| Gotti | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Kevin Connolly |
| Written by | |
| Produced by |
|
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Michael Barrett |
| Edited by | Jim Flynn |
| Music by | |
Production companies |
|
| Distributed by |
|
Release dates |
|
Running time | 110 minutes[2] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $10 million[3] |
| Box office | $6.4 million[4] |
Gotti is a 2018 Americanbiographicalcrime film about New York City mobsterJohn Gotti, directed byKevin Connolly and written byLem Dobbs andLeo Rossi. It starsJohn Travolta as Gotti, alongside his real-life wifeKelly Preston as Gotti's wife Victoria in her penultimate film.
The film was announced in 2010, but itlanguished in development for several years with numerous directors and actors, includingBarry Levinson andAl Pacino. Principal photography finally began in July 2016 inCincinnati, Ohio, and concluded inBrooklyn, New York in February 2017.
The film was originally set to be released in the United States on December 15, 2017, butLionsgate, the slated distributor, sold the film back to its producers and studio, delaying its release.[5] On March 12, 2018, its new release date was announced for June 15, 2018 by SunRider Productions andVertical Entertainment, after premiering at the2018 Cannes Film Festival.[6]
Gotti underperformed both critically andcommercially; it grossed just $6 million against a $10 million production budget and was universally lambasted by critics, who criticized the writing, aesthetics, and performances of most of the cast, although Travolta's performance and the film's use of makeup received some praise.[7] It is one of thefew films to hold an approval rating of 0% on the websiteRotten Tomatoes.[8][9][10] At the39th Golden Raspberry Awards, the film was nominated for six Razzies, includingWorst Picture andWorst Actor for Travolta.
Mob boss John Gotti addresses the audience, reflecting on his lengthy reign of crime inNew York City. In 1973,Aniello "Neil" Dellacroce, underboss to theGambino crime family, tasks Gotti, a young associate, with killing gangsterJames McBratney, who is believed to have kidnapped and murdered bossCarlo Gambino's nephew Emanuel. After executing McBratney at a bar, Gotti is identified as his killer in 1974 and sentenced to 4 years atGreen Haven Correctional Facility the following year; due to the Gambino family's influence, however, he is released on "medicalfurloughs" both for appointments with the family's dentist and for conducting further criminal business, including another hit. Paroled in July 1977 after 2 years, he reunites with his wife Victoria and children at their new residence inHoward Beach, Queens, and becomes a "made man", immediately climbing the Mafia hierarchy to become acapo.
By 1979, Gotti operates out of theBergin Hunt and Fish Club with his childhood friendAngelo Ruggiero. His oldest son John "Junior" Gotti enters theNew York Military Academy, but aspires to join the Mafia. Despite Dellacroce's counsel and the assurances of fellow capoFrank DeCicco, Gotti mistrusts theLucchese crime family's top underboss,Anthony Casso. On March 18, 1980, his 12-year-old middle son Frank is accidentally struck and killed by a car driven byJohn Favara, his next-door neighbor. Favara later disappears on July 28, and the only witness to his abduction, diner owner Leon Papon, is intimidated into silence.
By 1985, the Gambino family has come under increased scrutiny, and Gotti becomes convinced that family bossPaul Castellano is too frail to lead effectively. Junior instigates a bar brawl that results in a man's death, infuriating his father. Federal authorities release embarrassing tapes, caught on anFBIwiretap of Gambino family meetings, that reveal Gotti's involvement in laborracketeering. He avoids conviction when the case goes to trial, but prosecutor Diane Giacalone, assistant attorney for theEastern District of New York, discloses that his close associate,Wilfred "Willy Boy" Johnson, has been a confidential informant for the FBI since 1966; he agrees to give him a reprieve for betraying the family, but does not object when Johnson is eventually murdered on August 29, 1988.
Dying of brain cancer, Dellacroce informs Gotti of Castellano's plans to reorganize the Gambino family and disband Gotti's crew due to his insubordination and helps him secure the approval of theFive Families to eliminate Castellano, who fails to attend Dellacroce's funeral two days after his death on December 2. On December 16, Castellano and his bodyguardThomas Bilotti are gunned down outsideSparks Steak House in midtown Manhattan, and Gotti takes over the Gambino family, becoming "the real-lifeGodfather". Rival bossVincent "The Chin" Gigante of theGenovese crime family plots with Casso to eliminate him, and on April 13, 1986, DeCicco is killed by acar bomb that Ruggiero believes was meant for Gotti. Casso survives an unsanctioned hit, tracking down and torturing the hitman, James Hydell, into revealing he was sent by Ruggiero. Gotti reconciles with Gigante before excommunicating Ruggiero from his crew to shield him from further retribution.
