A three way showdown is reportedly in progress over which actor will play Rat-Packer Frank Sinatra in the upcoming Martin Scorsese biopic according to the New York Post (not as tabloidy as you would assume, and generally much more on the money than say, all of the British media aside from the BBC).
While Scorsese allegedly wants go-to-man Leonardo DiCaprio for the role, the studio is apparently backing Johnny Depp while Sinatra’s daughter, Tina — who also acts as an executive producer on the film — has her own ideas and is fighting for George Clooney.
Clooney probably has the look down but would he be able to step up to the plate in what would easily be the biggest role in his career? Another DiCaprio-Scorsese collaboration isn’t bad but having seen the two go at it so many times before, it would seem a bit mundane and underwhelming for a biopic about one of the greatest entertainers of the last century, right? That leaves Depp who is probably the most inspired choice but whose upcoming slate may be a stumbling block.
Actors aren’t the only disagreement currently brewing on the biopic’s front though. Tina Sinatra and the Sinatra family are reportedly at arms with the potential portrayal of the great entertainer.
“Marty wants it to be hard-hitting and showcase the violent, sexually charged, hard-drinking Frank, but Tina wants to show the softer side of her dad and let the focus be on the music,” says a source. “The ’60s were a very swinging time for Frank — he was having sex with a garden variety of bimbos and cementing his Rat Pack status. It’s a really key time to his mythology. And Tina really wants to make sure that a sanitized Frank comes through, and that it’s not overly negative.” We like Scorsese’s take to be honest… [NY Post]
Tina Sinatra wanting a whitewashed biopic of her father?
That's never happened before…
Also, this film will be terrible. Latter-day Scorsese + biopic = bad. Biopic + Tina Sinatra = bad. Both = even worse Bringing Out the Dead. It's a deeper expedition into the hack territory that Marty's been charting for awhile now.
A film based off Sinatra's 1969 unabashedly cinematic and underrated concept album Watertown on the other hand would be less likely to suck.
Is this supposed to be Scorsese's next movie? And if so, what happened to Silence?
Hmmm, think "Silence" is next of Scorsese's to-do-list, before the Sinatra project. Have heard Jan '10 as a start date.
I read online that it is a 2-way battle for the role between RObert Pattison from Twilight and Leo Dicaprio.
Apparently there is also a battle for the role of Judy Garland in the film between Anne Hathaway and Tammy Blanchard, or so it says on her site:
http://www.tammyblanchard.com/