John Woo & Nicolas Cage Reuniting Thirty Years After ‘Face/Off’ For New York Crime Boss Pic ‘Gambino’ — AFM

EXCLUSIVE: “It’s like looking in a mirror…only” thirty years later. Almost three decades after they graced screens with wild action pic Face/Off, movie legends John Woo and Nicolas Cage are reuniting for the first time on crime biopic Gambino about notorious New York crime kingpin Carlo Gambino.

George Gallo (Bad Boys franchise) and Oscar winner Nick Vallelonga (Green Book) have scripted the project, which WME Independent is launching for sales at this week’s American Film Market.

The movie will follow Nicolas Cage’s Carlo Gambino, “a butcher’s son from Sicily, who rules New York’s underworld with quiet authority; but when his death sends shockwaves through the city, Pulitzer-winning journalist Jimmy Breslin follows the trail he left behind to uncover the man beneath the legend. Through the voices of those who loved him and those who feared him, Breslin peels back the composure that masked Gambino’s ruthlessness, revealing how this outsider rose to redefine power, loyalty, and the American dream.”

Gambino was one of the most notorious figures in organized crime in America last century. The Sicilian boss was leader and namesake of the Gambino crime family of New York, playing a powerful role in mob matters for more than fifty years until his death in 1976.

Gambino was initially revealed a few years ago but has been totally retooled with director Woo, star Cage, seller WME and new producers and financiers.

Mudbound and The Butler producer Cassian Elwes is now producing with Edward Zeng (Following Harry) of NextG Films, Robert Daly Jr., and David Lipper of Latigo Films (Not Without Hope). NextG Films is financing. Cage, Gallo, and Vallelonga will also produce.

Industry vet Elwes and Chinese tech entrepreneur and NextG founder Edward Zeng last year launched a $100M fund to invest in movies.

Edward Zeng of NextG Film said: “At NextG Film, our vision is to unite the finest creative talents of Hollywood with the bold entrepreneurial spirit of Silicon Valley. Together, we aim to deliver an epic cinematic experience that brings audiences back to the theater again and again—an experience that not only entertains, but inspires people to reflect on the world we live in today. Humanity stands at a crossroads. Through powerful storytelling and innovative artistry, we hope to remind everyone that the future is ours to shape, and it is our shared responsibility to make it better.”

Action supremo Woo, master of the “bullet ballet”, is known for iconic movies such as The Killer and Hard Boiled as well as Hollywood pics Hard Target, Face/Off and Mission Impossible 2. He most recently remade The Killer for Peacock with Omar Sy, Sam Worthington and Nathalie Emmanuel.

Oscar winner Cage made waves last year with horror Longlegs and has Spider-Noir, Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse and John Madden biopic Madden in production. He’s also aiming to film the Lords Of War sequel soon.

In a fun twist, Cage’s Face/Off co-star John Travolta previously played another Gambino boss, John Gotti, in a 2018 biopic.

Cage is represented by WME, Stride Management, and Patrick Knapp at GGSSC.