MTV's Video Music Honours Scores Biggest Audience Ever

Kevin Winter/Getty ImagesLady Gaga as Jo Calderone A lot more than 12.4 million audiences updated directly into see Rhianna in drag as MTV's broadcast from the Video Music Honours obtained the franchise's best rankings ever. VIDEO: MTV VMA 2011 Red-colored Carpet Interviews Based on Nielsen, Sunday's honours reveal that saw Katy Perry, Adele and Beyonce make head lines rated because the cable network's greatest audience ever, using the VMAs delivering a ten.8 rating and 8.5 million audiences within the network's target 12-34 demographic, a very best in the metric. PHOTOS: MTV VMA Best and Worst Moments Year-over-year, the 2011 VMAs were up 9 % as a whole audiences and 8 percent within the 12-34 demo. Additionally, Sunday's VMAs rated as 2011's No. 1 cable telecast one of the 12-34 demo and also the top nonsports cable telecast of the season as a whole audiences. PHOTOS: MTV VMA Red-colored Carpet The cabler's VMA preshow also obtained as MTV's best on record one of the 12-34 demo as well as in total audiences, bringing in 5.two million (up 13 percent year-over-year) and 7.3 million (up 16 percent), correspondingly. Email: Lesley.Goldberg@thr.com Twitter: @Snoodit RELATED: OPINION: The way the 2011 Show Skipped the objective MTV VMAs: Complete Listing of Those who win COMPLETE COVERAGE: MTV Video Music Honours MTV Video Music Honours

Tom Hiddleston fibs about The Avengers' plot

If you wanted to be sure that Loki is the god of lies, all you need do is look at this backstage footage from Disney's D23 Expo.A Superhero Hype reporter asked Tom Hiddleston (AKA Loki) to live up to his character's reputation by revealing a number of plots that won't appear in the The Avengers.Check out the fun video below. Unless you're Bono, in which case you might want to give this one a miss.

Sofia Coppola Weds In Ancestral Italian Town

ROME, Italia -- Filmmaker Sofia Coppola returned to her roots on her wedding Saturday, getting married to rocker Thomas Mars within the remote, southern Italian town where her great-grandfather was created. Coppolas famous filmmaker father, Francis Ford Coppola, escorted the 40-year-old Sofia lower the aisle to some waiting Mars, lead singer from the French band Phoenix and also the father of the two youthful kids. The first evening ceremony happened within the garden from the palazzo the elder Coppola refurbished inthe historic center of Bernalda, a town close to the Gulf of Taranto in Italys Basilicata region, based on Mayor Leonardo Chiruzzi who carried out the ceremony. Everything went well, Chiruzzi told The Connected Press later on. It had been simple, calm, within the garden. The bride to be used a sheer, lavender tulle dress and Mars a grey suit having a flower within the lapel. The bride to be and her father were preceded lower the aisle through the couples older daughter along with other children. After Coppola and Mars stated their si within the civil service, she thrown her bouquet along with a friend caught it, Chiruzzi stated. The bride and groom and also the father from the bride, putting on a whitened linen suit and pink shirt, then sprang from the palazzo briefly to greet viewers. She was holding a glass of bubbly. Its her second marriage she divorced fellow filmmaker Spike Jonze in 2003. Bernalda, close to the UNESCO-recognized troglodyte settlement of Matera towards the north, was the place to find Francis Ford Coppolas grandfather, Agostino, before he emigrated towards the U . s . States in the turn from the 20th century. Chiruzzi stated the marriage was simple by design. When they desired to perform a Hollywood wedding, they wouldnt did it here, Chiruzzi stated by telephone about the eve from the wedding. (They) chose to get it done here because its here its here that's beautiful. He stressed the reduced-key character from the event. The ANSA news agency stated visitors incorporated The Actor-brad Pitt and Talia Shire, the brides aunt, who's most widely known on her roles in her own siblings The Godfather films so that as Sylvester Stallones girlfriend Adrian in Rocky. An evening meal was planned to become then cake, designed to serve about 100 people. It had been an easy vanilla cake with chantilly cream, decorated with whitened flowers and eager through the chef in the Magna Grecia hotel in Bernalda, stated Biagio Loiudice, who runs your accommodation. They arrived a week ago and find the cake, he stated by telephone. It is not high, quite simple. They preferred simplicity. Sofia Coppolas 2003 film Lost in Translation won the filmmaker an Academy Award for original script making her the 3rd lady ever nominated for any pointing Oscar. Her 2010 film Somewhere, a good actor who sees the avoid of his existence with the eyes of his child, won the very best Golden Lion prize in the Venice film festival this past year. The elder Coppola is becoming something of the spokesperson for Basilicata, a mostly poor region situated about the arch of boot-formed Italia. Inside a marketing video for that area, he reminisced about his grandfathers tales about Bernalda and extolled Basilicatas unspoiled and largely unknown beauty and culture. He's thinking about turning the Bernalda palazzo in which the wedding happened, Palazzo Margherita, right into a luxury boutique hotel. Nearby Matera is on UNESCOs world heritage list, valued to illustrate a conventional human settlement that dates from Palaeolithic occasions. The famous sassi, caves dug in to the soft tufa rock that provides Matera the feel of ancient Jerusalem, were utilised as primitive, one-room houses and remain a tourist draw today. Some happen to be refurbished and converted into trendy hotels, however the area remains so ancient-searching that Mel Gibson shot a lot of The Passion from the Christ there. Copyright 2011 by Connected Press. All privileges reserved.These components might not be released, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Leah Remini Verifies Talk Exit

