Martin Scorsese has spent several years looking to put together The Irishman, his long-gestating adaptation of Charles Brandt’s bestselling book I Heard You Paint Houses, and while he finally secured financing last year, it was reported that Joe Pesci had opted against a reunion with the filmmaker on his new project, which has Robert De Niro and Al Pacino attached to star.
Well, according to Scorsese’s regular collaborator Thelma Schoonmaker, Pesci is officially on board, with the editor telling Crave that: “[Scorsese] wants to make more films like [Silence], that are spiritual, basically, but not set in 17th century Japan [laugh]. In the modern time. So hopefully we’ll be able to make that. Not the next one, the next one is the next one is the next one is The Irishman, which is De Niro and Joe Pesci and elderly gangsters. So that’ll be very different from Silence. But maybe the one after that!”
The Irishman follows the “biggest mob hit in history” and will see De Niro as Frank Sheeran, who on his deathbed claimed to have killed Jimmy Hoffa. Scorsese will apparently employ CGI to digitally de-age his cast members, a decision which pushed the budget for the film to around the $125 million mark.
Should Pesci appear in the project, it would mark his first on screen appearance since 2010’s Love Ranch.
Originally published April 2, 2017. Updated November 14, 2019.
