Here at Cannes there’s been the usual flurry of deals but the on we’re really interested in is one by STX Entertainment, a really ambitious studio which has scored one of the coups of the market having secured international rights to Martin Scorsese’s upcoming crime drama ‘The Irishman’ starring Robert De Niro and Al Pacino.
Paramount holds North American rights to The Irishman, based on Charles Brandt’s book ‘I Heard You Paint Houses’, about on the deathbed confession of mob hitman Frank ‘The Irishman’ Sheeran and his role in the disappearance and death of legendary Teamsters boss Jimmy Hoffa. Steve Zaillian, who in the past has written ‘Schindlers List’, ‘Hannibal’ & ‘Gangs of New York’, has written the screenplay.
The last time Scorsese and De Niro worked together was in 1995 on ‘Casino’ and hopefully it’ll be return to form for DeNiro after the embarassing ‘Dirty Grandpa’. It will be the first time Scorcese and Pacino will have collaborated and hopefully the director will be able to rein in the actor’s HOO-HA-ing.