Leah Remini Not surprisingly, Leah Remini won't be coming back towards the Talk because of its second season, she confirmed on Twitter. "It's official: My apologies to express which i haven't been requested back on the program. Sorry to my fans. U labored so difficult! I enjoy u men," she tweeted. After someone responded asking why, Remini tweeted back, "Pointless was handed.Inch Kris Jenner to guest-host The Talk Remini's Twitter timeline is scattered with replies to fans stating that she's "upset," that they "will miss it" which she's "praying for Carol Robinson Peete," her fellow Talk-er who's also apparently about the Season 2 cutting up block. Sharon Osbourne to consider Talk break For Peete's part, she tweeted support for Remini, stating that she was "devastated" through the news which Remini introduced "humor, heart and authenticity" towards the show. For her very own future using the show, Peete tweeted, "Still under contract but haven't been acquired yet. #fingerscrossed #realtalk." Remini's costars Sharon Osbourne, Sara Gilbert and Julie Chen haven't yet tweet about Remini's departure.

EMMYS: Q&A With Louis C.K. Of Louie

Comedian Louis C.K. finds himselfan overnight sensation after 25years in the biz.Now he’s earned four Emmynominations for writing and acting on his critically praised FX comedy Louie as well as for writing and editinghis stand-up special LouisC.K.: Hilarious forEPIX premium cable channel. But best of all, C.K. (a homonym of his last name Szekely) iswidely hailed by his peers as the gold standard in stand-up. He spoke with DeadlineTV Contributor Ray Richmond: DEADLINE: How does itfeel for Ricky Gervais to call you TheFunniest Stand-up Working In America or Chris Rock refer to you as TheGreatest Comic Mind Of The Last Quarter Century? LOUISC.K.: Its nice tohear, but also a little weird, you know? You cant buy into any of it. Hearingit doesnt make me better at anything and probably does the opposite. Plus,you know its all going to go away. No one is permanently chiseled ontoanything. Ive been doing this for 25 years and have been up and down a lot.You get hot for a while, then it turns right around. I remember doing the YoungComedians Special in Aspenin 1995 and that was the first timewhere I felt like I was on some kind of a roll. The lesson I took away was notto take any of it too seriously. Keep it in perspective. DEADLINE: Butyou just took in more Emmynominations than any other performer this year. C.K.: Well yeah, the Emmy thing, thatsjust crazy. I was honestly expecting nothing. Actually thats not entirelytrue. I thought maybe Id get something for writing the special. But thenominations for the FX series, I had no idea these voters were even aware ofit. Yet now that its out there, I see it as an opportunity. And Im doing allI can to try to win. Its hugely important to me. DEADLINE: Why? C.K.: Because winning hopefully helps togive the show a deeper foothold, and I start making some money for FX. I wantto put cash in Rupert Murdochs coffers that are otherwise laying dormant.Emmys would give FX a payoff for having given me this gift of a show. I wantthe establishment to tellJohn Landgraf that he did the right thing,and that he should let me keep doing it. Thats what the Emmy is for me. Ipersonally dont need it. Ive already won. It would also reward all of theamazing crew people who work so hard making Louie what it is and maybe give the crew job security and Landgraf even morecredibility. I just want to bring any benefit to that guy that I can. Sobasically, I see the Emmys as a slot machine that pays off in reverse. DEADLINE: Soyou have adecent relationshipwith your FX boss? C.K.: Its way beyond that. He lets me dowhat I want. John Landgraf has taught me everything Ive needed to make this showwork like it does, and he lets me do the show the way Ive wanted to. I dontthink anyone has ever done a show this way. DEADLINE: You write Louie,produce it, direct it, star in it, edit it. How did you manage to become atotal control freak? C.K.: Ive been writing pilots anddeveloping television shows going back to 1996, and learned a lot the past 15years. I found out that the more money you ask the network for upfront, themore permission you need for every creative step along the way and the lessfreedom you ultimately have. When I was making my deal, my manager and agentwere pushing me to get more money for