Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, and Al Pacino are making a mob movie together

By Sean O'Neal | December 15, 2010 | 10:57pm

Aux Features Film

Here’s some mob movie news with a little more stugots: Robert De Niro has confirmed to MTV that he will indeed reunite with both Martin Scorsese and Joe Pesci on the upcoming The Irishman, and as previously reported, Al Pacino will come along for the ride—and that’s actually a delightful play on words, seeing as De Niro is playing Frank Sheeran, who may or may not have had something to do with the disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa, not that Jimmy Hoffa “disappeared,” or that there was anything out of the ordinary there, we’re not saying that. Earlier this week Scorsese announced that The Irishman would be his very next project after finishing Hugo Cabret, with production perhaps starting as early as next year, and things do seem to be moving forward rather quickly. Another frequent Scorsese collaborator, Steve Zaillian, is currently tweaking the script.

Fortunately, De Niro says he’s now less sure about attempting the strange, Fellini-inspired meta-textual companion film he’d initially suggested doing with Eric Roth (The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button), which would shoot at the same time and approach The Irishman as a “semi-biographical” exploration of De Niro and Scorsese’s relationship. But considering The Irishman itself is already sort of a Five People You Meet In Heaven reunion of people who have had an impact on De Niro’s life (save Ben Stiller), that seems sort of unnecessary. Just give us one last Goodfellas or Casino and then you can go make all the weird self-reflective stuff you want.