Scorsese hopes his FRANK SINATRA Biopic will be The Aviator meets Goodfellas
It's been almost a year since it was announced that Martin Scorsese would be directing Universal's Frank Sinatra biopic, which is being written by Phil Alden Robinson (All of Me, Field of Dreams).
The legendary Oscar-winning director recently spoke with Shortlist, and in the interview he gave a couple of blurbs about the current status of the long-gestating biopic, addressed casting rumors, and revealed the way he'd like to approach depicting the iconic entertainer.
In regards to Leonardo DiCaprio replacing Robert De Niro as Scorsese's new go-to lead actor, he was asked if there was anyone he'd like to work with next. To which he responded, dropping some A-List names,
Johnny Depp is one. I like him. He’s unique. I don’t know how he does it. George Clooney. Brad Pitt is interesting. And Tobey Maguire. There’s a lot of good people.
Depp has been long been rumored to be Universal's first choice to portray Sinatra, while Clooney was the primary choice for Sinatra's daughter, Tina -- who also acts as an executive producer on the film.
So naturally, with the two names perhaps Freudian slipped, the follow up question turned to whether or not these are actors Scorsese is talking to about for the Sinatra project, which Scorsese only somewhat denies saying:
Not right now, no.
That leaves it open to him previously talking to them about it, or that he plans to. Clever. It's like someone asking if you're cheating on your wife... "No. Not RIGHT now."
But Scorsese then reassures that it's still early in development, explaining:
We’re still working on the Sinatra script. It’s very hard because here is a man who changed the entire image of the Italian-American. And that’s just one thing. Along with his political work, civil rights, the Mob...
So with Scorsese having directed films that would cover similar aspects of Sinatra's life, he was also asked which of his previous films, he could compare it to, throwing out the Howard Hughes biopic The Aviator and his acclaimed mobster flick Goodfellas as references.
I was hoping it would be a combination of the two. Yeah, because in structure I’d like it to be more like GoodFellas. But like The Aviator, it only deals with certain times in his life. We can’t go through the greatest hits of Sinatra’s life. We tried this already. Just can’t do it. So the other way to go is to have three or four different Sinatras. Younger. Older. Middle-aged. Very old. You cut back and forth in time – and you do it through the music. See what I’m saying? So that’s what we’re trying for. It’s very tricky [laughs].
This could be viewed as Scorsese considering tackling Sinatra's life in the same way Todd Haynes' I'm Not There, in which he enlisted several actors (and an actress) to portray Bob Dylan through different stages of his life, which earned Cate Blanchett several awards and an Oscar Nomination. The Playlist certainly throws that out as a possibility, and I agree, even if it is just wishful thinking. So, for the the sake of who'd be Sinatra at what age, DiCaprio could play younger Sinatra, Depp as the older and Clooney as the middle-aged. It would be interesting, but I'd much rather see one actor really transform, and develop the character. I don't see how the aging could possibly be an issue with the seamless things they can do with make-up and CGI.
Personally, I think Matthew Bomer (White Collar, Chuck), would make for a great young Sinatra. He's already rocking suits of that era and the charisma on White Collar.
But that's just my suggestion.
But whatever direction Scorsese takes with the casting and structure, Scorsese still has three other films he's developing -- his adaptation of the children's book The Invention Of Hugo Cabret, the once fallen through Jesuit-priest pic Silence, that was set to star Daniel Day-Lewis, Benicio Del Toro and Gael Garcia Bernal, and mob-flick The Irishmen with Robert De Niro -- before he can take on Sinatra. So it'd be safe not expect it to begin until 2012 at the very earliest. Then again, he was supposed to take on Silence before Shutter Island, before it first fell through, so cross your fingers.
What do you think of Scorsese's ideas for the structure of SINATRA? Who do you think should be cast as Sinatra?