the Louie pilot. But I listened toLandgraf and took far less.In the long view ofit, there are only two outcomes: Either Ill never get rich from the show butremain intensely proud of the work and stand behind every second of it, or itcatches on and Ill make my money down the road. If youask for a shitload of money up front, your options go way down. One of thefears I had was succeeding wildly with a show I hated. I just feel so lucky tohave the deal for this show that I have. DEADLINE: Do you just make the show and FX sees it for the first timewhen it airs? C.K.: Not quite. My contract with FX saysthat I have to show them every script, and they have the right to approve everyactor we put on the show. They can also replace me in any of my jobs wheneverthey want at their discretion. The fact they havent enforced any of thoserights says theyve been happy with the way Ive been doing things so far. Ifyou want to keep the freedom, youd better succeed. There are no free rides. SoI wouldnt call what I have complete creative control. Instead, its really alack of being creatively controlled. DEADLINE: Ivenever heard of anyone having that kind ofdeal. C.K.: Neither have I. But I dont do it onmy own. I have an enormous and great crew. My fellow voices on the show areincredibly unique. The show looks beautiful, too. The reason Ive been able topull this off is Ive learned big lessons from the independent filmmakers likeWoody Allen and Spike Lee by just watching them from afar. Woody and Spike gotknown for making really exceptional films without anyone telling them how to doit. Thats what I wanted for TV. DEADLINE: Why are youstill so dedicated tostand-up? C.K.: I love it. Stand-up isprobably the most solo performance in art. Theres nothing else like it. Youretotally alone. Even a singer has a band. I love stand-up more than anything,and Im so happy to have found a way to use it in the show. DEADLINE: Which comicsdo you admire? C.K.: Zach Galifianakis. Patrice ONeal isgetting incredibly strong right now. Doug Stanhope is a fucking phenomenalcomedian, honest and really funny and working really hard right now. I haventseen Patton Oswalt in a while, but I really love him onstage. Maria Bamford isterrific. And I still love Bill Cosby and Steven Wright. DEADLINE: Whatdo you think of ModernFamily? C.K.: Never seen it. I dont watch a lot oftelevision. I tend to rent movies. And I watch a lot of sports. But when Imnot working, Im with my daughters every chance I get.

Frank DiLeo, Michael Jackson's Former Manager, Dies at 63

Frank DiLeo, a longtime music industry executive and the former manager of Michael Jackson, has died. He was 63. The Pittsburgh native, who had spent the last five years living in Los Angeles, began managing Jackson's career after the record-breaking release of 1984's Thriller. He served as executive producer of Jackson's movie Moonwalker andwas instrumental in negotiating the pop star's commercial deal with Pepsi. They parted ways professionally in 1989 but it was reported in 2009 that DiLeo was back in the management picture and remained with Jackson until his final days. Prior to his work with Jackson, DiLeo was an executive with Epic Records, starting as vp of national promotion in 1979. During his tenure at the Sony label (then under the CBS Records umbrella), he saw hits with Jackson, REO Speedwagon, Gloria Estefan and Culture Club, among many others. Often associated with the practice of using "indie promoters" to work records to radio (later simply seen as payola), he was a key player in Frederic Dannen's music business primer, Hit Men: Powerbrokers and Fast Money Inside the Music Business. The book was released in 1990. DiLeo has also appeared in several movies including GoodFellas and theWayne's World franchise. In the latter, he played Frankie "Mr. Big" Sharp, the music mogul who discovers Wayne and Garth while riding around in his limo watching TV. In a statement released on Wednesday, DiLeo is described as a "legendary, iconic and highly respected music industry figure." He died between 4 a.m. and 6 a.m. at St. Elizabeth Hospital in Boardman, Ohioas a result of complications following heart surgery, which he underwent six months ago. DiLeo is survived by his wife Linda and two children,Belinda and Dominic, along with a grandson, Frank.Services will be held in Pittsburgh next week. Related Topics Michael Jackson

