Keeping up with its popular 1960s-era shows, AMC has put in development a television version of the acclaimed 1990 Martin Scorsese crime drama Goodfellas. There’s no official word yet on what the show will focus on but Nicolas Pileggi, who wrote the film and the book the movie is based on, Wiseguy, said it may serve as a prequel.
Of course you can’t pick up from Goodfellas, since we murdered everybody, or rather, everybody was murdered! There’s nobody left. But I think we’re going to figure out a way to do the early years. The part of the movie people often like best is the opening third, where all the funny stuff is happening.
/Film is reporting that Pileggi has signed on to script the series with television writer-producer Jorge Zamacona. The two will executive produce the show along with the film’s producer, Irwin Winkler, and his son, David. Warner Horizon Television will produce.
Goodfellas was nominated for six Academy Awards, and won the Best Supporting Actor category for Joe Pesci. The series will be lacking the stellar acting abilities of the main cast, which also included Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta and the Oscar-nominated Lorraine Bracco, as well as Scorsese‘s directorial efforts, but Pileggi’s writing efforts will surely give viewers a deeper insight into the origins of the Lucchese crime family.
What do you think? Ready for a Goodfellas TV show?