In Cannes, Travolta touts ‘Gotti’ biopic

Actor John Travolta returned to the Cannes Film Festival to promote his new mafia boss John Gotti biopic, “Gotti,” celebrate the 40th anniversary of “Grease” with a screening on the beach and, at a soiree Tuesday night, share a few dance moves alongside rapper 50 Cent.

Travolta loves Cannes; it’s where Quentin Tarantino’s “Pulp Fiction” debuted two decades ago and won the festival’s top award, the Palme d’Or. This year’s trip is more of a victory lap (Travolta was also to give a Masterclass talk Wednesday), while premiering “Gotti.”

Travolta, 64, has been with the project for more than eight years. Kelly Preston, Travolta’s wife, plays Gotti’s wife, Victoria. The film is set for release in June.

“Even though I’ve played New Yorkers before, I haven’t quite played that kind of New Yorker,” Travolta said in an interview.

Travolta played the fictional New York gangster Chili Palmer in 1995’s “Get Shorty,” about a mobster who comes to Hollywood and finds he loves it.

Gotti, who died in prison 2002, likewise had a little glamour, with his fondness for cameras and his carefully swept-back coiffure. The Gambino crime boss was known as the “Dapper Don,” as well as the “Teflon Don” for his ability to avoid federal prosecution — until he was convicted for murder and racketeering.

The film is based on the book “Shadow of My Father” by John A. “Junior” Gotti, who was a frequent presence on set. Gotti’s children also starred on A&E’s 2004-2005 reality TV series “Growing Up Gotti.”

JOHN PHILLIPS/GETTY John Travolta attends a party Tuesday at the Cannes Film Festival in France. He plays a mobster in “Gotti.”