RI's Verdi Productions to team with Scorsese, DiCaprio to film action thriller in October
First up will be the action thriller "Carthage Must Be Destroyed," with casting already begun for filming to start in the Ocean State in October.
In addition to Verdi, Scorsese and DiCaprio, "Carthage" will be produced by LBI Entertainment's Christopher Donelly and Gareth West, with Michelle Verdi, Chad Verdi Jr., Paul Luba, Jennifer Davisson, Lisa Frechette and Sera Verdi on the production team. The production companies are Sikelia Productions, Appian Way Productions, Verdi Productions, and Ketchup Entertainment.
"Carthage" will be directed by Ted Griffin, writer of "Ocean's Eleven."
The story follows a stranger in a rust-belt city in decline that is ruled by the criminal underworld. The stranger looks to create chaos to bring the downfall of the corrupt power structure.
Verdi Productions will spend more than $150 million over the next five years on roughly 20 projects, some of which will include the involvement of Scorsese and DiCaprio, according to Verdi Sr.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Scorsese, DiCaprio, Verdi Productions film Carthage Must Be Destroyed
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Chicago Tribune
22-07-2025
- Chicago Tribune
Hunter Biden lashes out at George Clooney, other Democrats, over Joe Biden's 2024 campaign
WASHINGTON — Former President Joe Biden's son Hunter, seen by some as the problem child of the Democratic Party for legal and drug-related woes that brought negative attention to his father, is lashing out against Democratic 'elites' and others over the way he says his father was treated during last year's presidential campaign. Hunter Biden spoke publicly in recent interviews about last year's election, when Joe Biden ultimately dropped his bid and Donald Trump won the White House. In a three-hour, expletive-filled online interview with Andrew Callaghan of Channel 5, he directed ire toward actor and Democratic Party donor George Clooney for his decision to call on the elder Biden to abandon his 2024 reelection bid. He also ranted against longtime Democratic advisers he accused of making money off the party and trading off previous electoral successes, but not helping candidates' current efforts. The lengthy screed made plain the younger Biden's feelings that his father was mistreated by those around him in the waning days of his candidacy and administration. He also laid bare critiques of the party's operation and operatives that, he says, aren't well-serving its opposition to Trump and the Republican Party. Here's a look at some of the moments in Hunter Biden's interview: Hunter Biden spared no feelings in his assessment of the actor, questioning why anyone should listen to the 'Ocean's Eleven' star. Clooney supported Joe Biden's bid for a second term, even headlining a record-setting fundraiser for the then-president, but changed his stance after Biden's disastrous debate performance against Trump in June 2024. Clooney made his feelings known in an opinion piece in The New York Times, adding his voice to mounting calls for the then-81-year-old president to drop his presidential bid. Biden ended up leaving the race a few weeks later and endorsed his vice president, Kamala Harris, who went on to lose to Trump. 'What right do you have to step on a man who's given 52 years of his f——— life to the services of this country and decide that you, George Clooney, are going to take out basically a full page ad in the f——— New York Times to undermine the president,' Hunter Biden said before he trailed off to talk about how Republicans are more unified than Democrats. Los Angeles-based representatives for Clooney did not respond to an emailed request for comment. There were also weighty critiques of a number of longtime Democratic advisers. Anita Dunn, a longtime Biden senior adviser, has made '$40 to $50 million' off of work for the Democratic Party, Hunter Biden said. James Carville, adviser to former President Bill Clinton, 'hasn't run a race in 40 f——— years.' Former Obama strategist David Axelrod, Hunter Biden said, 'had one success in his political life, and that was Barack Obama — and that was because of Barack Obama.' Other former Obama aides who now host 'Pod Save America,' are 'four white millionaires that are dining out on their association with Barack Obama from 16 years ago,' he said. One of the four, Tommy Vietor, Monday on social media applauded Hunter Biden's decision 'to process the election, look inward, and hold himself accountable for how his family's insular, dare I say arrogant at times, approach to politics led to this catastrophic outcome we're all now living with.' In a message Tuesday, Axelrod told The Associated Press, 'Never have the words 'no comment' felt more appropriate.' Dunn did not immediately return a message seeking comment. As for the debate performance, the fallout from which ultimately led to the calls for his father to step down from the 2024 presidential campaign, Hunter Biden said his father may have been recovering from Ambien, a medication that he had been given to help him sleep following trips in the weeks before the debate to Europe, as well as the Los Angeles fundraiser at which Clooney said his interactions with Biden made him feel the president wasn't mentally capable. 