Gangs Of New York TV Series In The Works, Martin Scorsese To Direct
Martin Scorsese has a filmography containing so many projects that took years, if not decades, to get to the screen. One of the longest to gestate and most difficult to make was 2002's "Gangs of New York," based on a book by Herbert Asbury that Scorsese first read back in 1970. That's three decades before the film even became a reality to make, and then there was the knock-down, drag-out battle behind the scenes with producer Harvey Weinstein about the cut of the picture, delaying the release of the film an entire year. The film was highly anticipated and received 10 Oscar nominations, but you would be hard pressed to find a ton of film fans who rank "Gangs of New York" among the director's best. I, however, am one of those few. It has its issues, namely the incredibly miscast Leonardo DiCaprio and Cameron Diaz, but the ambition, style, and craftsmanship on display utterly captivates me for its 167 minute running time.
Well, Scorsese is looking to take another crack at the material. Deadline reports that "Gangs of New York" will receive a second life as a television show from Miramax with Scorsese coming on to executive produce and direct the first two episodes of the series.
A deviation from the original
Spearheading the series alongside Martin Scorsese will not be Jay Cocks, who first introduced Scorsese to the book and co-wrote the film. The show is created by Brett Leonard, a veteran television writer and producer whose work includes "Hung," "Fear the Walking Dead," and most recently the Charlie Hunnam-starring Apple TV+ series "Shantaram."
As for what the show will be about, the details are not exactly clear, but do not expect it to be the further adventures of Leonardo DiCaprio's Amerstdam Vallon and Daniel Day-Lewis' Bill "The Butcher," as much as I would love to see more of the latter. Herbert Asbury's book covers dozens upon dozens of gangs that established themselves in New York during the 19th Century, not to mention all of the political wheeling and dealing done at Tammany Hall.
Scorsese previously tried to turn "Gangs of New York" into a television series about a decade ago, when he was popping off shows like "Boardwalk Empire" and "Vinyl" with more regularity. The television landscape has only exponentially grown in those ten years, and this particular iteration was not even developed by Scorsese himself. He just responded tremendously to Leonard's take on the material. Whether this will be the next thing Scorsese makes after he finishes his latest film "Killers of the Flower Moon" is unclear, but whenever this "Gangs of New York" series comes to fruition, I know I will be tuning in opening night.