Martin Scorsese's and Robert De Niro's The Irishman Heading to Netflix
Netflix have acquired the worldwide rights for Martin Scorsese’s next gangster movie The Irishman, starring Robert De Niro.
The film will be the ninth collaboration between Scorsese and De Niro, centres on the life of the mob hitman Frank ‘The Irishman’ Sheeran whose career allegedly included the murder of union leader Jimmy Hoffa. The script is by Steven Zaillian from the 2004 book, I Heard You Paint Horses, by Charles Brandt. The title comes from criminal slang for contract killings and the blood splatter on walls.
Paramount had previously agreed to back the movie, with STX taking international distribution rights to carry the burden of the films $100 million budget. However, the studio is in a state of flux following the departure of chairman Brad Grey – a departure rumoured to be hastened by the box office failure of Scorsese’s Silence.
With Al Pacino and potentially Joe Pesci still in talks to join the cast, the film should now launch in cinemas with an as-yet-unnamed business partner before arriving on Netflix worldwide.
First of all, Scorsese must make the thing, and he's aiming for a 2019 release.
