With the second season of The Bear serving up record-breaking view counts on Hulu, Paramount Pictures is ready to say, “Yes, chef” to Christopher Storer’s next project. Storer, the creator of The Bear, is adapting the Don Winslow novel The Winter of Frankie Machine into a feature film. Shane Salerno produces alongside The Story Factory. Storer will use a previous draft by Brian Koppelman and David Levien when Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro were eyeing the project.
Arranged before the WGA writers’ strike, The Winter of Frankie Machine project has been kicking around Hollywood for quite some time, with Scorsese and Michael Mann once attached to bring Winslow’s novel to screens. Winslow and Salerno denied several of Hollywood’s top directors a chance to adapt the book until Storer marched onto the scene. The duo is fans of The Bear, an intense drama about Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White), a young chef who, after experiencing a fall from grace in the fine dining world, takes his talents to a family-owned sandwich shop – The Original Beef of Chicagoland. Sensing Storer’s love of the novel, Winslow and Salerno agreed enthusiastically about the adaptation.
The following is a synopsis of Winslow’s novel, courtesy of Amazon:
Frankie Machianno, a hard-working entrepreneur, passionate lover, part-time surf bum, and full-time dad, is a pillar of his waterfront community—and a retired hitman. Once better known as Frankie Machine, he was a brutally efficient killer. Now someone from his past wants him dead, and after a botched attempt on his life, Frankie sets out to find his potential killers. However, the list of suspects is longer than the California coastline. With the mob on his heels and the cops on his tail, Frankie hatches a plan to protect his family, save his life, and escape the mob forever. Then things get really complicated.
After several attempts to bring The Winter of Frankie Machine to screens, Storer is ready to shock audiences with Machianno’s story. Casting for the project remains a mystery, with more news to follow now that the project is public knowledge. We’ll bring you more details as things develop.