'He's 81 years old,' Hunter Biden said. 'They give him Ambien to be able to sleep, and he gets up on the stage and he looks like he's a deer in the headlights.' A spokesperson for Joe Biden declined to comment on the interview. Hunter Biden also appeared Monday in an episode of 'At Our Table,' a new podcast hosted by former Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison. 'Yeah, Joe Biden did get old. He got old before our eyes. … But you know what? A few changes does not mean that you do not have the mental capacity to be able to do your job.' In that interview, Hunter Biden also talked about the calamitous presidential debate. 'And then they saw him at that debate. It was awful, and it was truly horrible,' he said, saying he was opposed to holding it, given Trump's recent convictions on 34 felony charges in a New York hush money case. To Harrison, Hunter Biden also addressed Clooney, saying, 'I love George Clooney's movies, but I don't really give a s—- about what he thinks about who should be the nominee for the Democratic Party.' Asked by Harrison about his father's decision to quit the 2024 race, Hunter Biden said 'I think that he could have won' but still made the right choice for Democrats broadly.' 'I know that it wasn't a mistake in that moment,' Hunter Biden said, adding that his father 'chose to save the party' over saving himself. The podcast drops come just days ahead of the expected beginning of court proceedings in a Los Angeles federal court. Hunter Biden is suing Patrick Byrne, alleging that the former CEO of falsely claimed that Hunter Biden was reaching out to the Iranian government in the fall of 2021 and offering to have his father Joe Biden 'unfreeze' $8 billion in Iranian funds 'in return for $800 million being funneled into a numbered account for us.' In the waning days of his administration, Joe Biden pardoned his son, sparing the younger Biden a possible prison sentence for federal felony gun and tax convictions and reversing his past promises not to use the extraordinary powers of the presidency for the benefit of his family. The Democratic president had previously said he would not pardon his son or commute his sentence after convictions in the two cases in Delaware and California. The move came weeks before Hunter Biden was set to receive his punishment after his trial conviction in the gun case and guilty plea on tax charges, and less than two months before Trump returned to the White House.
San Francisco Chronicle
22-07-2025
- San Francisco Chronicle
Hunter Biden accuses George Clooney of undermining his father in 2024 presidential election
WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Joe Biden's son Hunter isn't hiding his feelings about actor and Democratic Party donor George Clooney's decision to call on the elder Biden to abandon his 2024 reelection bid. In a rare online interview, Hunter Biden used a string of expletives to describe Clooney when discussing the actor with Andrew Gallagher of Channel 5. Clooney supported Democrat Joe Biden's bid for a second term and even headlined a record-setting fundraiser for the then-president. But the actor changed his stance after Biden turned in a disastrous debate performance against Republican Donald Trump in June 2024 and added his voice to mounting calls for the then-81-year-old president to leave the race. Clooney made his feelings known in an opinion piece in The New York Times. Biden ended up leaving the race a few weeks later and endorsed his vice president, Kamala Harris. She lost to Trump. In the lengthy and wide-ranging interview, Hunter Biden questioned why anyone should listen to Clooney and said the 'Ocean's Eleven' actor had no right to 'undermine' his father. 'What right do you have to step on a man who's given 52 years of his f——— life to the services of this country and decide that you, George Clooney, are going to take out basically a full page ad in the f——— New York Times to undermine the president," Hunter Biden said before he trailed off to talk about how Republicans are more unified than Democrats. Joe Biden served 36 years in the U.S. Senate and eight years as Barack Obama's vice president before he was elected president in 2020. ___
