Chazz Palminteri has joined the John Gotti biopic that begins shooting in New York in January.
Producer Marc Fiore said Palminteri will star as Mafia don Paul Castellano, the one-time head of the Gambino crime family.
"Gotti: In the Shadow of My Father" also stars John Travolta, Al Pacino, Kelly Preston and Ben Foster and is being directed by Barry Levinson.
The project has encountered a series of bumps. Initially, Nick Cassavetes was to direct, but he pulled out in April due to a scheduling conflict. Barry Levinson stepped in to replace him.
Along the way, Lindsay Lohan was to star. Fiore announced he had signed her to a two-picture deal, though she's apparently not in the movie. Joe Pesci also was attached, but now is suing Fiore, saying he gained 30 pounds for one role — and then was offered another.
One-time executive producer Marty Ingels was forced out of the project.
But it's going forward.
The movie begins preproduction in September and starts principal photography on Jan. 3.
