Blood Oaths & Broken Deals
Leonardo DiCaprio just put the kibosh on “Evel Knievel Goes on Tour”—all because Martin Scorsese's “Midnight Vendetta” is coming in hot. Hollywood's panic is real: the script (by Eric Roth) dives headlong into the Sicilian Mafia's American inception, juiced with lynch mobs, ethnic slurs, and the infamous slaughter of 11 Italian men in the Big Easy.
It's not just another gangster flick. This one's got Schindler's List-level body counts and a flavor of American xenophobia simmering beneath the voodoo moss. Other Scorsese projects? Still vaporware. But this script is done—and insiders swear DiCaprio's booking his flight to bayou hell.
Why This Isn't Just Another Mob Movie
Check the ledger:
- Insane detail: Roth's script digs into the mythic murder of Police Chief David Hennessy, whose death ranted “the Dagoes” with his last breath. That word alone will light up modern Twitter like a Roman candle—watch for the thinkpieces.
- Savage comparison: It's “Gangs of New York” meets “12 Years a Slave”—if both got blackout drunk in a haunted Mardi Gras float.
- Real stakes: “Killers of the Flower Moon” was grim, but this is the true genesis-moment of America's organized crime: New Orleans as the original, corrupted womb.
Movies milking Mafia nostalgia are nothing new—see Netflix's “The Irishman” (Scorsese again), FX's “Trust,” or even Coppola's neverending Godfather redux. But none dared orbit this lynching: 1891 saw eleven Italian immigrants massacred and New Orleans haunted by whispers of a “cursed” mafia legacy ever since. If you think Scorsese is above poking that open wound, think again.
The Curse of True Stories
Hollywood has tried (and failed) to bottle this period. The closest recent cousin: HBO's “Boardwalk Empire,” which swam in Prohibition-era blood but never tackled the real origin story. Why? Maybe too real, too brutal, too damn embarrassing for polite audiences. But 2024-25 is a different beast: streamers are foaming for “problematic” histories, and DiCaprio's name still seduces both Oscar voters and TikTok teens.
A production insider let slip to IndieWire: “If Marty pulls this off, it'll make ‘Casino' look like a Disney cruise.” Expect backlash. Also: expect Oscar buzz (again).
Your Move, America
Are we ready to re-litigate America's ugliest Mafia birth in sweaty, cursed New Orleans? Genius or exploitation? History lesson or fever dream? Fight it out below.
I have book regarding the lynchings to be released by my publisher soon. I spent six years investigating David Hennessy’s murder and the ensuing lynchings. The victims were innocent. The book’s title is Cobblestones. I live in New Orleans and grew up hearing stories about the case. After I retired from a forty-year career in law enforcement, I decided to re-investigate the case. No writer has as much information as I do. Please help me contact Mr. Scorsese. My email address is below. Thank you.