The Irishman (2019 film)

The Irishman is an upcoming American biographical crime film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Steven Zaillian, based on the book I Heard You Paint Houses by Charles Brandt. The film stars Robert De Niro as Frank Sheeran, a labor union leader and alleged hitman for the Bufalino crime family, and Al Pacino as Jimmy Hoffa. Joe Pesci, Harvey Keitel, Anna Paquin, Bobby Cannavale, and Ray Romano also star. It is the ninth feature collaboration between De Niro and Scorsese and their first since 1995's Casino, the fourth film to star both De Niro and Pacino (following The Godfather Part II, Heat and Righteous Kill), and the first time Pacino has been directed by Scorsese.

The Irishman was always a desired passion project for Scorsese, and in September 2014 it was confirmed it would be his next film following Silence (2016). Pacino and De Niro were confirmed that month, as was Pesci, who came out of his unofficial retirement to star after being asked numerous times to take the role. Filming began in New York City in September 2017, and lasted until March 2018. With a production budget of $200 million, it is the most expensive project of Scorsese's career.

The film is set to have a theatrical release, followed by digital streaming, in late 2019, by Netflix.

Premise
Frank Sheeran, a labor union official with mob connections, recalls his involvement in the slaying of Jimmy Hoffa, an American labor union leader.

Development
Martin Scorsese has long been interested in directing The Irishman, which would star Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, and Al Pacino. In September 2014, Pacino confirmed that the film was in development and that it would be Scorsese's next project after Silence. Bobby Cannavale was also added to the cast. In October 2015, De Niro stated that the film is still happening and may shoot in 2016 with Scorsese confirming that Steven Zaillian would write the script.

Casting
In July 2017, Pesci and Pacino officially joined the cast, with Ray Romano also joining and Bobby Cannavale and Harvey Keitel in final negotiations. Pesci was offered his role a reported 50 times before agreeing to take part. In September 2017, Jack Huston, Stephen Graham, Domenick Lombardozzi, Jeremy Luke, Joseph Russo, Kathrine Narducci, Danny Abeckaser, J. C. MacKenzie, and Craig Vincent joined the cast. In October, Gary Basaraba, Anna Paquin, Welker White, and Jesse Plemons joined the cast of the film. Later, Craig Di Francia and Action Bronson were revealed to have joined the cast. Sebastian Maniscalco was revealed as being a part of the cast later.

Writing
In July 2017, it was reported that the film's script by Steven Zaillian would be presented as a series of flashbacks of an older Frank Sheeran, depicted as recollecting his many criminal activities over several decades, with De Niro appearing as young as 30.

Filming
Filming was originally set to start in August 2017, in and around New York City. and would continue through December 2017. Principal photography ended up beginning on September 18, 2017  and wrapped on March 5, 2018.

Financing and budget
In May 2016, Mexican financier / producer Fábrica de Cine had offered $100 million to finance the film, and through that deal Paramount Pictures would retain domestic rights. IM Global was also circling to bid for the film's international sales rights. STX Entertainment bought the international distribution rights to the film for $50 million beating out other studios like Universal Pictures, 20th Century Fox, and Lionsgate, while Fabrica de Cine closed the deal and Paramount retained its domestic rights.

By February 2017, Paramount Pictures had dropped domestic distribution rights for The Irishman following the announcement that Fabrica de Cine would not be financing the film due to its climbing budget. Netflix then bought the film for $105 million and agreed to finance the film's $125 million budget with a release date set for October 2019.

Visual effects
Industrial Light & Magic and VFX Supervisor Rob Legato are handling the effects for the film. By March 5, 2018, it was also reported the film's budget had ballooned from $125 million to $140 million, due in large part to the visual effects needed to make De Niro, Pesci, and Pacino appear up to 30 years younger at various points throughout the film. By August of that year, the cost had risen to as much as $175 million, and by the time post-production had wrapped it reached $200 million, making it the most expensive film of Scorsese's career.

Release
According to De Niro, the film will have a late-2019 theatrical release, but it would be a limited release. In February 2019, it was reported that Netflix may give the film a wide theatrical release, at the request of Scorsese. The heads of several theater chains, including AMC's Adam Aron who refused to play Roma the previous November, said they would be open to playing The Irishman if Netflix "respects the decades old theatrical window, that suggests that movies come to theaters first for a couple of months, and then go to the home".