What really happened during the 48 hours leading up to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy — at least according to mob bosses — is heading to the big screen in the upcoming film “November 1963: The Killing of a President.”
The mob’s version of events were passed down to Chicago mob boss Sam Giancana’s nephew, Nicholas Celozzi, by Sam’s brother, the late Joseph “Pepe” Giancana, who drove around with his brother Sam during those two days.
“The reason why there’s this fascination or anxiety is because people know that what they’ve heard so far doesn’t make sense,” Celozzi tells Variety of the ongoing interest in the circumstances surrounding JFK’s assassination, even 60 years later. “They keep talking about it because they’re waiting to hear something that makes more common sense.”
Celozzi, whose film producing and writing credits include “The Legitimate Wiseguy,” “The Class” and...
The mob’s version of events were passed down to Chicago mob boss Sam Giancana’s nephew, Nicholas Celozzi, by Sam’s brother, the late Joseph “Pepe” Giancana, who drove around with his brother Sam during those two days.
“The reason why there’s this fascination or anxiety is because people know that what they’ve heard so far doesn’t make sense,” Celozzi tells Variety of the ongoing interest in the circumstances surrounding JFK’s assassination, even 60 years later. “They keep talking about it because they’re waiting to hear something that makes more common sense.”
Celozzi, whose film producing and writing credits include “The Legitimate Wiseguy,” “The Class” and...
- 5/8/2024
- by Katcy Stephan
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Starz’s Power Book III: Raising Kanan has added Sibongile Mlambo (Lost in Space) and Paul Ben-Victor (The Wire) to its Season 4 cast in recurring roles.
Mlambo will play Imani Okoye, a smart, confident and business-savvy executive at a boutique record label. Ben-Victor will play Phil Russo, Jersey’s new crime boss accustomed to garnering respect, deference and other men’s fear. He suffers no fools and handles business negotiations with stoic confidence.
Power Book III: Raising Kanan explores the early life of everyone’s favorite villain Kanan Stark, originally played by Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson in the flagship series, and shows his evolution from näive teenager to cutthroat villain. Season 3 saw an epic showdown between Kanan (Mekai Curtis) and his mother Raq (Patina Miller), resulting in a couple of surprise deaths and the return of a fan-favorite character. London Brown also stars.
Season 4 is in production in New York.
Mlambo will play Imani Okoye, a smart, confident and business-savvy executive at a boutique record label. Ben-Victor will play Phil Russo, Jersey’s new crime boss accustomed to garnering respect, deference and other men’s fear. He suffers no fools and handles business negotiations with stoic confidence.
Power Book III: Raising Kanan explores the early life of everyone’s favorite villain Kanan Stark, originally played by Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson in the flagship series, and shows his evolution from näive teenager to cutthroat villain. Season 3 saw an epic showdown between Kanan (Mekai Curtis) and his mother Raq (Patina Miller), resulting in a couple of surprise deaths and the return of a fan-favorite character. London Brown also stars.
Season 4 is in production in New York.
- 4/17/2024
- by Rosy Cordero
- Deadline Film + TV
Legendary film director Barry Levinson has given us such movies as Diner, Rain Man and Sleepers, while legendary screenwriter David Mamet penned such classics as The Untouchables, Glengarry Glen Ross and Ronin. The two are reportedly set to team up for a new film about the JFK assassination, which will star another cinema legend, Al Pacino. The film, Assassination, was first reported out of Cannes and is set to feature a cast including Viggo Mortensen, John Travolta, Shia Labeouf, Rebecca Pidgeon and Courtney Love.
Back when the film was revealed at Cannes, Mamet was set to direct his screenplay, which he co-wrote with Nicholas Celozzi. Now, Deadline is reporting that Barry Levinson is stepping in as the director for the film. According to Deadline, the plot of Assassination “tells the story of how infamous Chicago mobster Sam Giancana arranged the assassination of President John F. Kennedy as payback for trying...
Back when the film was revealed at Cannes, Mamet was set to direct his screenplay, which he co-wrote with Nicholas Celozzi. Now, Deadline is reporting that Barry Levinson is stepping in as the director for the film. According to Deadline, the plot of Assassination “tells the story of how infamous Chicago mobster Sam Giancana arranged the assassination of President John F. Kennedy as payback for trying...
