It looks like the movie about infamous New York City mobster John Gotti is finally happening.
Deadline is reporting that the long in-development film will finally push through with John Travolta penciled in to play the lead role.
What's interesting is the choice of director. The report says that Lionsgate, the studio behind the film, has selected actor Kevin Connolly to helm the production.
Connolly's most notable role is that of Eric Murphy on HBO's comedy Entourage, which was turned into a movie earlier this summer. He's also had parts in films like Rocky V and Secretariat.
Connolly may seem like an odd choice to direct such a high profile film, but he's certainly no stranger to film making or the source material.
Like the character he played on Entourage, Connolly is a lifelong New York native. He previously directed a documentary called Big Shot for ESPN's 30 for 30 series which chronicled the rise and fall of the New York Islanders hockey team and it's much maligned owner John Spanos.
He's also served as director for individual episodes of Entourage as well as the indie film Gardener of Eden.
Deadline mentions that Connolly grew up reading up about Gotti's exploits in the local papers and is very familiar with the man due to his close ties to New York.
It still is quite a gamble for a studio to give a film of this magnitude to a relative unknown, but it certainly looks like Connolly has the background to pull it off.
The article also details the film's rocky production history. Big names like Al Pacino, Joe Pesci, and Anthony Hopkins were all in the running for the part at one point. But it looks like Lionsgate finally has their team with Travolta and Connolly.
Look for this film in the near future.
