Harry here... I've been hearing rumors that GANGS OF NEW YORK wasn't going to be making its release date this summer, and frankly as much as I'm dying to see it, I have been afraid that Sam Mendes' ROAD TO PERDITION with Tom Hanks was set to demolish GANGS at the box office, though my feelings are that GANGS would be the superior of the two films... fingers crossed that they both kick my ass. I had heard about this 'fight' a long time ago, but dismissed it as idle gossip, but the story is appearing in the New York Times now, so I suppose the story may be true. 3hr and 40 minutes is an extremely long film, but for this story, the script that I read and being told by a storyteller of Scorsese's calibre.... Well, I believe he could hold my attention for as long as Marty wanted it. I just hope that through all of this, that Scorsese comes through this project with a finished project that he is happy with. Because it is a shame if your dream project turns into a nightmare. Here ya go...
Harry,
Don't know if anyone e-mailed you about this, but in yesterday's New York Times (Sunday, April 7) there was an interesting article about the alleged "fight" between Scorsese and Harvey Weinstein over Gangs of New York.
Apparently a 3hr. 40 minute cut was presented that was unsatisfactory to Weinstein, who then showed up at Scorsese's townhouse and got into a shouting match with Marty. There is now a 2 hr. 40 minute cut and Scorsese is considering a reshoot that would be a confrontation between Leo DiCaprio's character and Daniel Day-Lewis' Bill the Butcher. In the meantime a 30 minute preview is being prepared to be screened at Cannes.
Looks like the eventual release date is still to be determined but seems unlikely to be this summer. Lots of other interesting details about budgets and who exactly is paying for the film are also included in the article.
