John Turturro has decided to self-distribute his musical Romance & Cigarettes. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the $11 million project has had a very tortured history.

Romance & Cigarettes stars James Gandolfini, Susan Sarandon, Kate Winslet, Steve Buscemi, Christopher Walken, Bobby Cannavale, Mandy Moore, Mary-Louise Parker, Aida Turturro, Elaine Stritch, Eddie Izzard and Amy Sedaris. The unconventional feature was put into limbo back in 2005, when Sony Pictures merged with MGM.

The story revolves around a Queens's construction worker (Gandolfini) who jeopardizes his marriage by having a torrid affair. The characters break into song on the spur of the moment, singing hits by James Brown, Engelbert Humperdinck, and Bruce Springsteen, just to name a few.

One of the people involved in the production stated, "A lot of the time over the last few years was to figure out just who to talk to and navigate the internal workings of a corporate merger."

Turturro plans on opening the film in his hometown of New York City.

Romance & Cigarettes was released September 7th, 2007 and stars James Gandolfini, Susan Sarandon, Kate Winslet, Steve Buscemi, Bobby Cannavale, Mandy Moore, Mary-Louise Parker, Aida Turturro. The film is directed by John Turturro.