Robert De Niro, 79, will again play the gangsters in Wise Guys, a film by Barry Levinson written by Nicholas Pileggi, screenwriter of Goodfellas.
After The Irishman, a large-scale criminal fresco directed by Martin Scorsese in 2019, it was thought that Robert De Niro had said goodbye to the roles of gangsters.
The Hollywood Reporter reveals to us today that this is not the case! The 79-year-old actor will play two iconic figures of organized crime, Vito Genovese and Frank Costello, in Wise Guys.
This drama about the Italian-American mafia in the 1950s will be directed by Barry Levinson, director of Rain Man and Good Morning Vietnam. In addition, the 80-year-old filmmaker has already directed De Niro in Sleepers and The Wizard of Lies.
In 1957, Vito Genovese wants to eliminate Frank Costello, but his assassination attempt fails. Wounded and diminished, Costello will do everything to get away from the world of crime and retire.
This is the story that will be told by Wise Guys, whose screenplay will be written by a great name: Nicholas Pileggi. The latter notably signed the scripts for Les Affranchis and Casino, produced by Martin Scorsese. Aged 89, the author has obviously not finished with the world of gangsters.
Note that this Frank Costello has nothing to do with the one portrayed by Jack Nicholson in The Departed. In this specific case, screenwriter William Monahan took the name of the famous mobster for this feature film, but was inspired by another crime figure for this character: James Whitey Bulger.
The latter was the godfather of the Boston underworld for more than 50 years, before being arrested in 2011 after a very long run.
WHAT’S NEXT FOR DE NIRO?
Before devoting himself to this dual role, we will find Robert De Niro in Amsterdam, the new David O. Russell, in theaters on November 2.
He will then star in Killers of the Flower Moon alongside Leonardo DiCaprio, expected in spring 2023.
In this historical epic set in the 1920s, Scorsese will tell us the true story of the murders of several members of the Osage Indian tribe in Oklahoma. They were murdered after finding oil on their land. The FBI is investigating.
THE AMSTERDAM TRAILER WITH DE NIRO