Back in May, we brought you news that Al Pacino is set to lead the starry ensemble 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 Deadline’s reporting, a switcheroo up top has landed the project a new helmsman in the form of Oscar-winner Barry Levinson (Rain Man, Bugsy)
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 who helped bolster his election campaign. If any of this rings familiar, it’ll probably be because Kennedy’s mob ties form one of the many conspiratorial plot threads of Oliver Stone’s seminal JFK.
Whilst a release date is a way off yet for the film, we do know who’s set to star in the heavyweight drama. Pacino is aboard to play senior mob boss Tony Accardo, whilst Viggo Mortensen, Shia LaBeouf, John Travolta, and Courtney Love are all set to help bring Mamet’s screenplay to life. The project – which also boasts There Will Be Blood and Nightcrawler DoP Robert Elswitt among its crew – will be the third time Levinson and Pacino have collaborated, having already worked together on Paterno, You Don’t Know Jack and The Humbling. Assassination will also mark a reunion for Mamet and Levinson too, who served as writer and director respectively on 1997’s Oscar-nominated Wag The Dog, and who worked together again in 2013 on the HBO movie Phil Spector.
In a statement released when the film was first announced, executive producer and Arclight Films Chairman Gary Hamilton was full of praise for the project. “With the undeniable talent of David Mamet at the helm and our stellar cast led by Viggo Mortensen, Al Pacino, Shia LaBeouf and John Travolta, the stars have truly aligned. Assassination is a riveting and gripping thriller set in a pivotal period in American history, brilliantly crafted by Mamet – it’s an absolutely fantastic project.” An absolutely fantastic project indeed, and one we’ll be following with great interest. For now though, we’re off to polish our tinfoil hats.