The film is a true-life crime story focusing on New York's Gotti family. Pacino will play Gambino crime family underboss Neil Dellacroce, an associate and mentor to Gotti Sr. (to be played by Travolta). The cast will also feature Kelly Preston as Gotti's wife Victoria, Ella Bleu will play their daughter Angel, Joe Pesci will play Gotti's associate Angelo Ruggiero, and Lindsay Lohan will play Kim Gotti, John Gotti Jr.'s wife.

Pacino has received a 2011 Tony Award nomination for his portrayal of Shylock in The Merchant of Venice and won Tony Awards for his work in Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie? and The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel.

He is an eight-time Oscar nominee, winning for Scent of a Woman. His many films include The Godfather trilogy, Dog Day Afternoon, Glengarry Glen Ross, and Frankie and Johnny, and he won the Emmy Award for his portrayal of Roy Cohn in HBO's miniseries version of Angels in America.