NEW YORK, USA (AP) — A press conference for John Travolta’s latest project, Gotti: Three Generations, had a surprise guest: Lindsay Lohan.

The 24-year-old actress has been rumoured to be up for the role of Victoria Gotti, daughter of the infamous ‘Dapper Don’ John Gotti.

Producer Marc Fiore confirmed yesterday that he’s in talks with Lohan, whom he called “a terrific actress”, but said nothing had been finalised.

Lohan, who has starred in such films as Mean Girls and Freaky Friday, sat in the front row at the press conference and posed for photos with the cast and crew but didn’t talk to the press. She has been plagued by legal problems in recent years and is now battling a felony grand theft charge in California over a $2,500 necklace.

Travolta, 57, will star as John Gotti, the leader of the legendary Gambino crime family, who had a knack for evading convictions on a variety of mob indictments brought against him, earning him the nicknames Dapper Don and Teflon Don. Gotti was finally convicted in 1992 of murder and racketeering and died in prison a decade later.

At the press conference, Travolta, star of movies including Pulp Fiction and Be Cool, talked about connecting to the Gotti role on a deeper level.

The biopic is set to begin filming in October and is slated for release in late 2012.