Martin Scorsese still planning to make The Irishman with Robert De Niro

Martin Scorsese is still talkin’ to Robert De Niro about The Irishman, the long-gestating true-crime film that would reunite the director and star of such classics as Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, and Goodfellas.

During an interview with Thierry Fremaux ahead of a tribute to Scorsese at the Lyon Lumiere Film Festival in France, the director said he and De Niro remain committed to making the movie, according to Variety.

“It’s Steve Zaillian writing, and Bob and I are working out the schedule and the financing,” Scorsese said. Asked about the idiosyncrasies of film financing, he added, “If you’e doing well, you can do another film if (1) you agree with the subject matter and (2) if it’s a film that others want. If it’s a film you want to do with a few friends, you have to find a way to do it.”

Zaillian previously collaborated with Scorsese on Gangs of New York, and his other screenwriting credits include Schindler’s List, American Gangster, and The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. For The Irishman, which has been in the works for the better part five years, he’s adapting Charles Brandt’s book I Heard You Paint Houses.

The story centers on Frank Sheeran, a mafia hitman who was rumored to be involved in the assassinations of John F. Kennedy and Jimmy Hoffa.

Scorsese’s remarks come on the heels of De Niro telling Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show that he’s still game for The Irishman. He added that Al Pacino and Joe Pesci are involved, with Harvey Keitel “maybe” joining the cast.

Read more about Scorsese’s interview at Variety.