New York Post
16-07-2025
- New York Post
Martin Scorsese's daughter Francesca shares his emotional reaction to first acting Emmy nod for ‘The Studio'
Call it a plot twist: Martin Scorsese is now an Emmy-nominated actor! The Oscar-winning director, 82, received his first-ever Emmy nomination for acting on Tuesday, thanks to his cameo appearance in the Apple TV+ series 'The Studio.' Scorsese was nominated in the outstanding guest actor in a comedy series category alongside Jon Bernthal for 'The Bear' and four fellow 'The Studio' guest stars: Bryan Cranston, Dave Franco, Ron Howard and Anthony Mackie. 7 Scorsese earned his first acting Emmy nomination for his cameo in the Apple TV+ series 'The Studio.' ©Apple TV/Courtesy Everett Collection The acclaimed filmmaker's youngest daughter, Francesca, 25, took to Instagram to share her father's reaction to the news. In one post, Francesca shared a screenshot from a FaceTime call showing the 'Goodfellas' director's emotional reaction to the milestone — face in his hands and all. The younger Scorsese can be seen in the corner of the screen, smiling as she captures the moment. 7 Scorsese's daughter, Francesca, shared his reaction to the news on Instagram. In another post, Francesca shared a photo of her father's fellow nominees, adding confetti over his photo. 'Our little actor 🫶🏻,' she wrote. This isn't the first time Scorsese has made an appearance on his daughter's social media. In fact, he's a regular fixture in Francesca's TikToks. 7 Scorsese has appeared on his daughter's social media in the past. In 2021, the father-daughter duo went viral after Francesca shared a video of Scorsese attempting to guess the names of various feminine products. He shares Francesca with his wife, Helen Morris. He's also father to two older daughters: Cathy Scorsese, 59, whom he shares with first wife, Laraine Marie Brennan, and Domenica Cameron-Scorsese, 48, whom he shares with his second wife, Julia Cameron. 7 Martin Scorsese with two of his daughters, Domenica and Francesca. Getty Images Scorsese appeared as himself in the pilot episode of 'The Studio,' co-created and co-directed by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg. The satirical comedy series stars Rogen, 43, as Matt Remick, the newly appointed head of a Hollywood movie studio struggling to navigate industry chaos in pursuit of producing quality films. The cast also includes Catherine O'Hara (Patty Leigh), Ike Barinholtz (Sal Saperstein), Chase Sui Wonders (Quinn Hackett) and Kathryn Hahn (Maya Mason). 7 Scorsese appeared as himself in the pilot episode of 'The Studio,' co-created and co-directed by Seth Rogen. ©Apple TV/Courtesy Everett Collection Goldberg told Deadline they specifically wrote the scene for Scorsese. 'To [their] absolute shock and bafflement,' the 'Killers of the Flower Moon' filmmaker said yes, Goldberg said. 'We never FaceTimed with him. We'd never met him until the day he came to shoot,' Goldberg told the outlet. 'He just liked the script and agreed based on the script, which was an absolute miracle.' Rogen, for his part, told Variety that the cameos in the show 'had to all be people that served a very specific role in the stories.' 7 'Scorsese was literally the first person [we thought of],' Rogen told Variety. Getty Images 'For Scorsese, the role was someone my character would f—ing do anything to work with, who would pound this puzzle piece into a shape that it clearly doesn't belong in just for the opportunity to work with,' he told the outlet. 'At the same time, it had be a person you would believe would make a Jonestown movie.' He added, 'Scorsese was literally the first person [we thought of]. If you're around my age and you grew up loving movies, he's the guy.' Although Scorsese is already a three-time Emmy winner, this marks his first nod in an acting category. 7 Scorsese has a slew of awards to his name. In 2011, he won his first Emmy in the outstanding directing for a drama series category for directing the pilot episode of 'Boardwalk Empire.' The following year, he took home two more Emmys for 'George Harrison: Living in the Material World' in the outstanding nonfiction special and outstanding directing for nonfiction programming categories. 'The Wolf of Wall Street' director also has one Oscar, four BAFTA Awards, three Golden Globes and one Grammy to his name. The 77th Primetime Emmy Awards, hosted by comedian Nate Bargatze, will be held on Sunday, September 14, at Los Angeles' Peacock Theater.
