''Wise Guys'' is an upcoming American
gangster film
A gangster film or gangster movie is a film belonging to a genre that focuses on gangs and organized crime. It is a subgenre of crime film, that may involve large criminal organizations, or small gangs formed to perform a certain illegal act. The ...
directed by
Barry Levinson
Barry Lee Levinson (born April 6, 1942) is an American filmmaker, comedian and actor. Levinson's best-known works are mid-budget comedy drama and drama films such as '' Diner'' (1982); ''The Natural'' (1984); ''Good Morning, Vietnam'' (1987); ' ...
and written by
Nicholas Pileggi
Nicholas Pileggi (, ; born February 22, 1933) is an American author, producer and screenwriter. He wrote the non-fiction book ''Wiseguy (book), Wiseguy'' and co-wrote the screenplay for ''Goodfellas'', its 1990 film adaptation, for which he rece ...
. The film stars
Robert De Niro
Robert Anthony De Niro Jr. ( , ; born August 17, 1943) is an American actor. Known for his collaborations with Martin Scorsese, he is considered to be one of the best actors of his generation. De Niro is the recipient of various accolades ...
in a
dual role
A dual role (also known as a double role) refers to one actor playing two roles in a single production. Dual roles (or a larger number of roles for an actor) may be deliberately written into a script, or may instead be a choice made during produc ...
as 1950s
mob boss
A crime boss, also known as a crime lord, Don, gang lord, gang boss, mob boss, kingpin, godfather, crime mentor or criminal mastermind, is a person in charge of a criminal organization.
Description
A crime boss typically has absolute or nearl ...
es
Vito Genovese
Vito Genovese (; November 21, 1897 – February 14, 1969) was an Italian-born American mobster who mainly operated in the United States. Genovese rose to power during Prohibition as an enforcer in the American Mafia. A long-time associate and ch ...
and
Frank Costello
Frank Costello (; born Francesco Castiglia; ; January 26, 1891 – February 18, 1973) was an Italian-American crime boss of the Luciano crime family. In 1957, Costello survived an assassination attempt ordered by Vito Genovese and carried out by ...
. The film is produced by
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Di ...
and Winkler Films.
Premise
Vito Genovese
Vito Genovese (; November 21, 1897 – February 14, 1969) was an Italian-born American mobster who mainly operated in the United States. Genovese rose to power during Prohibition as an enforcer in the American Mafia. A long-time associate and ch ...
and
Frank Costello
Frank Costello (; born Francesco Castiglia; ; January 26, 1891 – February 18, 1973) was an Italian-American crime boss of the Luciano crime family. In 1957, Costello survived an assassination attempt ordered by Vito Genovese and carried out by ...
are competing Italian-American mob bosses, and Genovese orders a hit on Costello. Costello survives but is wounded in the attempt and ultimately decides to retire from the
Mafia
"Mafia" is an informal term that is used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the original “Mafia”, the Sicilian Mafia and Italian Mafia. The central activity of such an organization would be the arbitration of d ...
.
Cast
*
Robert De Niro
Robert Anthony De Niro Jr. ( , ; born August 17, 1943) is an American actor. Known for his collaborations with Martin Scorsese, he is considered to be one of the best actors of his generation. De Niro is the recipient of various accolades ...
as both
Vito Genovese
Vito Genovese (; November 21, 1897 – February 14, 1969) was an Italian-born American mobster who mainly operated in the United States. Genovese rose to power during Prohibition as an enforcer in the American Mafia. A long-time associate and ch ...
and
Frank Costello
Frank Costello (; born Francesco Castiglia; ; January 26, 1891 – February 18, 1973) was an Italian-American crime boss of the Luciano crime family. In 1957, Costello survived an assassination attempt ordered by Vito Genovese and carried out by ...
*
Debra Messing
Debra Lynn Messing (born August 15, 1968) is an American actress. After graduating from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, Messing received short-lived roles on television series such as ''Ned and Stacey'' on Fox (1995–1997) and ...
as Bobbie Costello, Frank's wife
*
Kathrine Narducci
Kathrine Narducci (; born November 22, 1965) is an American actress, known for her role as Charmaine Bucco, Artie Bucco's wife, on the HBO crime drama series ''The Sopranos'' (1999–2007). Her film credits include ''A Bronx Tale'' (1993), ''Ch ...
as
Anna Genovese
Anna Genovese (formerly Vernotico, ''née'' Giovaninna Petillo; 28 October 1905 – January 1982) was an Italian-American businesswoman in the Italian mob and the second wife of mobster Vito Genovese of the Genovese crime family and the Costello ...
, Vito's wife
*
Cosmo Jarvis
Harrison Cosmo Krikoryan Jarvis (born 1 September 1989) is a British actor, musician, and filmmaker. In 2015, he auditioned and was cast to portray the character of Sebastian in William Oldroyd's debut feature film ''Lady Macbeth'' (2016).