Newark launches film office

The town of Newark, N.J., has opened up the Newark Office of Film and tv (NOFT), a brand new entity made to assistance to production companies with logistical assistance, site searches and determining locations for film shoots. Work can also be billed with provide help with acquiring products or services required for production, and assistance in being able to access galleries and filming locations.The roll-out of work was introduced by Newark mayor Cory A. Booker, together with deputy mayor Stefan Pryor, Newark Office of Communications director Anne Torres, and Lyneir Richardson, Boss of Brick City Development Corp., the company billed with marketing business and economic development in New Jersey's biggest city.Additionally to marketing production, NOFT intends to develop instruction and internship program for Newark youth, supplying possibilities for students through learning media, camera operation, scriptwriting along with other abilities. Professional filmmakers and TV talent - together with guest company directors, producers, authors, along with other industry executives - will show you their work and share their encounters with students to organize them for film, TV and media careers. Working with the Nj Film and tv Commission, the brand new office will even assist filmmakers and TV producers seeking to try to get condition incentive programs."Newark is a hub for television and film productions for many years, varying from advertisements to 'Presumed Innocent' and 'War from the Mobile phone industry's,'" Booker stated. "Creating this office will let us still leverage Newark like a world-class place for TV and film production.""With plenty of physical assets along with a superior cost structure to surrounding competing marketplaces, Newark has untrained potential within the film production industry," stated Pryor. NOFT is going to be situated in offices of Brick City Development Corp. Newark has several galleries readily available for editing and production rental, and can soon give a new complex, the Ironbound Galleries, towards the city's roster of film facilities. When complete, Ironbound Galleries will boast 77,000 sq ft of studio space, together with a 38,000-feet soundstage. Three other stages will manage to hosting productions for advertisements, TV programming, talk shows, new media, and live-action top quality-entertainment projects. Based on the city, Ironbound Galleries will offer you rates which are considerably less than comparable galleries in New You are able to City - that is just over the Hudson river - and can offer an alternate location only twenty minutes from Manhattan. The town added that labor utilized in the making of the Ironbound Galleries was hired from Newark or even the greater Newark area. NOFT needs the ability to spread out at the end of 2011."Newark has tremendous architecture, a wealthy history within the arts, along with a city government that's devoted to dealing with the film and tv industries create significant programming here." stated O'Brien Kelley, who can serve as director from the Newark Office of Film and tv - and who started his film career in 2004 when Hilary Swank and Chad Lowe requested him to executive-create a script they'd commissioned known as "Beautiful Ohio." He's now being employed as connect producer for actor/author Emma Thompson on the Victorian period piece known as "Effie."The film permit process requires the Town of Newark's Office of Communications, law enforcement department and also the law department. Permit demands and home loan approvals are matched by Town of Newark's film and enable manager Brenda Johnson, who started her film career with Columbia Pictures like a production assistant. She continued to utilize New You are able to area PBS outlet WNET/13, creating local programming for 13 years, before joining the town of Newark in 1998. She also can serve as a completely independent producer on educational documentaries. "The Newark Office of Film and tv won't function as a fiscal catalyst, but being an engine for moving Newark up of Hollywood's A-list for film production," stated Torres.The Town of Newark includes a lengthy history inside the film industry. In 2005, Newark's Ironbound neighborhood was the looking for Steven Spielberg's "War from the Mobile phone industry's," starring Tom Cruise. In 2008, Cadillac Records, with actor Adrien Brody and recording star Beyonc Knowles, used downtown Newark since it's backdrop. Furthermore, last year, rapper Eminem created a relevant video for his song "Not ScaredInch in Downtown Newark it subsequently won Best Stylish-Hop Video in the MTV Music Honours. Cinemax Small-Series "The Sopranos" also shot episodes in Newark. Contact Peter Caranicas at peter.caranicas@variety.com

