John Travoltas Gotti film pulled from release: is he about to be exposed?
I’ve started calling this year Sex Predatorgate 2017. In Sex Predatorgate 2017, I’ve gotten more than a few emails asking if it’s time to talk about John Travolta. If you’ve been following this blog for years, you might remember that we did extensive coverage of the accusations lodged against Travolta, especially when the stories were really exploding in 2012. Travolta is allegedly a serial harasser and a serial assailant, mostly of young, male masseurs, but sometimes of young men in the general service industries (like, workers on cruise ships). Last time I checked – circa 2012 – more than seven men had accused Travolta of harassment or assault.
It’s difficult for mainstream media to cover the multitude of accusations and stories around and about Travolta, because – much like the Kevin Spacey situation before this year – it would involve “outing” Travolta. It’s been widely reported in the tabloids for years and years that Travolta has had a series of consensual relationships with men. That’s one thing, and if the stories were just about “Travolta is on the downlow with consenting male adults,” I would completely understand why no one wanted to touch those stories. Put that to the side though – he’s also been accused for YEARS of abusing service industry workers. Some of them have even sued him.
So… I don’t know if Travolta is about to become the next person outed in some exposé, but it feels like something is about to happen:
Lionsgate has iced John Travolta’s Gotti biopic. Just 10 days before the film was set for domestic release under the studio’s Lionsgate Premiere banner, EW can confirm that the project — about the life of ill-fated mobster John Gotti, head of the infamous Gambino family — has been sold back to production company Emmett/Furla/Oasis.
The Tracking Board’s Jeff Sneider first reported the news, further indicating that producers will seek new distribution soon. A 2018 release now seems likely, instead of the originally planned Dec. 15 bow. Also starring Travolta’s wife, Kelly Preston, as Victoria Gotti, and veteran actor Stacy Keach as Gotti’s mentor, Aniello Dellacroce, Gotti was directed by Entourage star Kevin Connolly, from a script co-written by Haywire and The Limey scribe Lem Dobbs and The Accused star Leo Rossi.
Further details, including a reason for the sale, remain unclear.
Deadline reports that this was all some kind of internal distribution beef, as in the film was pulled at the last minute because the actual release of the film was going to be small, and Gotti producers wanted a wider release. But… it does feel weird, right? That all of a sudden, producers have pulled back the release just 10 DAYS before it was due to premiere? Hm.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
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