was announced way back in 2008, will use modern CGI wizardry to make De Niro look like a 30-year-old (which, incidentally, was his IRL age in 1973’s Mean Streets, the first project the legendary actor and Scorsese worked on together).
Major coup for Netflix, this one.