- 10/18/2023
- by EJ Tangonan
- JoBlo.com
Back in May, we brought you :a[news that Al Pacino is set to lead the starry ensemble]{href='https://www.empireonline.com/movies/news/al-pacino-john-travolta-shia-labeouf-and-more-leading-the-cast-for-david-mamet-thriller-assassination/' } of David Mamet’s latest project, JFK thriller Assassination. Originally, two-time Oscar nominee and Pulitzer Prize winner Mamet planned to direct the film, too. However, per :a[Deadline]{href='https://deadline.com/2023/10/barry-levinson-assassination-al-pacino-1235576261/' }’s reporting, a switcheroo up top has landed the project a new helmsman in the form of Oscar-winner Barry Levinson
Co-written by Mamet and Nicholas Celozzi, Assassination offers a speculative retelling of the assassination of 35th U.S. President John F. Kennedy from the perspective of the mob. In this version of the tale, Kennedy’s death – long-since one of the most conspiracy-laden events in American history – is reimagined as a pre-meditated hit orchestrated by Chicago mob lynchpin Sam Giancana, an act of revenge for JFK’s undermining of the same mob...
Co-written by Mamet and Nicholas Celozzi, Assassination offers a speculative retelling of the assassination of 35th U.S. President John F. Kennedy from the perspective of the mob. In this version of the tale, Kennedy’s death – long-since one of the most conspiracy-laden events in American history – is reimagined as a pre-meditated hit orchestrated by Chicago mob lynchpin Sam Giancana, an act of revenge for JFK’s undermining of the same mob...
- 10/18/2023
- by Jordan King
- Empire - Movies
Exclusive: Oscar winning filmmaker Barry Levinson is stepping in to direct the David Mamet-scripted drama Assassination, we hear, and is putting his own stamp on the project. Deadline first reported about the movie out of Cannes.
Two-time Oscar nominee and Pulitzer Prize winner Mamet originally was set to direct the movie, which tells the story of how infamous Chicago mobster Sam Giancana arranged the assassination of President John F. Kennedy as payback for trying to bring down organized crime after the mob helped put JFK in the White House.
BAFTA winner Shia Labeouf and Oscar winner Al Pacino remain attached to the film, the latter playing Tony Accardo, a senior mob boss.
The pic is being produced by Corey Large (It Follows), Jason Sosnoff (Wise Guys) and Giancana’s grandnephew Nicholas Celozzi (The Class). Executive producer are John Burnham (Atlas Artists) and Jordan Nott. Finance comes from 308 Enterprises.
Two-time Oscar nominee and Pulitzer Prize winner Mamet originally was set to direct the movie, which tells the story of how infamous Chicago mobster Sam Giancana arranged the assassination of President John F. Kennedy as payback for trying to bring down organized crime after the mob helped put JFK in the White House.
BAFTA winner Shia Labeouf and Oscar winner Al Pacino remain attached to the film, the latter playing Tony Accardo, a senior mob boss.
The pic is being produced by Corey Large (It Follows), Jason Sosnoff (Wise Guys) and Giancana’s grandnephew Nicholas Celozzi (The Class). Executive producer are John Burnham (Atlas Artists) and Jordan Nott. Finance comes from 308 Enterprises.
- 10/17/2023
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
The cast of David Mamet’s JFK assassination thriller “Assassination” is getting even more star-studded, with the addition of Courtney Love, Viggo Mortensen, Shia Labeouf, Al Pacino, and John Travolta.
The film, which was previously titled “2 Days/1963,” will focus on events that took place 48 hours before the assassination, telling the mob’s version of the story. The script is based on the story of Sam Giancana, the Chicago mob boss who may have played a significant role in orchestrating Kennedy’s assassination.
Mamet will direct the film, which is written by him and Nicholas Celozzi, who is Giancana’s grandnephew. Oscar-winning director of photography Robert Elswitt (“There Will Be Blood”) will be the film’s cinematographer.
Production is scheduled to start in September in Vancouver.
Paul Schrader was originally asked to direct the film, but he declined.
“Assassination” is a riveting and gripping thriller set in a pivotal period in American history,...
The film, which was previously titled “2 Days/1963,” will focus on events that took place 48 hours before the assassination, telling the mob’s version of the story. The script is based on the story of Sam Giancana, the Chicago mob boss who may have played a significant role in orchestrating Kennedy’s assassination.
Mamet will direct the film, which is written by him and Nicholas Celozzi, who is Giancana’s grandnephew. Oscar-winning director of photography Robert Elswitt (“There Will Be Blood”) will be the film’s cinematographer.
Production is scheduled to start in September in Vancouver.
Paul Schrader was originally asked to direct the film, but he declined.
“Assassination” is a riveting and gripping thriller set in a pivotal period in American history,...
- 7/28/2023
- by amalprasadappu
- https://thecinemanews.online/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/IMG_4649
Al Pacino, Viggo Mortensen, John Travolta, Shia LeBeouf, Rebecca Pidgeon (“Bird Box”) and singer/actress Courtney Love have joined the cast of the JFK thriller ‘Assassination’.
