MARTIN SCORSESE - JAMES' LIFE STORY TO GET THE SCORSESE TREATMENT

JAMES' LIFE STORY TO GET THE SCORSESE TREATMENT

Beloved hitmaker TOMMY JAMES has been given a huge career boost - MARTIN SCORSESE wants to make his life story into a film.
The Crimson & Clover singer has been working on his memoirs for the past decade, but calls from publishing house Simon & Schuster and Scorsese has prompted him to complete the tome, Me, The Mob And Music.
The crooner, who hit the top of the charts with backing band the Shondells, says, "We got the book deal in 2008 and within just a few weeks of that we were toying with doing a movie, and then, all of a sudden, we get a call from Martin Scorsese's office. Then I had to finish the book in six weeks.
"I was incredibly honoured that he was interested in making the book into a movie. It just fell out of heaven. He's the only one who could do it justice because it's a combination of rock 'n' roll and wiseguys.
"He happened to be a fan and he'll be directing the film through Triangle Pictures. This is a dream come true and I'm flabbergasted. It's just in the beginning stages and I have no idea who's gonna play me. I'm too close to it. I would like to make a cameo appearance - like the janitor at (record label) Roulette Records, maybe the elevator operator.
"The reason it's all such a compelling story is what Roulette Records was. I was there for the bulk of my career and Roulette Records was a front for the Genovese crime family. We didn't know that when we signed in 1966. Here we were making these pop records and there is this really hairy story going on behind it."
And James admits he had to wait before putting his life story on paper: "I hadn't really felt right talking about it until the last of the Roulette regulars passed away; that happened in December 2005. The heads of the family basically used Roulette as a social club. All this was going on while we were making music and rubbing shoulders with some pretty scary people."