Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro are making a return to a life of crime, thanks to Paramount Pictures’ planned adaptation of “I Heard You Paint Houses.” Scorsese will direct the film, while De Niro will star. The studio has tapped Steve Zaillian to write the screenplay based on the book by Charles Brandt, which tells the story of a mob assassin who is believed to have been responsible for the disappearance of Teamster boss Jimmy Hoffa. The title of the book refers to a euphamism for mob hits, which “paint” the walls and ceilings of the victims' houses with blood.

De Niro will play Frank “The Irishman” Sheeran, who many think was the force behind more than 25 mob killings.  Sheeran supposedly admitted to Brandt that he was the one who carried out the hit on Hoffa. Whether or not he was telling the truth or simply posturing is anyone's guess.

Scorsese is fresh off of his work with Leonardo DiCaprio on Shutter Island and De Niro has just wrapped a Kirk Jones-directed film entitled Everybody’s Fine with Sam Rockwell, Kate Beckinsale and Drew Barrymore. Writer Zaillian most recently worked on the screenplay for American Gangster. Prior to that, he co-wrote Scosese’s epic Gangs of New York. He also won an Oscar for penning Schindler’s List.