John Travolta has career longevity, that’s for sure. Just when you think he’s finished–with stuff like “Battlefield: Earth”–he comes bouncing back with an off the wall hit like “Wild Hogs.” Scientology, gay rumors, toupees, the National Enquirer–it’s all there, but Travolta just bounces along. Now he’s announcing a new film that’s his latest career ender: he’s going to play John Gotti in a film about the dead, disgusting mobster and his living, disgusting son. Yikes. Someone–maybe former comic and husband of Shirley Jones, Marty Ingles; or Jonathan Krane, Travolta’s sometime manager–has convinced Vinnie Barbarino that this will be his “Godfather.” You can hear the pitch–look at what this kind of thing did for Brando! Ahem. A couple of differences. “The Godfather” was put together by a Dream Team, and director by Francis Ford Coppola. “Gotti” is going to be directed by Nick Cassavetes, who’s lacking in the success department. Also, “The Godfather” was a solid bestselling novel by Mario Puzo. It was fiction, so we could distance ourselves from it. The Gotti’s are real, and really horrendous. There’s no upside to this story, no morality tale, and no poetry. The people killed by Gotti had relatives in real life. I can’t wait for that premiere. I guess the main thing for Travolta is that he can lose his wig toward the end. Some movies should not have been made. Recently, “Valkyrie” and “The Beaver” are on that last. Here comes the next one.
Monday, December 23, 2024
