TEFLON JOHN: John Travolta, who will play John Gotti Sr. in a movie, visits John “Junior” Gotti (left, above) and Junior’s lawyer, Charles Carnesi. (Matthew McDermott)
TEFLON JOHN: John Travolta (inset, center), who will play John Gotti Sr. (main) in a movie, visits John “Junior” Gotti (inset, left) and Junior’s lawyer, Charles Carnesi. (Gene Shaw/Time Life Pictures; Matthew McDermott (inset))
The planned big-screen biopic about John Gotti seemed as if it was sleeping with the fishes a few months ago, but now it looks as if the mob film is about to be made.
Still starring John Travolta as the notorious Gambino boss, “Gotti: In the Shadow of My Father” is back on track thanks to an infusion of money and a new script finished last week.
“We’re full speed right now,” Marc Fiore, one of the film’s producers, told The Post. “We just got our newest script from [British screenwriter] Lem Dobbs. We’re going forward.”
“Gotti” had been mired in controversy since it was pitched as son John “Junior” Gotti’s take on his notorious father, who “died by the mob code” behind bars in June 2002.
Plaguing the production were multimillion-dollar lawsuits brought by boldface talents, including Joe Pesci, who claimed they were duped after signing on, countless false starts and other money woes — not to mention an ensuing game of musical-chairs with directors.
Actress Lindsay Lohan was even trotted out in a high-profile press conference months ago, announcing that she would play Gotti Sr.’s wife — only to have her name later mysteriously scrubbed from the credits listed on the film’s IMDb Web site.
Junior’s lawyer Charles Carnesi might play himself in the flick.
Fiore insisted, “The movie actually never sunk.’’
Oscar-winning director Barry Levinson has signed on to the project, replacing Nick Cassavetes, and A-lister Al Pacino is set to play the late Gambino underboss and Gotti mentor Aniello Dellacroce. Hollywood heavyweight producer Ted Field is still on board, too.
And that’s all good news for Junior. He’s had outstanding tax liens against him since 2001, and a trial date has now been set to force him to deal with them.
According to legal documents obtained by The Post from various city, state and federal agencies, his bill, plus interest, totals more than $250,000.
Anothe Junior lawyer, Jeffrey Lichtman, said that while the trial date has been set, he hopes a settlement can be reached.
Additional reporting by Kieran Crowley