Robert De Niro has previously gone on record saying that he won’t make another Mafia film. Well now we’re calling liar, liar pants well and truly on fire with the announcement that Bob’s planning to star in an adaptation of The Winter Of Frankie Machine. Don Winslow’s novel tells the story of Mafia hit man Frankie, who’s given up the guns and retired to run a bait shop. But - bet you didn’t see this coming - his old life comes back to haunt him when he discovers there’s a hit out on him.
Winslow’s tome hasn’t even hit the shelves yet, but the manuscript has already been making the rounds in Hollywood. De Niro’s Tribeca Productions snapped up the rights and then convinced Paramount to finance the film. No screenwriter’s been attached yet so it remains to be seen if this languishes in development hell or if Bob really does go back to his cinematic roots.