Chazz Palminteri Joins Cast of “Gotti: In The Shadow of My Father”

Chazz Palminteri has signed on to play Mafia don Paul Castellano, former head of the Gambino crime family in the upcoming Gotti biopic Gotti: In the Shadow of My Father.

The Marc Fiore produced film will begin shooting in January in New York and already features John Travolta, Al Pacino, Kelly Preston and Ben Foster.

The movie is being directed by Barry Levinson after Nick Cassavetes pulled out in April due to a scheduling issue.

The Gotti biopic hasn’t been without it’s issues, Lindsay Lohan was set to star at one point and now is said to be working on a two picture deal with Fiore that doesn’t include the biopic, before she was offered different roles Lohan was attached to the film, then fired for 24 hours before being added back into the roster.

In the meantime Joe Pesci is suing Fiore after he gained 30 pounds for one role but was then offered a different role, while Executive producer Marty Ingels was also forced off the project.

Pre-production on the movie begins in September and principle photography starts on January 3.

I’m a fan of Chazz Palminteri, now I just hope this movie sees a bit of follow through and doesn’t get stuck further in pre-production limbo before it sees the darkness of movie theaters.