John Travolta has been trying to get a film based on mobster John Gotti, Sr. off the ground for years but it looks like GOTTI will finally see the light of day. THR has learned that Joe Johnston (CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER, THE WOLFMAN) has agreed to direct GOTTI with Travolta playing the mobster boss. John Travolta made a statement about the hiring of Johnston and how he's thrilled to play John Gotti in a film:
I'm looking forward to portraying John Gotti — it's been a long time coming. And I think that Johnston is an exciting and fresh addition to the vision of the film. We are all looking forward to starting production.
Joe Johnston also added why he was interested in telling the story of "The Teflon Don":
I think we’ve always been fascinated with the idea of the romantic outlaw. John Gotti could be in one instance a charismatic, kind and loving family man, and in another, deadly to his enemies. The opportunity to tell the true story of Gotti with John Travolta is a director’s dream.
While I do love a good mobster movie I hope they don't focus too much of the film on Gotti being a great family man since the man did do some truly horrible things. I understand the need to portray him as both a ruthless mafia boss and a loving husband/father, but I also don't want elements shoehorned in to make the guy seem too sympathetic. Joe Johnston is a decent enough director and John Travolta clearly has some passion for this project though, so I do think this could end up being a pretty good film.
Filming on GOTTI is scheduled to start on September 9th in New York and currently doesn't have a release date.