The synopsis reads; 1963. During a crucial justice hearing against organized crime, the head of the Chicago mob orders the assassination of President John F. Kennedy Jr., creating a deadly conspiracy while altering the fate of a nation.
Pulitzer Prize winner and Oscar nominee Mamet is directing from a story by himself and Nicholas Celozzi, who based the script on his great uncle, the Chicago mob boss Sam Giancana, who may have played a significant role in orchestrating Kennedy’s assassination.
Also in news – Willem Dafoe cast in Tim Burton’s ‘Beetlejuice 2’
Insiders indicate it will focus on events that took place 48 hours before the assassination, telling the mob’s version of the story. Celozzi based the material on details shared by his late...
The synopsis reads; 1963. During a crucial justice hearing against organized crime, the head of the Chicago mob orders the assassination of President John F. Kennedy Jr., creating a deadly conspiracy while altering the fate of a nation.
Pulitzer Prize winner and Oscar nominee Mamet is directing from a story by himself and Nicholas Celozzi, who based the script on his great uncle, the Chicago mob boss Sam Giancana, who may have played a significant role in orchestrating Kennedy’s assassination.
Also in news – Willem Dafoe cast in Tim Burton’s ‘Beetlejuice 2’
Insiders indicate it will focus on events that took place 48 hours before the assassination, telling the mob’s version of the story. Celozzi based the material on details shared by his late...
- 5/16/2023
- by Zehra Phelan
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
The new JFK Thriller “Assassination” reveals its star-studded cast.
David Mamet’s new film will tell the story of the late American president John F. Kennedy’s famous assassination from the perspective of the mob that hired the hit on his life. Chicago mob kingpin Sam Giancana was said to have made the call as payback for JFK turning his back on them after they helped him to secure the election.
Read More: ‘The Crowded Room’ Trailer: Tom Holland’s Past Unravels In Psychological Thriller Series
Deadline reports that Oscar winner Al Pacino, Oscar nominee Viggo Mortensen, Oscar nominee John Travolta, BAFTA winner Shia Labeouf, NBR Award winner Rebecca Pidgeon and Golden Globe nominated singer and actress Courtney Love are set to star in the new film.
Aside from directing, Mamet also co-wrote the script with Nicholas Celozzi, with Arclight launching the film for the Cannes market.
Read More: Elisabeth Moss,...
David Mamet’s new film will tell the story of the late American president John F. Kennedy’s famous assassination from the perspective of the mob that hired the hit on his life. Chicago mob kingpin Sam Giancana was said to have made the call as payback for JFK turning his back on them after they helped him to secure the election.
Read More: ‘The Crowded Room’ Trailer: Tom Holland’s Past Unravels In Psychological Thriller Series
Deadline reports that Oscar winner Al Pacino, Oscar nominee Viggo Mortensen, Oscar nominee John Travolta, BAFTA winner Shia Labeouf, NBR Award winner Rebecca Pidgeon and Golden Globe nominated singer and actress Courtney Love are set to star in the new film.
Aside from directing, Mamet also co-wrote the script with Nicholas Celozzi, with Arclight launching the film for the Cannes market.
Read More: Elisabeth Moss,...
- 5/15/2023
- by Anita Tai
- ET Canada
David Mamet is going to need more than a motorcade with the cast he has lined up for his upcoming JFK movie Assassination. Reports have come out that the film will star Al Pacino, John Travolta, Viggo Mortensen, Shia Labeouf, Rebecca Pidgeon, and Courtney Love. That’s one Academy Award winner, two Oscar nominees, a BAFTA winner, Mamet’s wife, and Courtney Love! (We kid–Love is a fantastic actress and was robbed of a nod for The People vs. Larry Flynt.)
As per Deadline, Assassination “will retell the fateful murder of John F. Kennedy from the mob’s point of view, reimagining his death as a hit ordered by Chicago mob kingpin Sam Giancana as payback for JFK’s attempt to undermine the mob after they helped get him elected.” The script is co-written by Mamet and Nicholas Celozzi, who is actually Giancana’s grandnephew, which should elevate the authenticity.
As per Deadline, Assassination “will retell the fateful murder of John F. Kennedy from the mob’s point of view, reimagining his death as a hit ordered by Chicago mob kingpin Sam Giancana as payback for JFK’s attempt to undermine the mob after they helped get him elected.” The script is co-written by Mamet and Nicholas Celozzi, who is actually Giancana’s grandnephew, which should elevate the authenticity.
- 5/15/2023
- by Mathew Plale
- JoBlo.com
“I hear you paint White Houses.”
