Levinson is going in the crowd, the final plans of Baltimore (AP)

CANNES, France - Baltimore boy Barry Levinson likes to tell stories of insiders, on his beloved hometown or one of the most famous families crime in America.

Levinson, the Director of the Academy Award-winning of "Rain Man" has settled on the history of mob boss John Gotti SR. and his son for his next film and some time later, he hopes to close a series of films Baltimore, that it has started there is 30 years with "Dinner."

The writer, producer and Director whose work includes "Good Morning, Viet Nam," "Bugsy", "Ties" and TV "Homicide: life on the street" said his big screen saga "Gotti: three generations" comes directly from the source. The film is based on the history of the life of John Gotti Jr.

"You are really nice to get an inside look of the man who lived, which was in fact the mafia there Chief and his father, who was probably the largest, most well known figure" Levinson, 69, said in an interview at the Cannes Film Festival "".where the filmmakers have been meeting with journalists and potential distributors overseas. "It fascinated me to hear the stories to get an idea of the man, get an idea of how he sees his father."

Levinson is currently revising the script and said he expects to start at the beginning of the year next shooting on "Gotti," will be star John Travolta: Gotti SR., who led the Gambino family prior to his conviction of murder, 1992extortion and other charges. Gotti died in federal prison in 2002.

The film will be co-star Al Pacino Gotti mentor Neil Dellacroce, Lindsay Lohan: wife of Gotti Jr. and spouse of real life of the Travolta, Kelly Preston, as the wife of Gotti Sr.

Yet to be cast is the role of the Gotti Jr., who followed his father in the crowd but claims he will become later disappointed and sought to leave the family business.

"gotti" is a grouping of Pacino and Levinson, who worked last year Telefilm "you Don't Know Jack," which won the actor an Emmy as Dr. Jack Kevorkian.

Levinson has maintained a populist touch on television, but its large public screen have decreased since the end of the 1990s, when he made films such as crime and political satire "wag the dog" drama "sleepers."

While "gotti" has a large scope, Levinson said that he considers never the commercial prospects when settling on film projects, saying the success he made were not considered full big at the beginning.

"Nobody would have said"Rain Man,"a story about autism, would do what he did," Levinson said the Oscar best-picture winner, who made $ 172 million at the box office national. "If you were chasing after the big ideas to be major successes, which would have been a."

"'Good Morning, Viet Nam' was not seen in this way." Viet Nam films were not exactly inflamed, and then do something that is obtained through her humor. "They were very nervous about this piece."

The film a top 100 million.

Dustin Hoffman - who has won an Oscar for "Rain Man", in which he plays with Tom Cruise best-actor - said that as a Director who wrote also, Levinson has the confidence and ease to play with the screenplay while filming is underway.

"He was constantly changing and sculpture he was just an incredibly good time", said Hoffman, who also played in "wag the dog" and "Sleepers." "We were trying just to make day to day which we had a sense of authenticity".

Due in theatres this year is a small production of Levinson, "The Bay", a documentary-style thriller, he shot a calendar tight 18 days and a tiny $ 2 million budget. The film tells an ecological disaster in Chesapeake Bay.

After "gotti," Levinson is looking ahead to what he said will be the last chapter of his stories of Baltimore, which began with "Dinner" and continued with "Tin Men", "avalon" and "Liberty heights."

This last installment of Baltimore would concentrate on a period of great change in American culture, defined between the last group to come through dinner"around 1967, said Levinson.

"If you married in 66 and those who marry in 66, early 67, they were almost become boys the same age, but from two different generations," Levinson said. "" "". Those who married will be attached to the generation of their fathers, and those that will be attached to the hippie generation. ?

The film will focus on this "huge break that took place and the effects on the guy, good and bad", said Levinson.

CBS drops talk-show plans for Katie Couric

LOS ANGELES - CBS withdrew his offer to produce a talk-show outgoing syndicated evening news anchor Katie Couric, and it is now considering an agreement with the ABC.

A source close the discussion of CBS, stated that the company decided a week ago and a half to take the offer off the coast of the table.

"Fair negotiations went on way too long," said a person familiar with the situation at CBS. "The agreement just kept gets more rich, with most involved persons.".

The source said that Couric wished to maintain a strong relationship with the press division, raising doubts about its commitment to work on the original content for a daily show more 40 weeks per year.

A source Couric responded that CBS has frustrated, she has not agreed quickly to his offer and frames becomes upset when disclosed word might go instead to ABC.

"They are now cover-your-ass mode," said this source. "They were concerned that they were exposed and had presumed that she would be y stay.". If it happens elsewhere, they will incorrectly appear. ?

NBC dropped the appeal of the Couric service offerings and sources in his own camp said that she decided not to pursue the opportunity with the Warner Bros. syndicated, linked to appearances on CNN.

However, the ABC offer is real and in return. It includes a unionized daily show and a role on ABC News, and specials and coverage of the election. But no agreement has yet been made.

If Couric close a deal with ABC before the expiration of his contract on June 4, it would have required to show CBS who would have the opportunity to match it and to retain his services. The source familiar with CBS did not believe Couric or ABC asked CBS to see what it offers and predicted, for this reason, an ABC agreement would not be closed before June 5.

The source said the main interest of SCS is talk-show, and that the presence of news was seen as a marketing tool "to soften his image and place it in the right forum."

Instead of this, added the source, it seemed to want to "a deal with an attached talk-show news".

The source stated that discussions with CBS to the division that would talk-show, which would cost approximately $ 40 million to start, while discussions with ABC were conducted by Ben Sherwood, head of the division of the press.

TVGuide.com was the first to report that CBS had withdrawn its offer to Couric.

Couric close source said that CBS realizes now she can go elsewhere and that executives "would like just to be able to say that (the one who hired) is insufficient or overpromising." It is residual stuff. The truth is that she decided to leave CBS and they were upset about it. ?

CBS declined to comment on, and a spokesman for the ABC did not immediately return a call. A spokesman for Couric also refused to comment on.

"hurt locker" team plans film on bin Laden hunt (AP)

LOS ANGELES--the filmmakers behind the drama of the war on terror "the hurt locker" are moving forward with a thriller of action on the hunt for Osama bin Laden.

Director Kathryn Bigelow and screenwriter Mark Boal took the project bin Laden in the works, and now that the al-Qaeda Chief was killed near one of filmmakers said Monday that the film is more relevant than ever.

The as-yet-untitled film is focused on the continuation of Black Ops of bin Laden, said the person, who spoke condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to speak about the State of the project.

US forces have chased bin Laden since the terrorist attacks of September 11 almost 10 years ago. A team of Navy SEALs and killed Ben Laden early Monday at a compound in Pakistan.

Bigelow refused to comment on the project, according to Susan Ciccone, a spokesman for the Director.

"The Hurt Locker," which centered on a bomb-disposal in Iraq U.S. Unit, won best film at the Oscars ceremony last year and received the Oscar best-directing Bigelow, the first woman to receive this honour.

The film won a total of six Oscars, including the price of the original screenplay for Boal.