Ea ...
*
James Ciccone
James Ciccone is an American actor. He appeared in three seasons as mob boss Carmine Patriccia in the HBO television drama '' The Deuce''.Deadline HollywoodMargarita Levieva To Star In HBO Drama Pilot ‘The Deuce’; Two Others Cast./ref>TV Wo ...
as
Carlo Gambino
Carlo Gambino (; August 24, 1902 – October 15, 1976) was an Italian-American crime boss of the Gambino crime family. After the Apalachin Meeting in 1957, and the imprisonment of Vito Genovese in 1959, Gambino took over the Commission o ...
Production
Warner Bros. Pictures
Warner Bros. Pictures is an American film production and distribution company of the Warner Bros. Pictures Group division of Warner Bros. Entertainment (both ultimately owned by Warner Bros. Discovery). The studio is the flagship producer of liv ...
began work on ''Wise Guys'' in May 2022 and officially announced the film that August.
Nicholas Pileggi
Nicholas Pileggi (, ; born February 22, 1933) is an American author, producer and screenwriter. He wrote the non-fiction book ''Wiseguy (book), Wiseguy'' and co-wrote the screenplay for ''Goodfellas'', its 1990 film adaptation, for which he rece ...
wrote the script and
Barry Levinson
Barry Lee Levinson (born April 6, 1942) is an American filmmaker, comedian and actor. Levinson's best-known works are mid-budget comedy drama and drama films such as '' Diner'' (1982); ''The Natural'' (1984); ''Good Morning, Vietnam'' (1987); ' ...
directed the film starring
Robert De Niro
Robert Anthony De Niro Jr. ( , ; born August 17, 1943) is an American actor. Known for his collaborations with Martin Scorsese, he is considered to be one of the best actors of his generation. De Niro is the recipient of various accolades ...
in a
double role
A dual role (also known as a double role) refers to one actor playing two roles in a single production. Dual roles (or a larger number of roles for an actor) may be deliberately written into a script, or may instead be a choice made during produc ...
. In October 2022,
Debra Messing
Debra Lynn Messing (born August 15, 1968) is an American actress. After graduating from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, Messing received short-lived roles on television series such as ''Ned and Stacey'' on Fox (1995–1997) and ...
and
Kathrine Narducci
Kathrine Narducci (; born November 22, 1965) is an American actress, known for her role as Charmaine Bucco, Artie Bucco's wife, on the HBO crime drama series ''The Sopranos'' (1999–2007). Her film credits include ''A Bronx Tale'' (1993), ''Ch ...
joined the cast. Narducci previously worked with De Niro in ''
A Bronx Tale
''A Bronx Tale'' is a 1993 American coming-of-age crime film directed by and starring Robert De Niro in his directorial debut and produced by Jane Rosenthal, adapted from Chazz Palminteri's 1989 play of the same name. It tells the coming of ...
'', ''
The Irishman
''The Irishman'' (subtitled onscreen as ''I Heard You Paint Houses'') is a 2019 American epic gangster film directed and produced by Martin Scorsese and written by Steven Zaillian, based on the 2004 nonfiction book '' I Heard You Paint Hou ...
'', and the Levinson-directed telefilm ''
The Wizard of Lies
''The Wizard of Lies'' is a 2017 American television biopic film directed by Barry Levinson and written by Sam Levinson, Sam Baum, and John Burnham Schwartz, based on the 2011 non-fiction book of the same name by Diana B. Henriques. The film star ...
''. In January 2023,
Cosmo Jarvis
Harrison Cosmo Krikoryan Jarvis (born 1 September 1989) is a British actor, musician, and filmmaker. In 2015, he auditioned and was cast to portray the character of Sebastian in William Oldroyd's debut feature film ''Lady Macbeth'' (2016).
Ea ...
joined the cast.
The production used
vehicle vinyl wrap
A vehicle vinyl wrap describes the automotive aftermarket practice of completely or partially covering a vehicle's original paint with a vinyl wrap. Generally this vinyl wrap will be a different color or finish like a gloss, matte or clear prot ...
s on 1950s-era cars and trucks to make the vehicles look new in the film. Filming took place in December 2022 in
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
. The production shut down part of
US 35
U.S. Route 35 (US 35) is a United States Highway that runs southeast-northwest for approximately from the western suburbs of Charleston, West Virginia to northern Indiana. Although the highway is physically southeast-northwest, it is nomin ...
in
Greene County, as well as
SR 123 in the greater
Cincinnati area before moving to the suburbs of Cincinnati.
As of February 10, 2023, principal photography is ongoing in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio.
References
External links
*
{{Barry Levinson
Films directed by Barry Levinson
American gangster films
English-language films
Films shot in Cincinnati
Films shot in Ohio
Warner Bros. films
Films set in the 1950s
Upcoming films