Mob drama The Legitimate Wise Guy, to be directed by George Gallo (Bad Boys, Bad Boys For Life), is set to feature gang of Hollywood heavy-hitters, including Harvey Keitel, Emile Hirsch and Ruby Rose, as per The Hollywood Reporter. With production not yet underway (Spring 2021 is the estimated start-time), Wise Guy is scheduled to be introduced to buyers at the virtual 2021 European Film Market held this March.
If sold, or should I say when sold, with a cast such as this, the sale will be brokered by The Exchange. On the possibilities for Gallo’s film, CEO of The Exchange, Brian O’Shea says, “We are excited about this ensemble cast, having Harvey, Emile and Ruby makes this exciting story valuable to global distributors.”
The Legitimate Wise Guy is an original screenplay written by Nicholas Celozzi (Shattered, Momo: The Sam Giancana Story) and Jim McGrath (Kickboxer: Retaliation). It tells the true story of American mobster Anthony Spilotro of the Chicago Outfit in Las Vegas. The Outfit originally came to power under the direction of Al Capone in the 1920’s. In the 70’s and 80’s, Spilotro managed the Outfit’s illegal transfer of funds from a variety of Vegas casinos to outside parties in a mechanism better known as “skimming.”
Celozzi and McGrath’s screenplay is said to focus on Spilotro targeting and grooming a young, aspiring actor into becoming a member of his criminal web. Real-life Spilotro also served as inspiration for the character of Nicky Santoro, played by Joe Pesci in Martin Scorsese’s Casino (1995). The Legitimate Wise Guy will be produced by Celozzi for Monaco Films along with Richard Salvatore for March on Productions. Executive producers are listed as Michael Sportelli for Monaco Films and Freddy Braidy.
Leave a Comment