Back in February Martin Scorsese told this writer that he was planning to get back together with Robert De Niro for a film concerning a retired assassin. Speaking at Bafta this week, the great man confirmed that the project is likely to go ahead. Provisionally titled The American, the picture is to be adapted from an esteemed non-fiction work by Charles Brandt.

The full title of the book should tell you all you need to know: I Heard You Paint Houses: Frank "The Irishman" Sheeran and the Inside Story of the Mafia, the Teamsters, and the Final Ride of Jimmy Hoffa.So there.