Escaping prosecution for the third time in 1987, Gotti is nicknamed "theTeflon Don" for being untouchable by the law. Junior is inducted into the Gambino family on Christmas Eve 1988 and marries his wife Kim in April 1990, while Ruggiero dies from terminal lung cancer in December 1989. On trial in 1992 for the fourth time, Gotti is charged with organizing Castellano's murder; underbossSalvatore "Sammy the Bull" Gravano testifies against him, and this time, Gotti is convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment without parole. Junior assumes control as rivals target the organization and several family members are killed, and is himself taken into custody on January 21, 1998. On February 5, 1999, he visits his now-ailing father at theUnited States Medical Center for Federal Prisoners inSpringfield, Missouri, to inform him that he is considering aplea bargain.
After Gotti dies on June 10, 2002 fromthroat cancer, Junior chooses to abandon his criminal life for his own family's sake, and after five trials, he is finally released from prison in December 2009.
In September 2010, Fiore Films announced that it had secured the rights from Gotti Jr. to produce a film about his life.[11] The film, tentatively titledGotti: In the Shadow of My Father, was to be directed byBarry Levinson, who eventually left the project.Nick Cassavetes andJoe Johnston were then also attached at different points to direct, as wereAl Pacino,Lindsay Lohan, andBen Foster to star in various roles.[12]Joe Pesci was cast asAngelo Ruggiero early in development and gained 30 pounds in order to properly portray him. After having his salary cut and being recast as LuccheseunderbossAnthony Casso, he sued Fiore Films for $3 million; the case was settled out of court.[13][14]Chazz Palminteri, who had playedPaul Castellano in theTNT made-for-TV filmBoss of Bosses, was also initially cast to reprise Gotti's predecessor.[15]
On September 8, 2015, it was announced that the project was moving forward withKevin Connolly as director.[16]Emmett/Furla/Oasis Films, Fiore Films and Herrick Entertainment would be financing the film, withLionsgate Premiere handling the domestic distribution rights.[16]
On July 27, 2016, the complete cast for the film was announced. It includedKelly Preston as Gotti's wifeVictoria;Stacy Keach asAniello Dellacroce, the underboss of theGambino crime family who mentored Gotti;Pruitt Taylor Vince asAngelo Ruggiero, a deferential friend of Gotti;Spencer Lofranco asJohn Gotti Jr., Gotti's eldest son;William DeMeo asSammy Gravano, Gotti's right-hand man who later became an FBI informant and helped them in bringing down Gotti; co-writerLeo Rossi asBartholomew "Bobby" Boriello, Gotti's enforcer;Victor Gojcaj as Father Murphy, with Tyler Jon Olson and Megan Leonard.[17]
Principal photography on the film began inCincinnati,Ohio, on July 25, 2016, with locations includingSpringfield Township. The locations were staged to resemble the setting of the film,New York City.[18][19] Filming also took place on Jonfred Court inFinneytown, andIndian Hill.[19][20] Filming was also done at Butler County Jail.[21]
The film's shooting was previously scheduled to take place in New York City, because of its setting there, but it was relocated to Cincinnati. One reason to relocate was Ohio's revised Motion Picture Tax Credit to benefit films' creators.[22] Filming for some scenes took place inBrooklyn on February 21, 2017, which concluded principal photography.[23]
The film was originally set to be released in alimited release and throughvideo on demand on December 15, 2017, throughLionsgate Premiere. Producers began seeking a new distributor in order for the film to receive a wide theatrical release, as opposed to the original release it was initially intended to have, with Lionsgate selling the film back to the producers and studio.[24][25] On March 12, 2018, Connolly announced that the film would be released on June 15, 2018.[26] On April 12, 2018, it was announcedVertical Entertainment was the film's new distributor.[27]
On April 25, 2018, it was announced that MoviePass Ventures, a subsidiary ofMoviePass, acquired an equity stake in the film and will participate in the revenue generated from the film.[28][29]
The film premiered at the2018 Cannes Film Festival on May 15, 2018.[1]
Gotti grossed $4.3 million in the United States, and $1.8 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $6.1 million, against a production budget of $10 million.[30]
Gotti began its limited release in 503 theaters and was projected to make $1–2 million in its opening weekend. It made $105,000 from Thursday night previews at 350 theaters and a total of $1.7 million in its opening weekend, finishing 12th.[12] According to their own reports, MoviePass accounted for 40% of tickets sold, leading one independent studio head to tellDeadline Hollywood: "It used to be in distribution, we'd all gossip whether a studio was buying tickets to their own movie to goose their opening. But in the case of MoviePass, there's no secret: They're literally buying the tickets to their own movie!"[31] In its second weekend the film dropped 53% and made $812,000, finishing 12th.[32]