Writer-director David Mamet is bringing his next project to the Cannes Film Market this week, no doubt luring in international buyers with its stellar cast. “Assassination,” formerly known as “2 Days/1963” is a look at the JFK assassination from the point of view of the mafiosi who (allegedly) perpetrated the crime.
Al Pacino, Shia Labeouf, Courtney Love, John Travolta, and Rebecca Pigeon are currently attached, with Viggo Mortensen in the lead role. The screenplay was co-written by Nicholas Celozzi, whose great uncle was Chicago mob boss Sam Giancana. “Assassination” is apparently based on details shared directly by Giancana, who died in 1975.
Mamet’s last project was the 2013 HBO film “Phil Spector,” in which Pacino has starred. The cable film received five Emmy nominations, including writing, directing, and acting nods for Pacino and Helen Mirren. His last theatrically released feature was the Chiwetel Ejiofor-led mixed...
Writer-director David Mamet is bringing his next project to the Cannes Film Market this week, no doubt luring in international buyers with its stellar cast. “Assassination,” formerly known as “2 Days/1963” is a look at the JFK assassination from the point of view of the mafiosi who (allegedly) perpetrated the crime.
Al Pacino, Shia Labeouf, Courtney Love, John Travolta, and Rebecca Pigeon are currently attached, with Viggo Mortensen in the lead role. The screenplay was co-written by Nicholas Celozzi, whose great uncle was Chicago mob boss Sam Giancana. “Assassination” is apparently based on details shared directly by Giancana, who died in 1975.
Mamet’s last project was the 2013 HBO film “Phil Spector,” in which Pacino has starred. The cable film received five Emmy nominations, including writing, directing, and acting nods for Pacino and Helen Mirren. His last theatrically released feature was the Chiwetel Ejiofor-led mixed...
- 5/15/2023
- by Jordan Hoffman
- Gold Derby
It’s been 15 years since Redbelt, the last theatrical feature from David Mamet, and time has not been kind to the writer-director. Like many in his generation, his mind has been fully Fox News-ified to the point where I had thought his 2008 feature might be his last film (not discounting his HBO outing in 2013) and his potential funding has dried up. That hasn’t been the case, however, as his next project has been announced ahead of production beginning this fall and it will be sold at the Cannes market.
Set in 1963 and scripted by Mamet and Nicholas Celozzi, Assassination is set during a “crucial justice hearing against organized crime, when the head of the Chicago mob orders the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, creating a deadly conspiracy while altering the fate of a nation.” With a cast featuring Al Pacino, Viggo Mortensen, John Travolta, Shia Labeouf, Rebecca Pidgeon,...
Set in 1963 and scripted by Mamet and Nicholas Celozzi, Assassination is set during a “crucial justice hearing against organized crime, when the head of the Chicago mob orders the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, creating a deadly conspiracy while altering the fate of a nation.” With a cast featuring Al Pacino, Viggo Mortensen, John Travolta, Shia Labeouf, Rebecca Pidgeon,...
- 5/15/2023
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Oscar winner Al Pacino (The Godfather), Oscar nominee Viggo Mortensen (Green Book), Oscar nominee John Travolta (Pulp Fiction), BAFTA winner Shia Labeouf (Honey Boy), NBR Award winner Rebecca Pidgeon (Heist) and Golden Globe nominated singer and actress Courtney Love (The People vs. Larry Flynt) are set to star in the thriller Assassination, we can reveal.
The film, which Arclight is launching for the Cannes market, is to be directed by Pulitzer Prize-winner and Oscar nominee David Mamet (Wag the Dog) from a script he co-wrote with Nicholas Celozzi.
Assassination will retell the fateful murder of John F. Kennedy from the mob’s point of view, reimagining his death as a hit ordered by Chicago mob kingpin Sam Giancana as payback for JFK’s attempt to undermine the mob after they helped get him elected (that thread formed a big part of Oliver Stone’s JFK).
Script co-writer Celozzi is Giancana’s grandnephew.
The film, which Arclight is launching for the Cannes market, is to be directed by Pulitzer Prize-winner and Oscar nominee David Mamet (Wag the Dog) from a script he co-wrote with Nicholas Celozzi.
Assassination will retell the fateful murder of John F. Kennedy from the mob’s point of view, reimagining his death as a hit ordered by Chicago mob kingpin Sam Giancana as payback for JFK’s attempt to undermine the mob after they helped get him elected (that thread formed a big part of Oliver Stone’s JFK).
Script co-writer Celozzi is Giancana’s grandnephew.
- 5/15/2023
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Paramount+ International is investigating Mafia Spies.
The streamer has ordered a six-part premium doc series, based on Mafia Spies: The Inside Story of the CIA, Gangsters, JFK, and Castro by Thomas Maier, who wrote the book that Showtime’s Masters of Sex was based on.
