John Travolta transforms into balding imprisoned Gambino family boss John Gotti in new trailer for new biopic. Photo / AP
John Travolta transforms into balding imprisoned Gambino family boss John Gotti in new trailer for new biopic. Photo / AP
John Travolta is seen as the Gambino crime family boss John Gotti in a new trailer for the biopic of the late mafia don, titled Gotti, on the heels of the movie's Cannes Film Festival premiere later this month.
"New York is the greatest city in the world - my city," Travolta is heard in a voice-over as Gotti to kick off the preview commences, showing landmarks of the Big Apple.
"I was a kid in these streets, and I made it to the top."
The preview shows the Oscar-nominated actor, 64, amid a series of executions, incarcerations and mafia pow-wows amid his ascent up the ladder of organised crime, according to the Daily Mail.
Totally transformed: Travolta, left, in character as Gotti, right, seen in 2001 in the last photo taken before his death. Photos / Gotti, Burea of Prisona
By the end of the film he is balding and imprisoned, and is seen discouraging his son from entering organised crime during his final days.
"I will build something that no one can destroy," Gotti vowed, as he eliminated a big time mobster who stood in his way to the top.
"Paul Castellano was a fish in the desert - I never really respected Paul," Gotti is heard saying amid flashes of the December 16, 1985 execution of the Gambino boss, cementing Gotti's status at the top of the totem pole.
The trailer then showed how Gotti was picked to fill Castellano's shoes, with the support from families in the city's boroughs: Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Staten Island and the Bronx.
But amid his rise, came problems, as other mafia figures were put off by The Teflon Don's penchant for celebrity - and the attention it brought from authorities.
"John's getting too much press - that can't go unchecked," a voice is heard, showing a car explosion which was rigged with the crime boss in mind.
The preview gave a glimpse into Gotti's downfall, showing clips of him in a criminal trial and later in custody.
John Travolta as John Gotti from the mobster biopic Gotti. Photo / AP
Reputed mob boss John Gotti sits in New York Supreme Court in Manhattan, N.Y. in this Jan. 20, 1990. Photo / AP
The trailer also showed how Gotti also groomed his son John Gotti Jr. (Spencer Lofranco) to follow in his footsteps, at one point telling him, "You should be running your own crew now."
Things had changed by the time Gotti landed in prison, as he's seen telling his namesake, "As a father, the thought of you being in prison makes me sick."
The film, which is directed by Entourage alum Kevin Connolly, also features Travolta's real-life wife Kelly Preston as Gotti's wife Victoria and daughter Ella Bleu as Gotti's daughter Angel Gotti.
Rounding out the cast include Stacey Keach, Pruitt Taylor Vince and William DeMeo.
The film is slated to be screened May 15 at the Cannes Film Festival, where Travolta will join peers Gary Oldman, Christopher Nolan and Ryan Coogler for a Masterclass talk.
It's not Travolta's first time commandeering a high-profile role based on a real person, as in 2016, he portrayed attorney Robert Shapiro in The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story.