Housewives Stars Tweet Condolences For Taylor Armstrong & Daughter

LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- Members of the Real Housewives franchise family have reacted to the news that Taylor Armstrongs husband, Russell Armstrong, died of an apparent suicide on Monday night. I am so very sad about todays news, Bravo executive Andy Cohen, said in a Tweet. My prayers and thoughts are with Taylor Armstrong and her family. New York City housewife Jill Zarin offered her support to her fellow reality TV star. Shocked and deeply saddened to hear about the passing of Russell Armstrong. My love and prayers to @TaylorArmstrong and her daughter, she Tweeted. Camille Grammer was the first of Taylors Beverly Hills castmates to Tweet publicly. My sympathy and condolences go out to Taylor and Kennedy. My thoughts and prayers are with them, she wrote on what appeared to be her Twitter page. Also chiming in was Orange County star Gretchen Rossi, who was devastated by the news. No words can express how much my heart is breaking for my fellow housewife sister @taylorarmstrong and her, she Tweeted. New York cast member Cindy Barshop wrote, My deepest condolences go to @TaylorArmstrong and her precious daughter, while LuAnn de Lesseps (the Countess) Tweeted, Such a tragedy. My thoughts and prayers go out to Taylor and Kennedy and the Armstrong family. As reported on AccessHollywood.com early Tuesday morning, Russell, the estranged spouse of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Taylor, was found dead on Monday night at the age of 47, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles County Coroners Office confirmed. Russell, an investment banker, was found at his home on Mulholland Drive in West Los Angeles, the Coroners Office rep added. Authorities told Access they were treating his death as a suicide, but an official determination will be confirmed on Wednesday after further examination. Copyright 2011 by NBC Universal, Inc. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

VIDEO: Aria Is "Officially Terrified" of Jason

Drew Van Acker, Lucy Hale Pretty Little Liars' Aria thought she had enough problems after being kissed by Jason. Turns out he's gone from admirer to stalker as Emily tells Aria about her and Spencer's recent discovery. "Jason had pictures of you, creepy pictures of you," Emily explains in the clip below. "Spencer and I found a darkroom in his woodshed. He developed photographs of you sleeping - sleeping or drugged." Pretty Little Liars' Ashley Benson says a disappointing change is ahead for Hanna and Caleb In last week's episode, Aria (Lucy Hale) had some, ahem, enlightening dreams about her hot yet shady neighbor Jason (Drew van Acker). But after he made a move, Aria shut down his advances, explaining she's already involved with someone. "I'm officially terrified," Aria tells Emily after realizing the full extent of Jason's crush. Do you think Jason was involved in his sister Alison's murder? Pretty Little Liars airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on ABC Family.

Icahn buys more Lionsgate shares

Is Carl Icahn back in the Lionsgate hunt? The maverick investor disclosed Friday that he and affiliates of his Icahn Associates Corp. have acquired more than 702,000 shares in the minimajor since Wednesday, swooping in amid the stock market's wild ride. News of Icahn's move came as Lionsgate released its proxy statement and set Sept. 13 as the date of its annual meeting in Toronto. Icahn bought about two-thirds of the shares on Wednesday and Thursday at price of about $6.70-$6.75 per share, with the remainder coming on Friday at a price of $6.90 per share. The purchase raises the specter of Icahn is making another run at exerting control over the company. At present Icahn is believed to control about 33% of the company. In 2009 and 2010, Icahn dogged Lionsgate with vocal criticism of management and strategic priorities as he sought to build up a controlling stake in the company and force a clearing out of its board of directors and top managers. But the slate of directors Icahn ran at Lionsgate's last annual meeting in December were handily defeated, after which the investor seemed to back away from the fight. Earlier this week, Lionsgate noted in its quarterly earnings report "decreased costs associated with shareholder activism" as a factor in its return to profit for the fiscal first quarter. A Lionsgate spokesman had no comment on Icahn's disclosure. Contact Variety Staff at news@variety.com