The series comes from CreativeChaos, Danny Strong Productions and Jackson Pictures.
Based on never-before-released JFK files, the series tells the shocking connections between the CIA, the mob, and Sinatra’s Rat Pack from Vegas to Miami to Havana. It explores America’s most remarkable espionage plots ever—with CIA agents, mob hitmen, “kompromat” sex, presidential indiscretion, and James Bond-like killing devices together in a top-secret mystery full of surprise twists and deadly intrigue.
In the early 1960s, two top gangsters, Johnny Roselli and Sam Giancana, were hired by the CIA to kill Cuba’s Communist leader, Fidel Castro, only to wind up murdered themselves...
The streamer has ordered a six-part premium doc series, based on Mafia Spies: The Inside Story of the CIA, Gangsters, JFK, and Castro by Thomas Maier, who wrote the book that Showtime’s Masters of Sex was based on.
The series comes from CreativeChaos, Danny Strong Productions and Jackson Pictures.
Based on never-before-released JFK files, the series tells the shocking connections between the CIA, the mob, and Sinatra’s Rat Pack from Vegas to Miami to Havana. It explores America’s most remarkable espionage plots ever—with CIA agents, mob hitmen, “kompromat” sex, presidential indiscretion, and James Bond-like killing devices together in a top-secret mystery full of surprise twists and deadly intrigue.
In the early 1960s, two top gangsters, Johnny Roselli and Sam Giancana, were hired by the CIA to kill Cuba’s Communist leader, Fidel Castro, only to wind up murdered themselves...
- 5/4/2023
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: David Mamet will direct 2 Days/1963, a drama scripted by Nicholas Celozzi that purports to tell how his great uncle, the notorious Chicago mobster Sam Giancana, arranged the assassination of President John F Kennedy as revenge for trying to bring down organized crime after the mob helped put JFK in the White House. Mamet, the twice Oscar-nominated scribe and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, will do a rewrite on Celozzi’s script. The film will be produced by Celozzi through his Monaco Films, with VP Michael Sportelli also producing. Bonnie Giancana, daughter of the late mobster, will be a consultant and executive producer.
The drama will focus on previously untold events that took place during the 48 hours before the assassination of America’s 35th president in November 1963. Some of Celozzi’s information comes from his late Uncle Pepe — Giancana’s brother — who, Celozzi said, told him about the mob’s complicity in the killing.
The drama will focus on previously untold events that took place during the 48 hours before the assassination of America’s 35th president in November 1963. Some of Celozzi’s information comes from his late Uncle Pepe — Giancana’s brother — who, Celozzi said, told him about the mob’s complicity in the killing.
- 6/27/2022
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Mark Gordon Pictures is moving along with its series adaptation of Norman Mailer’s spy epic Harlot’s Ghost.
The Grey’s Anatomy and The Rookie producer has attached The Bureau creator Éric Rochant to serve as showrunner on the drama project, which is in development at the company.
Rochant, who also is developing a global spy thriller with Snowpiercer producer Tomorrow Studios, will write, direct, exec produce and showrun the project.
Harlot’s Ghost, which was published in 1991, is a fictional chronicle of the CIA. The story centers on Harry Hubbard, the son and godson of CIA legends. His journey to learn the secrets of his society — and his own past — takes him through the Bay of Pigs, the Cuban Missile Crisis and the “momentous catastrophe” of the Kennedy assassination. All the while, Hubbard is haunted by women who were loved by both his godfather and President Kennedy.
The...
The Grey’s Anatomy and The Rookie producer has attached The Bureau creator Éric Rochant to serve as showrunner on the drama project, which is in development at the company.
Rochant, who also is developing a global spy thriller with Snowpiercer producer Tomorrow Studios, will write, direct, exec produce and showrun the project.
Harlot’s Ghost, which was published in 1991, is a fictional chronicle of the CIA. The story centers on Harry Hubbard, the son and godson of CIA legends. His journey to learn the secrets of his society — and his own past — takes him through the Bay of Pigs, the Cuban Missile Crisis and the “momentous catastrophe” of the Kennedy assassination. All the while, Hubbard is haunted by women who were loved by both his godfather and President Kennedy.
The...
- 9/15/2021
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
A new series about the relationship between Hollywood fixer Sidney Korshak and the late McA media titan Lew Wasserman is stirring up some present-day back lot drama, multiple insiders tell Variety.
The issue at hand with the recently announced project “The Last Mogul,” which has attached Jonah Hill to star as Korshak and Oscar winning screenwriter William Monahan to adapt, is what sources called a misrepresentation of support from Wasserman’s power-player grandson Casey Wasserman to grease the wheels of a potential sale to a streamer or network.
