EXCLUSIVE: After working on the project for more than three years, Pete Davidson is taking on a “dream job” to play notorious mafia killer Tommy Pitera, who was known as Tommy Karate.
Production is due to begin in June on crime-thriller Tommy Karate, which is inspired by a true story and based on the non-fiction true crime book The Butcher: Anatomy Of A Mafia Psychopath by Philip Carlo.
The film will chart the pursuit and capture of one of America’s most ruthless mobsters and serial killers by notorious DEA Agent Jim Hunt (who also helped take down El Chapo) played by Paul Walter Hauser (Black Bird).
Camila Mendes (Masters of the Universe) and Simon Rex (Red Rocket) also star with Justin Chon (Pachinco) directing. North.Five.Six, Two & Two Pictures and Grammercy Park Media are behind the buzzy package. The screenplay was penned by Davidson, Chon, and Joseph Gay.
Pitera was an American mobster in the Bonanno crime family of New York City. Initially a ‘soldier’ and then a ‘captain’ of his own crew, Pitera was suspected by law enforcement of as many as 60 murders. He was known for his use of karate and other martial arts when fighting, a skill he learned at a young age and which earned him the nicknames Tommy Karate, and The Karate Guy. He is currently serving a life sentence at USP Big Sandy in Inez, Kentucky, after going down in 1992 for murder and operating a massive drug operation.
Davidson said of the movie, which has been a passion project for the SNL alum and King of Staten Island star: “Tommy Karate is the greatest mob story never told. I’ve been working on this for over three years, and I’m beyond thrilled that it’s finally in motion. Playing a role like this is a dream job. We have a great team behind this one, and I can’t wait for people to see what we’ve come up with.”
Davidson serves as a producer alongside Lucan Toh for Two & Two Pictures, and Ford Corbett and Nathan Klingher for Gramercy Park Media. Executive producers include Mark Fasano and Joshua Harris (Gramercy Park Media); Michael Rothstein, Samuel Hall, and Warren Goz (north.five.six.); and Laura Garofalo, Jarod Einsohn, and David Osokow.
Director Chon, known for directing Cannes title Blue Bayou and on hit Apple series Pachinco after an acting career that included the Twilight franchise, added: “Together with Pete and the team, we’re reimagining the gangster genre through a contemporary lens—driven by character, fresh visuals, and real consequence. This isn’t nostalgia. It’s a reinvention.”
Production is taking place in the U.S. North.five.six. is handling international sales, while domestic rights are represented by WME Independent and CAA Media Finance.