Eric Church's 'Chief' debuts at No. 1

You can call him "Chief": Country vocalist Eric Church's like-named album arrives at No. 1 on the U.S. album chart this week. Church's third Capitol Nashville collection hits the top with a 145,000-unit debut week, according to Nielsen SoundScan figures for the week ending July 31. The hard-touring North Carolina-born singer-songwriter's previous best came, aptly enough, with "Carolina," which peaked at No. 17 two years ago. The big bow for Church's set was the only thing standing in the way of another week at No. 1 for Adele's "21." The British singer's tireless Columbia album descends one slot to No. 2 with an 83,000-unit week (rising 7%). Her sophomore album's sales now total 2.83 million, the year's bestseller to date. Former Destiny's Child member Kelly Rowland's third solo album debuts at No. 3, shifting 77,000 copies. The Universal Motown set, her third solo album, takes Rowland's best chart position to date: previous title "Ms. Kelly" topped out at No. 6 in 2007. Rowland's ex-band mate Beyonce drops two poles to No. 6 this week with "4" (41,000 units, off 23%). The late Amy Winehouse's "Back to Black" (Universal Republic) roars up the chart to No. 4, gaining five positions and 44% in a 54,000-unit week. The singer's sophomore album vaulted back to No. 9 last week, reflecting just two days of retail sales after her sudden death on July 23; this week's boost comes on the back of a full week's worth of sales. Joining Adele and Winehouse in the top 10 this week is a fellow English soul-pop diva, Joss Stone, whose third album "LP1" (Surfdog) rolls in at No. 9 with 30,000 moved out of the box. It bests her previous release, 2009's "Colour Me Free," by one chart position. Holdovers include Jason Aldean's "My Kinda Party" (No. 5, 42,000, down 4%), "Kidz Bop 20" (No. 7, 39,000, off 44%), Blake Shelton's "Red River Blue" (No. 8, 31,000, off 34%), and Bad Meets Evil's "Hell: The Sequel (No. 10, 26,000, down 9%). Another country star, Trace Adkins, is a top bet to succeed Church and former chart-topper Shelton at the apex next week. Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com

Ryan Reynolds, Jason Bateman's Raunchy 'The Change-Up' Promo (Video)

Jason Bateman and Ryan Reynolds mock their prior movies, product placements, grandmas and a few nationalities in a hilarious new promo for their movie, The Change-Up, which hits theaters Friday.our editor recommendsReynolds, Bateman team for 'Change Up' The Change-Up: Film Review Wearing matching white suits and sitting on plain stools in a bare-bones studio, an off-camera voice instructs them to talk about the premise of the movie because "people really love body switching." "We can tell them that body switching is a pretty stupid idea," says Reynolds. The off-camera voice then says, "We really want to downplay this movie almost got a NC-17... so say this movie is perfect for everyone, even grandmas." PHOTOS and VIDEO: Summer Movies Preview "Really?" says Bateman, as Reynolds adds, "I stick my thumb up somebody's a-s," which is bleeped out. "Is she a freak?" says Bateman. "We'll take her money!" Jokes Reynolds, "Hey grandma, bring your bridge friends, and a big bucket of soft foods!" Then they ask if they can "do something about the Asians," before launching into a riff on their language, and later slipping into Spanish. "We really want to say that we didn't compromise, we didn't sell out," says Bateman, before the off-camera voice asks if they "can say that holding a bag of no trans fat air chips." When Reynolds gives a death stare and refuses to hold the bag, Bateman pleads, "Don't hurt him, Lantern!" They then make fun of the chips, joke about "stroking out," ask if they can "get our beaks wet" making money off the promo, and promise their new film is "no dumber than a movie about a bunch of talking apes." Related Topics Jason Bateman Ryan Reynolds The Change-Up

Ben Promote Cast as John Gotti Junior. Opposite Travolta Qantas Video and Al Pacino in Gotti Biopic

Large news about the Gotti front from the non-legal variety: Fiore Films just introduced that Ben Promote has signed onto star in Craig Levinson’s star-studded crime family biopic, Gotti: Within The Shadow Of My Dad as John Gotti Junior. opposite Travolta Qantas Video and Al Pacino. The project is a reunion for Levinson and Promote, who labored together about the 1999 period drama Liberty Levels. Promote joins Travolta (playing John Gotti, Sr.), Kelly Preston (playing Victoria Gotti) and Pacino (as Neil Dellacroce, a Gambino crime family underboss who mentors the senior Gotti) within the film, and appears positively thrilled concerning the development: “Barry Levinson was the very first director who required an opportunity on me, and I've got a career due to him. […] This can be a film about family, fathers and sons. I'm deeply honored for that chance to utilize Craig and also the amazing cast he's putting together to assist bring the storyline from the Gotti family towards the screen.” Craig Levinson changed Nick Cassavetes as director from the film in May and it is re-writing the script together with his Bugsy co-author James Toback. Pre-production about the film will begin in September before principal photography starts at the begining of The month of january. · Ben Promote to experience John Gotti, Junior. [Variety]