The film is directed by Pulitzer Prize-winner and Academy Award-nominee David Mamet (Heist, Wag the Dog, The Verdict), the celebrated and influential American filmmaker, playwright and author, and is written by Mamet and Nicholas Celozzi. Robert Elswitt, the highly regarded Director of Photography who has collaborated with Mamet as well as Paul Thomas Anderson, is the film’s cinematographer and received the Academy Award for his work on There Will Be Blood.
Assassination is produced by Corey Large (Paradise City, It Follows) and Nicholas Celozzi (Kickboxer films, The Class). The film is executive produced by John Burnham, Arclight Films’ Gary Hamilton and Pia Patatian, Jordan Nott, Bernie Gewissler and Amar Balaggan and financed by 308 Enterprises.
Arclight Films is handling international sales on Assassination and will introduce the film to buyers at the Marché du Film. Production is scheduled to start in September in Vancouver.
“It’s an honour to be working with all of these legends,” noted producer Corey Large.
“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!” said Arclight Films Chairman Gary Hamilton.
- 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.
David Mamet is the American playwright, filmmaker and author. He won a Pulitzer Prize and received Tony nominations for his plays Glengarry Glen Ross and Speed-the-Plow. Mamet received Academy Award nominations for Best Adapted Screenplay for Wag the Dog and The Verdict. His screenwriting credits also include The Postman Always Rings Twice, The Untouchables, Hoffa and Hannibal. He wrote the screenplay for the film adaptation of Glengarry Glen Ross and wrote and directed the adaptation of his play Oleanna. Mamet both wrote and directed the feature films House of Games, Homicide, The Spanish Prisoner and Heist.
Al Pacino won an Academy Award for his performance in Scent of a Woman and has received eight Academy Award Nominations for his turns in The Godfather, Serpico, The Godfather Part II, Dog Day Afternoon, And Justice for All, Dick Tracy, Glengarry Glen Ross and The Irishman. Additional credits include Scarface, Ocean’s Thirteen and Once Upon a Time In Hollywood.
Nominated for two Academy Awards, nine Golden Globes and three Emmy awards, three-time Golden Globe and Emmy winner John Travolta boasts an extensive career spanning five decades in films including 1970’s classics Carrie, Saturday Night Fever and Grease. Additionally, he starred in Quentin Tarantio’s Pulp Fiction, Get Shorty, Michael and the musical Hairspray. “Die Hart” was Travolta’s third Emmy nomination since his Golden Globe and Emmy nominated turn as Robert Shapiro in FX’s anthology series “American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson.”
Shia LaBeouf recently wrapped production on Megalopolis, an upcoming American epic science fiction drama film written, directed and produced by Francis Ford Coppola. He will next be seen in Abel Ferrarra’s Padre Pio and prior to that, starred opposite Vanessa Kirby and Ellen Burstyn in Kornel Mundruczo’s critically acclaimed film, Pieces of a Woman. LaBeouf received rave reviews for his performance in Honey Boy, which also marked his first feature length film as a screenwriter. Additional film credits include The Peanut Butter Falcon, Borg vs. McEnroe, American Honey, Fury, three installments of Transformers, among many other feature films. Shia is also the recipient of a Daytime Emmy Award for his role in Disney’s TV series “Even Stevens.”
Viggo Mortensen has been nominated for three Academy Awards for his performances in Green Book, Captain Fantastic and Eastern Promises. Additional credits include The Lord of the Rings trilogy, David Cronenberg’s A History of Violence, The Portrait of a Lady and Far from Men.
Rebecca Pidgeon is an actress who has appeared on stage and in feature films, and is also a singer, songwriter and recording artist. Her film credits include Homicide, The Spanish Prisoner, The Winslow Boy, State and Main, Heist and Redbelt.
Courtney Love was nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance in The People vs. Larry Flynt. Additional credits include BAFTA nominated film Sid and Nancy with Gary Oldman, Paramount Pictures’ 200 Cigarettes, Universal Pictures’ Man on the Moon, Julie Johnson and Sony Pictures’ Trapped alongside Charlize Theron.
Arclight Films’ current slate of films also includes the comedy Arthur’s Whisky starring Academy Award-winner Diane Keaton, Patricia Hodge and the legendary Scottish singer/actress Lulu; the celebrated Sundance title Fairyland starring Scoot McNairy and Emilia Jones and produced by Sofia Coppola; John Curran’s psychological thriller Mercy Road starring Luke Bracey; the thriller Poker Face, directed by Academy Award-winner Russell Crowe who also stars alongside Liam Hemsworth, Elsa Pataky and Wu-Tang Clan’s RZA and The Portable Door starring Academy Award winner Christoph Waltz and Sam Neill.
