Martin Scorsese’s next foray into ethnic warfare is quite simple, at least to judge from its title. Slated to star Robert DeNiro as well as Al Pacino, the film is called The Irishman. The film is based on the book I Heard You Paint Houses: Frank “The Irishman” Sheeran and Closing the Case on Jimmy Hoffa. The book, by Charles Brandt, claims to be the final word on the whereabouts of mob-corrupted union official Jimmy Hoffa. Sheeran was an Irish American hitman who claims he was the one who killed and disposed of Hoffa, who made many enemies in his day, up to and including the Kennedy family. (“Painting houses” is a code word for killing people.) The Irishman (not to be confused with the film Kill the Irishman, about Cleveland Irish gangster Danny Greene) will be directed by Scorsese and written by Steve Zaillian, who has written numerous top flicks, including Gangs of New York and Moneyball. (Zaillian is currently one of the creative forces behind the excellent new HBO drama The Night Of.) The Irishman should be ready for a Christmas 2017 release. Until then, Scorsese is still working on his 17th century Japanese religious epic Silence, starring Liam Neeson and Ciaran Hinds. Neeson will also voice the October animated release A Monster Calls, based on a book by Patrick Ness and inspired by Siobhan Dowd. ♦
More Irish Eye on Hollywood:
McDonagh and McDormand Head to Missouri
Galway Film Fleadh Crystalizes Irish Aesthetic
No Bother, Domhnall Gleeson Is A.A. Milne
Ewan McGregor Adapts Philip Roth in Directorial Debut
Leave a Reply