by Eben Griger Martin Scorsese, director of movies such as The Wolf of Wall Street, Goodfellas and The Departed, has a production offer on his newest film The Irishman after being announced seven years ago. Digital distribution giant Netflix made the deal to buy production rights on Scorsese’s film, and are in the process of closing on the deal. The movie was originally slated to be made by Paramount Pictures, who backed out upon the departure of Brad Grey, Paramount’s 12-year chairman. This is not Netflix’s first attempt at producing a movie. Beasts of No Nation, also produced by Netflix, was nominated for a Golden Globe in 2016. The Irishman adopts Charles Brandt’s novel “I Heard You Paint Houses” into a film. The novel follows hitman Frank “The Irishman” Sheeran, who worked for the Bufalino crime family and confessed to over 25 hits, including the murder of Jimmy Hoffa, and also claimed to know about the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy. Robert DeNiro is set to star in the film, marking his ninth collaboration with Scorsese. Al Pacino and Joe Pesci are rumored to have also expressed interest, but have not been confirmed. The Irishman is currently in development and set to release in 2019.