“The Last Mogul” executive producers Allen Shapiro, the former CEO of Dick Clark Productions, and “300” filmmaker Mark Canton have told prospective buyers that the Wasserman family raised no objections to the scripted examination of Lew Wasserman’s friendship with notorious Mafia attorney Korshak, sources told Variety.
“The idea that Casey Wasserman somehow endorsed the ‘Last Mogul’ project at any time, to...
The issue at hand with the recently announced project “The Last Mogul,” which has attached Jonah Hill to star as Korshak and Oscar winning screenwriter William Monahan to adapt, is what sources called a misrepresentation of support from Wasserman’s power-player grandson Casey Wasserman to grease the wheels of a potential sale to a streamer or network.
“The Last Mogul” executive producers Allen Shapiro, the former CEO of Dick Clark Productions, and “300” filmmaker Mark Canton have told prospective buyers that the Wasserman family raised no objections to the scripted examination of Lew Wasserman’s friendship with notorious Mafia attorney Korshak, sources told Variety.
“The idea that Casey Wasserman somehow endorsed the ‘Last Mogul’ project at any time, to...
- 6/9/2021
- by Matt Donnelly
- Variety Film + TV
“Gossip nowadays passes for news,” the late Bobby Kennedy once told me. Except I never met him and he might never have said that.
I read it in a new book by Jake Tapper, the CNN anchor who, like some other TV newsmen, cheerfully invents dialogue between famous people. In doing so, he (and they) further contribute to the blur between the real and unreal that characterizes the media today. Tapper, to his credit, at least labels some of his inventions as fiction, albeit well-researched fiction.
Across the media landscape, documentaries ranging from Tiger King to My Octopus Teacher occupy an increasingly prominent role on the home screen, even though they are often steeped in “re-enactments” and “re-imaginings.” Most of last year’s Oscar contenders also depend on fictionalized re-creations of past events, from trials to nightclub performances. And then there’s the much-hyped domain of deepfake videos that flawlessly...
I read it in a new book by Jake Tapper, the CNN anchor who, like some other TV newsmen, cheerfully invents dialogue between famous people. In doing so, he (and they) further contribute to the blur between the real and unreal that characterizes the media today. Tapper, to his credit, at least labels some of his inventions as fiction, albeit well-researched fiction.
Across the media landscape, documentaries ranging from Tiger King to My Octopus Teacher occupy an increasingly prominent role on the home screen, even though they are often steeped in “re-enactments” and “re-imaginings.” Most of last year’s Oscar contenders also depend on fictionalized re-creations of past events, from trials to nightclub performances. And then there’s the much-hyped domain of deepfake videos that flawlessly...
- 5/13/2021
- by Peter Bart
- Deadline Film + TV
Phyllis McGuire, the youngest of the harmonizing, chart-topping trio The McGuire Sisters, died Tuesday at her estate in Las Vegas. She was 89.
McGuire lived a storied life. Discovered when she and her sisters tried out for Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts in 1952, Phyllis and the older Christine and Dorothy McGuire epitomized a certain sweet image of America in the 1950s. Through multiple appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show as well as the variety shows of Milton Berle, Perry Como, Andy Williams and Red Skelton, the sisters offered a sugary counterpoint to the burgeoning wave of rock ‘n’ roll acts.
The trio, who matched their hairstyles and dresses, sold millions of records. They toured extensively throughout the ’50s and ’60s, released chart-topping renditions of “Sincerely” and “Sugartime” and sang for five U.S. presidents. The group broke up in 1968.
Phyllis, who sang lead, launched a successful solo career and often played in Vegas,...
McGuire lived a storied life. Discovered when she and her sisters tried out for Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts in 1952, Phyllis and the older Christine and Dorothy McGuire epitomized a certain sweet image of America in the 1950s. Through multiple appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show as well as the variety shows of Milton Berle, Perry Como, Andy Williams and Red Skelton, the sisters offered a sugary counterpoint to the burgeoning wave of rock ‘n’ roll acts.
The trio, who matched their hairstyles and dresses, sold millions of records. They toured extensively throughout the ’50s and ’60s, released chart-topping renditions of “Sincerely” and “Sugartime” and sang for five U.S. presidents. The group broke up in 1968.
Phyllis, who sang lead, launched a successful solo career and often played in Vegas,...
- 12/31/2020
- by Tom Tapp
- Deadline Film + TV
The following contains spoilers for Fargo season 4.
