We’ve been on the “Fonzo” bandwagon now for a long time. Josh Trank’s feature film was originally announced way back in 2016, and it eventually went into production in early 2018, with star Tom Hardy sharing some incredible behind-the-scenes pictures. However, more than two years later, it appears that “Fonzo” is getting a new title, a distributor, and a VOD fate.
According to Film Ratings (via Twitter), “Fonzo” is now simply titled “Capone” and has been picked up by Vertical Entertainment for distribution. While the title change is a bit disappointing, it’s understandable. People won’t likely see the title “Fonzo” and immediately think that it’s a film starring Hardy as an aging mob boss struggling with dementia. But “Capone?” How boring.
Interestingly, Vertical Entertainment is an independent distributor that is best known for releasing films straight to VOD with very little theatrical support, if any at all. So, it’s unfortunate that for most people, “Capone” will only be seen on VOD platforms. Though with COVID-19 forcing cinemas to remain closed, who knows if a theatrical release was ever possible?
READ MORE: Run The Jewels’ El-P To Compose Score For Tom Hardy’s Upcoming Al Capone Film ‘Fonzo’
Tom Hardy’s involvement aside, “Capone” is also intriguing due to its writer-director, Josh Trank. After debuting with “Chronicle” and shooting to the top of many people’s Best New Filmmaker list, Trank stumbled hard with his “Fantastic Four” reboot in 2015. And after that, the filmmaker found himself hired and quickly fired from a “Boba Fett” film from Lucasfilm. Needless to say, seeing how Trank rebounds from “Fantastic Four” and “Boba Fett” is reason enough to check out “Capone.”
A film with so much promise, featuring a prosthetic-heavy lead performance from Tom Hardy, Josh Trank’s comeback, and music by one-half of Run The Jewels (really), “Fonzo” is now simply “Capone,” the straight-to-VOD drama. Damn.
