Martin Scorsese isn’t one to give up on a project easily; this is a man who spent 26 years trying to get his religious epic Silence off the ground before finally succeeding just a few weeks ago. But not even Scorsese can stand up to the Sinatra family, apparently, with Pitchfork reporting that the Goodfellas director has said Bada-Bye (or the appropriate Rat Pack nonsense slang of your choice) to his plans to make a biopic about Frank Sinatra.
According to an interview with the Toronto Sun, the film’s major stumbling block was the Sinatra family’s opposition to Scorsese’s warts-and-all approach. “The problem is that the man was so complex. Everybody is so complex—but Sinatra in particular,” Scorsese said, adding, “Certain things are very difficult for a family, and I totally understand.”
Given his place at the intersection between money, power, art, crime, and the Italian-American experience, Sinatra seems like the ideal subject for a Scorsese film. Hence the director’s frustration, presumably, as he declared, “We can’t do it! I think it is finally over. Open it up again and I’m there!”