Gotti was not screened in advance for critics,[33] but the Cannes premiere was attended by reviewers fromIndieWire andThe Hollywood Reporter, who both gave the film negative reviews.[34] On thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, the film has anapproval rating of 0% based on 58 reviews, with an average rating of 2.2/10. The site's critical consensus simply reads, "Fuhgeddaboudit".[35] OnMetacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 24 out of 100, based on reviews from 16 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews.[36]
Jordan Mintzer ofThe Hollywood Reporter gave the film a negative review, writing: "it's not only that the film is pretty terrible: poorly written, devoid of tension, ridiculous in spots and just plain dull in others. But the fact that it mostly portrays John Gotti as a loving family man and altogether likable guy, and his son John Gotti Jr. as a victim of government persecution, may be a first in the history of the genre."[3] TheNew York Post's Johnny Oleksinski called the film "the worst mob movie of all-time" and wrote, "the long-awaited biopic about the Gambino crime boss' rise frommade man to top dog, took four directors, 44 producers and eight years to make. It shows. The finished product belongs in a cement bucket at the bottom of the river."[37] Writing forRolling Stone,Peter Travers gave the film one out of four stars and said, "Insane testimonials from Gotti supporters at the end are as close as this [film] will ever get to good reviews."[38]
Nick Schager, writing forThe Daily Beast, said that the film "validates the oft-heard criticism that mob movies invariably glorify their subjects", adding: "The film does its best to make sure Gotti comes off as a noble and ruthless warrior-leader who ... was good for the community because he only killed his own and kept a lid on neighborhood crime." He concluded:"'Listen to me, and listen to me good. You never gonna see another guy like me if you live to be five thousand,' Travolta's Teflon Don boasts in the final scene. With any luck, we'll never see another mob-movie misfire like this either."[39]
Richard Roeper of theChicago Sun-Times was more positive in his review of the film, describing it as "an entertaining and well-acted but uneven B-movie."[40]
Observers were quick to note a large disparity onRotten Tomatoes, between the audience approval score of 80% and the 0% critics' score during the film's opening weekend.[a] The audience score has since dropped 36 points to a score of 44%.[35]
On June 19, Dan Murrell ofScreen Junkies noted that the disparity "made no sense" and suspected vote manipulation on behalf of the studio.[42] Accusations against the production studio and marketing team increased after the release of a marketing push suspected to be trying to hit back at the critics. The campaign proclaimed to consumers to ignore the "trolls behind a keyboard",[45] and "Audiences lovedGotti but critics don't want you to see it ... The question is why??? Trust the people and see it for yourself!"[b] Observers also noted the abnormally high number of reviews, 7000, compared to other films that did better at the box office that weekend, such asIncredibles 2 which logged 7600 reviews and grossed 105 times more thanGotti.[42][44]
Rotten Tomatoes staff issued a statement stating they didn't find any evidence of tampering and that "All of the ratings and reviews were left by active accounts."[45] In June 2018, it was noted that 32 of the 54 written reviews were found to be from first-time reviewers on the site, who had also only left a review forGotti itself, and 45 of the accounts were created the same month.[42] Many of the accounts also wrote a review for the praisedAmerican Animals, which along withGotti are the only films to be owned byMoviePass through its company MoviePass Ventures,[42][44] which was responsible for 40% of tickets sold.[31] Jim Vorel ofPaste suggested this was done to try to prop up MoviePass's "unlimited movies" business model.[42]
| Award | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Golden Raspberry Awards | Worst Picture | Randall Emmett, Marc Fiore, Michael Froch and George Furla | Nominated | [46] |
| Worst Director | Kevin Connolly | Nominated | ||
| Worst Actor | John Travolta | Nominated | ||
| Worst Supporting Actress | Kelly Preston | Nominated | ||
| Worst Screenplay | Lem Dobbs andLeo Rossi | Nominated | ||
| Worst Screen Combo | Kelly Preston and John Travolta | Nominated | ||
| Golden Schmoes Awards | Worst Movie of the Year | Nominated | ||