Way back in 2009,Martin Scorsesecame aboard to direct a biopic based on the life of iconic croonerFrank Sinatra. Over the years, there have been a few updates on this project, with writers and cast members coming and going, but production never fully got under way. While promoting his new filmSilence, which is currently in theaters,Martin Scorseseconfirmed that this project is dead, due to complications with the singer/actor’s family.
ThisFrank Sinatra biopiconce had stars likeAl Pacinoeyeing the project, with the director teasing several years ago that he also wantedRobert De Niroto playFrank Sinatra’s fellow Rat Pack memberDean Martin. Still, neither of those actors signed on, and there hasn’t been any word on the project in quite some time.The Toronto Suncaught up withMartin Scorsese, who revealed that the remaining members of the crooner’s family don’t want certain aspects of his life on the big screen, which lead to the project being canceled.
“We can’t do it! I think it is finally over. They (remaining members of theSinatra clan) won’t agree to it. Open it up again and I’m there! Certain things are very difficult for a family, and I totally understand. But, if they expect me to be doing it, they can’t hold back certain things. The problem is that the man was so complex. Everybody is so complex - but Sinatra in particular.”
The last update we had on this project was back in 2012, when screenwriterBilly Raycame aboard to take over the writing duties fromPhil Alden Robinson, who was attached to write the screenplay way back in 2009. ProducersPeter GuberandCathy Schulmansecured the life and music rights fromFrank SinatraEnterprises. The story will follow the crooner’s life from his upbringing in Hoboken, New Jersey to his career in Hollywood where he sold millions of records as a singer and won an Oscar in 1953 for his role inFrom Here to Eternity. Back in 2012,Martin Scorseseteased he was considering using 3D on this biopic, but that became a moot point since the film never got off the ground. Here’s what he had to say in his 2012 interview.
“I agree withSteven Spielberg. I had always been interested in 3D, and I thought it made sense forHugo. Generally, whenever there’s a new technological development, there’s a corresponding sense of excitement. The same thing happened with the introduction of three-strip Technicolor and CinemaScope and Dolby. And then everyone remembers it’s only a means, not an end. Real 3D is beautiful, but it’s just one choice, one tool among many, and you only want to use it if it’s the right tool.”
There was even a competing project coming together at one point, which would have starredGeorge ClooneyandAngelina JolieasMarilyn Monroe. That film will was set to be an adaptation of the Andrew O’Hagan novel,The Life and Opinions of Maf the Dog, and of His Friend, Marilyn Monroe. The story would be told through the perspective of Maf the Dog, who was given toMarilyn Monroeas a gift fromFrank Sinatra. That film never got off the ground either, despite its all-star cast. Unless theSinatrafamily has a sudden change of heart, it doesn’t look like this film will hit the silver screen either.
