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For more than 30 years, John Kiesewetter has been the source for information about all things in local media — comings and goings, local people appearing on the big or small screen, special programs, and much more. Contact John at johnkiese@yahoo.com.

John Travolta's Cincinnati-Filmed 'Gotti' Has A Release Date

John Kiesewetter
Promotional poster for "Gotti" film in 2016.

John Travolta's Gotti movie, shot here in the late summer of 2016, finally will arrive in theaters June 15.

Credit John Kiesewetter
Kevin Connolly at an October 2016 press conference.

Director Kevin Connollyannounced the June date for Gotti, which was pulled from release at the last minute in December.

Travolta, who stars as the "Teflon Don" organized crime leader, told Extra in February that producers intervened to stop the holiday release because it was only going to have limited distribution to theaters and video on demand.

"I found an individual that was willing to finance it as a widely distributed film and so we pulled it from the distributor that had a limited market," Travolta said. "In June, it gets to be for everybody. So yeah, I’m very excited about the possibilities of that film."

Originally called The Life and Death of John Gotti, the film also stars Travolta's wife Kelly Preston, Spencer Lofranco, William DeMeo, Stacy Keach, and Leo Rossi.

Before filming wrapped on October 17, 2016, Connolly said at a press conference here that Cincinnati worked fine for the gangster story set in New York City in the 1970s and '80s.

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"There are parts of Cincinnati that can pass for New York.  Even if we went to the real location in New York, it doesn't look the same. It was easier than I thought… We were lucky…. Our Fourth of July scene was on 14th Street and Vine. We put a bunch of people there, and fireworks and barbeque, and you wouldn't know it wasn't in New York," Connolly said.

Gotti filmed at the Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza Hotel downtown, Hamilton County courthouse, Finneytown, Indian Hill, Northside, the Butler County Jail in Hamilton, and other places in Greater Cincinnati.

It was produced by Emmett/Furla Films/Oasis Films, which filmed Bruce Willis' Reprisal (2017) and Marauders (2015) and Nicholas Cage's Inconceivable  (2017).

John Kiesewetter, who has covered television and media for more than 35 years, has been working for Cincinnati Public Radio and WVXU-FM since 2015.