Roland Joffe to Direct Mob-Centric JFK Assassination Film ‘November 1963: The Killing of a President’ (EXCLUSIVE)
variety.comKatcy Stephan 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 documentary “Momo: The Sam Giancana Story,” penned the screenplay based on what Pepe told him.
Pepe told young Celozzi, who already was in the film business, to share the story one day. “My uncle and I were very close when I was a little little kid,” Celozzi recalls.
Even though he always knew the story was ripe for a film adaptation, he waited for the appropriate moment to tell it. The project, formerly known as “2 Days/1963” and “Assassination,” was previously set up to star Courtney Love, Viggo Mortensen, Shia LaBeouf, Al Pacino and John Travolta, with David Mamet to direct and co-write with Celozzi.
Read more on variety.com