The FX series Fargo begins every episode of every season with a disclaimer that the stories are true but the names are changed. This gives the show a lot of leeway in picking its stories and how to present them. Fargo season 4 is set in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1950. Two mobs in one small city make a truce, which appears to be traditional in that part of town. It’s been done for at least two generations. Loy Cannon, played by Chris Rock, boss of an African American crime family, trades his youngest son Satchel (Rodney Jones), with the youngest son of Mafia family boss Donatello Fadda (Tommaso Ragno) to keep the peace. Donatello dies shortly after, in the usual unusual circumstances. There is no evidence of this kind of underworld trade in any of the true crime books I personally own, and...
The FX series Fargo begins every episode of every season with a disclaimer that the stories are true but the names are changed. This gives the show a lot of leeway in picking its stories and how to present them. Fargo season 4 is set in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1950. Two mobs in one small city make a truce, which appears to be traditional in that part of town. It’s been done for at least two generations. Loy Cannon, played by Chris Rock, boss of an African American crime family, trades his youngest son Satchel (Rodney Jones), with the youngest son of Mafia family boss Donatello Fadda (Tommaso Ragno) to keep the peace. Donatello dies shortly after, in the usual unusual circumstances. There is no evidence of this kind of underworld trade in any of the true crime books I personally own, and...
- 10/5/2020
- by Alec Bojalad
- Den of Geek
Exclusive: The hot movie package du jour is Scandalous! This is a drama that has Jeremy Pope — freshly minted Emmy nominee for the Netflix series Hollywood — to play Sammy Davis Jr and Janet Mock (Hollywood and Pose) to direct a drama about the interracial love affair between the entertainer and actress Kim Novak, who at the time was the top box office draw in Hollywood.
Pic will be produced by Jonathan Glickman, who is producing the upcoming Aretha Franklin film Respect, and Jon Levin. Glickman has an MGM deal and Mock one at Netflix, but they are shopping this one wide and the plan is to shoot this fall in Los Angeles and set it up with a distributor as they are locking an actress to play Novak. Mock, who is writer, director and EP on both Hollywood and Pose, will polish the script by Matthew Fantaci.
The drama is...
Pic will be produced by Jonathan Glickman, who is producing the upcoming Aretha Franklin film Respect, and Jon Levin. Glickman has an MGM deal and Mock one at Netflix, but they are shopping this one wide and the plan is to shoot this fall in Los Angeles and set it up with a distributor as they are locking an actress to play Novak. Mock, who is writer, director and EP on both Hollywood and Pose, will polish the script by Matthew Fantaci.
The drama is...
- 7/30/2020
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
He was one of the most ruthless, feared and notorious criminals ever to come out of the Chicago Outfit: Anthony ‘Tony the Ant’ Spilotro. Now, Roland Joffé and Chicagoan Nicholas Celozzi, who is the grand nephew of the late mob boss Sam Giancana and thought of Spilotro as his second father, are bringing Celozzi’s personal story with the mobster to the big screen. The film, The Legitimate Wiseguy, will be directed by Joffé, who was nominated for two Oscars for his brilliant work in the 1980s with The Mission and The Killing Fields.
The film is being described as a contemporary Bronx Tale and was scripted by Celozzi and James McGrath.
Monaco Films, founded by Celozzi and partner Michael Sportelli, will co-produce with financier/developer John Vojtech. The producers will start casting for the film’s three main lead roles — Spilotro, Celozzi and Celozzi, Sr.
Once casting is complete...
The film is being described as a contemporary Bronx Tale and was scripted by Celozzi and James McGrath.
Monaco Films, founded by Celozzi and partner Michael Sportelli, will co-produce with financier/developer John Vojtech. The producers will start casting for the film’s three main lead roles — Spilotro, Celozzi and Celozzi, Sr.
Once casting is complete...
- 1/17/2019
- by Anita Busch
- Deadline Film + TV
Roland Joffe will direct the independent mobster drama “The Legitimate Wiseguy,” Variety has learned exclusively.
Joffe received Academy Award nominations for best director for “The Killing Fields” and “The Mission,” which won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1986. He also helmed “The Scarlet Letter,” “The Forgiven,” “City of Joy,” “Time Traveller,” and “There Be Dragons.”
“The Legitimate Wiseguy” is based on the true coming-of-age story of veteran writer/producer Nicholas Celozzi, and centers on his relationship with Tony Spilotro, a mob enforcer who was the inspiration behind Joe Pesci’s character of Nicholas “Nicky” Santoro in Martin Scorsese’s 1995 film “Casino.” Spilotro was murdered in 1986.
“Though Tony and I had a father-son relationship, I was playing checkers while he was playing chess,” Celozzi said. “He was always many moves ahead of me.”
Monaco Films is founded by Celozzi and partner Michael Sportelli, who will co-produce “The...
