Last we heard, it was on his "maybe" pile but 24 Frames now reports that David O. Russell is officially set to helm the gestating biopic of former Rhode Island mayor Buddy Cianci for Robert De Niro and Jane Rosenthal's Tribeca Productions.
Based on the biography 'Politics And Pasta,' the story will track Cianci's infamous 21-year stint as the mayor of Providence, Rhode Island, as he earns a reputation for rooting out corruption in his town, but also serves five years for racketeering himself. Here's the full Amazon synopsis of the novel:
Since his first election, Buddy rose from being the underdog to becoming the longest-serving mayor of a major American city and transforming that city into an urban model. Here he recalls elections won and lost, backroom deals and publicity catastrophes, showing how things really happen in City Hall. He also doesn't shy away from discussing why he left office.
However, he does deny the charge of assaulting his wife's lover with a fireplace log (he never hit the man with it). And he goes into detail about the RICO conviction that ended his political career and sent him to federal prison, telling another side of the story. Full of surprising stories and outrageous anecdotes, Politics and Pasta is a one-of-a-kind memoir by a master of the political game. Take a bit of La Guardia, a dose of Daley, and a little of Boston's Mayor Curley and you have Buddy–master politician, master story-teller.
Russell and De Niro recently teamed on romantic drama "The Silver Linings Playbook" which is set to unveil this fall. No word if this project sits on the director's immediate plans but we doubt it'll be a ready for while as Russell is noted to be having "a hand" in the upcoming scripting process. If it does come to fruition, though, it'll reteam Russell with De Niro (who is only on board as a producer at the moment).
Either way it's yet another solid project on Russell's upcoming slate which includes the crime-drama "American Bullshit" with Christian Bale sought to star; Columbian hostage actioner "Mission" possibly with Brad Pitt; a Russ Meyer biopic with Fox Searchlight; an FX drama pilot with Connie Britton and countless other options. Choices, choices, choices.
Oh, and let's not forget about that political comedy "Nailed" starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Jessica Biel which we're still hoping will see the light of day eventually (even though we kinda doubt it will ever happen).