Back in September we got wind of a very, very cool rumor: that Joe Pesci and Al Pacino would be joining the cast of Martin Scorsese's The Irishman with Robert De Niro. Pesci and De Niro are obviously long time friends and co-stars, particularly in films directed by Scorsese, but Pacino has never been worked with the Goodfellas director. That all changes very soon.
As was reported on Monday, The Irishman will be Scorsese's next film, and now De Niro has confirmed to MTV that both Pesci and Pacino will be coming along for the ride. Of the three, only De Niro has worked with Pacino previously, having appeared with him in both Michael Mann's Heat and Jon Avnet's Righteous Kill. Based on the book I Heard You Paint Houses by Charles Brandt, the movie will tell the story of Frank "The Irishman" Sheeran, a union official who killed people under Jimmy Hoffa. Currently working on Hugo Cabret, Scorsese says that the movie could start production sometime next year.
While Pesci seems content just to come out of retirement whenever he feels like doing a project, both De Niro and Pacino are in desperate need of a real winner, and I can't imagine a better person for them to work with than Scorsese. With any luck, the director will be able to tap into his real gangster roots like he did with The Departed and make a brilliant film. All of the pieces are there, now he just has to make it happen.
