Reuters, LOS ANGELES, April 21: Lindsay Lohan is back in a proposed film about the Gotti crime family after she personally persuaded its reluctant producer to give her a shot, he said on Wednesday.
The actress, whose promising career has been derailed by drug and criminal problems, had been in negotiations for a role in "Gotti: Three Generations," starring John Travolta as mob boss John Gotti, Sr. She even showed up at a news conference announcing the project last week.
But producer Marc Fiore said earlier Wednesday that he had broken off talks because of demands made by Lohan's management team, and planned to meet with other actresses.
Hours later, he appeared to have been swayed by the "Mean Girls" actress herself.
"We had a little rocky road today, but Lindsay definitely revived the situation," Fiore told Reuters, adding that Lohan called him personally to plead her case.
Lohan will play Kim Gotti, the wife of Gotti's namesake son, Fiore said. Previous media reports said she was in line to play his daughter, Victoria. Fiore said the Kim role was bigger since the movie is about the father-son relationship.
Fiore has the cooperation of retired mobster John Gotti, Jr., whose character has yet to be cast. His father, the so-called "Teflon Don," died of cancer in 2002 while serving a life term for murder, racketeering, extortion and tax evasion.
Fiore said he hoped to announce a new director next week. Nick Cassavetes, who was originally attached, exited the project earlier this week because of a scheduling conflict.
Shooting is expected to start in October. Fiore said the budget for the self-financed film was $70 million to $80 million. He declined to specify the source of the funds.
New Jersey- and Los Angeles-based Fiore Films previously produced the 2008 DVD "National Lampoon's One, Two, Many," starring former Howard Stern radio sidekick "Stuttering" John Melendez.
Lohan, 24, is scheduled to appear at a Los Angeles preliminary court hearing on Friday over a jewelry theft charge that will determine if she should stand trial. She could be sent to prison if eventually convicted.
The former child star has not headlined a movie since the widely ridiculed 2007 bomb "I Know Who Killed Me."
