Billy Bob Thornton to star in JFK biopic

[Alex Foyle]

"Paul Giamatti and Billy Bob Thornton to star in JFK biopic

Parkland, co-produced by Tom Hanks, will mark the 50th anniversary of the
assassination of John F Kennedy

Paul Giamatti, Billy Bob Thornton and Jackie Weaver are to star in a new
film about the assassination of John F Kennedy and the chaotic events at
the hospital where he died, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Titled Parkland after the Dallas hospital in which Kennedy, his assassin
Lee Harvey Oswald, and Jack Ruby (who killed Oswald) all passed their
final hours, the film will be shot in nearby Austin. It is aiming for a
2013 release to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the former US
president's death in November 1963.

The script is based on the book Reclaiming History: The Assassination of
President John F Kennedy, by the Edgar award-winning author and former
prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi. Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman are among the
producers for a project that will be shopped to buyers at the annual
American Film Market in Santa Monica next week.

"Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman are two exceptional producers with great
taste so we are delighted to be collaborating with them on this
fascinating film about such a significant chapter in American history,"
said Nigel Sinclair and Guy East of production company Exclusive Media.

The JFK assassination and its aftermath have proven fertile material for
film-makers over the years. Perhaps the most famous example is Oliver
Stone's JFK, which challenged the idea that Lee Harvey Oswald carried out
the murder and suggested Kennedy's death was a result of a conspiracy by
the authorities themselves. Stone described his fictionalised film as a
"counter-myth" to the "fictional myth" of the Warren commission."

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2012/oct/31/paul-giamatti-jfk-biopic

"Paul Giamatti, Billy Bob Thornton lead 'Parkland'
Jacki Weaver also cast in Tom Hanks' JFK assassination drama
By Dave McNary

Paul Giamatti, Billy Bob Thornton and Jacki Weaver will topline
"Parkland," the indie drama about the assassination of John F. Kennedy
that will mark the directorial debut of scribe Peter Landesman.

Variety first reported on Aug. 16 that Playtone partners Tom Hanks and
Gary Goetzman were producing "Parkland." Exclusive Media toppers Nigel
Sinclair and Guy East announced Tuesday that the company has come on board
to produce and finance.

Pic chronicles the events leading up to JFK's assassination and Abraham
Zapruder's famous documentation of the event. The title refers to Parkland
Memorial Hospital, where Kennedy was rushed on Nov. 22, 1963 and later
pronounced dead. Two days later, his assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald died at
Parkland.

As part of the production deal, Exclusive Media has optioned the rights to
the book which provides the source material for the film, "Reclaiming
History: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy" by former
prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi. The work was published in 2007 by W.W. Norton
& Company and won the 2008 Edgar Award for Best Fact Crime.

Landesman is adapting the screenplay. The film, to be shot in Austin,
Texas, is being planned for a 2013 U.S. theatrical release to coincide
with the 50th anniversary of the assassination.

"Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman are two exceptional producers with great
taste so we are delighted to be collaborating with them on this
fascinating film about such a significant chapter in American history,"
Sinclair and East. "Paul, Billy Bob and Jacki are perfectly cast to bring
Vincent's book to life."

Exclusive Media's Matt Jackson will oversee the production on behalf of
the company and Exclusive Media will handle the worldwide distribution
rights to the movie, which will be introduced to buyers at the American
Film Market.

Giamatti is shooting "Saving Mr. Banks" for Disney. Weaver will be seen in
"Silver Linings Playbook." Thornton recently directed "Jayne Mansfield's
Car." Landesman previously wrote the New York Times article "The Girls
Next Door," which served as the basis for the 2007 Kevin Kline drama
"Trade," which Landesman exec produced.

Dan Stutz negotiated the book rights deal on behalf of Exclusive Media
with Bugliosi's literary manager Peter Miller of Global Lion Intellectual
Property Management.

Giamatti is repped by UTA and managed by Perri Kipperman. Thornton is
repped by WME and Weaver by ICM Partners and Elevate Entertainment's Alex
Cole."

Source: http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118061437.html?cmpid=RSS|News|LatestNews

[pjsp...@aol.com]

How appropriate that the screenwriter hired to write this fiction loosely
based on fact be someone used to mixing some fiction in with his facts.

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/press_box/2004/01/doubting_landesman.html