Joffe received Academy Award nominations for best director for “The Killing Fields” and “The Mission,” which won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1986. He also helmed “The Scarlet Letter,” “The Forgiven,” “City of Joy,” “Time Traveller,” and “There Be Dragons.”
“The Legitimate Wiseguy” is based on the true coming-of-age story of veteran writer/producer Nicholas Celozzi, and centers on his relationship with Tony Spilotro, a mob enforcer who was the inspiration behind Joe Pesci’s character of Nicholas “Nicky” Santoro in Martin Scorsese’s 1995 film “Casino.” Spilotro was murdered in 1986.
“Though Tony and I had a father-son relationship, I was playing checkers while he was playing chess,” Celozzi said. “He was always many moves ahead of me.”
Monaco Films is founded by Celozzi and partner Michael Sportelli, who will co-produce “The...
- 1/17/2019
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
Quincy Jones doesn’t mince words when it comes to some of the biggest stars who have entered his orbit over the years.
The 84-year-old record producer recently sat down with Vulture for a wide-ranging interview where he opened up about everything from working with Michael Jackson to dating Ivanka Trump. Some of his shocking claims may seem out-out there, but a few have already been confirmed to be true!
Read on for some of the biggest revelations from Jones’ sit-down.
Jones says he once dated Ivanka Trump
After calling his former acquaintance Donald Trump a “megalomaniac, narcissistic” and “crazy motherf—er,...
The 84-year-old record producer recently sat down with Vulture for a wide-ranging interview where he opened up about everything from working with Michael Jackson to dating Ivanka Trump. Some of his shocking claims may seem out-out there, but a few have already been confirmed to be true!
Read on for some of the biggest revelations from Jones’ sit-down.
Jones says he once dated Ivanka Trump
After calling his former acquaintance Donald Trump a “megalomaniac, narcissistic” and “crazy motherf—er,...
- 2/8/2018
- by Stephanie Petit
- PEOPLE.com
Producer Mark Williams has acquired the film rights to the novel Double Cross, about the life of mobster Sam Giancana, hiring Edgar Allan Poe Award winner Alfonse Ruggiero Jr. to script the adaptation.
Written by Giancana's brother, Chuck Giancana, and his nephew, Sam Giancana, the book tells the story of how the gangster rose from being a hit man for Al Capone to becoming a powerful don who had links to U.S. presidents including John F. Kennedy. Giancana, who was nicknamed "Momo" because of his unpredictable vicious behavior, was assassinated in 1975 while cooking before he was to appear before a Senate committee investigating CIA and Mafia links to plots to kill Fidel Castro.
Written by Giancana's brother, Chuck Giancana, and his nephew, Sam Giancana, the book tells the story of how the gangster rose from being a hit man for Al Capone to becoming a powerful don who had links to U.S. presidents including John F. Kennedy. Giancana, who was nicknamed "Momo" because of his unpredictable vicious behavior, was assassinated in 1975 while cooking before he was to appear before a Senate committee investigating CIA and Mafia links to plots to kill Fidel Castro.
- 11/14/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
A six-hour limited series about Chicago mob boss Sam Giancana has found its way to TNT. The cable network confirmed last week that it is in development on the untitled project, from Mark Wolper and Warner Bros. Television, that tells the story behind the powerful mob leader and his role in high-level politics and Hollywood as well as his struggle to raise a family at the same time. As the top syndicate boss in Chicago in the 1950s and '60s, Giancana was known for his ties to John F. Kennedy -- he's reputed to have played a key role in helping Kennedy take the White House in 1960 -- and his friendships with celebrities like Frank Sinatra.
A six-hour limited series about Chicago mob boss Sam Giancana has found its way to TNT. The cable network confirmed last week that it is in development on the untitled project, from Mark Wolper and Warner Bros. Television, that tells the story behind the powerful mob leader and his role in high-level politics and Hollywood as well as his struggle to raise a family at the same time. As the top syndicate boss in Chicago in the 1950s and '60s, Giancana was known for his ties to John F. Kennedy -- he's reputed to have played a key role in helping Kennedy take the White House in 1960 -- and his friendships with celebrities like Frank Sinatra.
Producer Mark Wolper has optioned rights to the life story of Chicago mob boss Sam Giancana and his family with plans to develop a six-hour miniseries for Warner Bros. Television. Wolper -- who is president of the Wolper Organization, which is based at Warners -- described the project as The Sopranos meets The Godfather. "Gang movies are always great, and (Giancana's) story is what they are based on; this is the real story behind the fictional stuff," Wolper said. "There is an amazing family story wrapped around this guy, who was the most powerful mob leader in America."...
- 7/29/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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