Dates are very important when discussing history. December 7, 1941 and September 11, 2001 are days that Americans should know by heart. But another event they should remember is what occurred on November 22, 1963 in Dallas, TX.
Numerous people have weighed in with their own conspiracies and ideas of what happened the day of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination. Books have been published and films (both narrative and documentary features) have been made.
In 1991, Warner Bros. released Oliver Stone’s JFK, a film that was not a biopic about the 35th President of the United States, but a film that took dramatic license of telling the events that unfolded after the assassination.
Now the studio is at again.
To be timed with the 50th anniversary of JFK’s assassination, the studio is planning another feature about one of the most tragic events in U.S. history and have Leonardo DiCaprio not only star but produce the feature as well, under his Appian Way shingle. The film will be based on the non-fiction novel Legacy of Secrecy, written by Lamar Waldron and Thom Hartmann.
In a press release issued this morning, Leo’s PR firm exclaimed that “an acclaimed director who has previously worked with Leonardo has expressed interest in directing the film”. Early speculation leans towards Martin Scorsese, since it is about an FBI agent that got a mafia godfather to admit to the assassination. So you got the mob connection. Though, looking at DiCaprio’s past collaborations it could be any number of directors: Steven Spielberg (Catch Me If You Can), Ridley Scott (Body of Lies), Sam Mendes (Revolutionary Road), and Ed Zwick (Blood Diamond). I’m omitting James Cameron (Titanic), because he has a cushy deal with 20th Century Fox. If it isn’t any of these directors, it could be Clint Eastwood who is working with DiCaprio on the J. Edgar Hoover biopic. Of the names mentioned, Scorsese and Eastwood have the strongest ties with Warner Brothers.
Here is an excerpt from the press release:
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DiCaprio will play FBI informant Jack Van Laningham, who obtained the confession of Mafia godfather Carlos Marcello to having ordered JFK’s assassination.
As part of a dangerous and long-secret undercover operation, the FBI positioned Van Laningham to become the confidant of Marcello, who ruled organized crime in Louisiana and most of Texas for decades.
The FBI’s clandestine operation with Van Laningham and the full story behind Marcello’s JFK confession remained secret for decades, until Waldron and Hartmann published the declassified FBI files from the National Archives in 2009’s “Legacy of Secrecy.”
Warner Brothers plans to release Legacy of Secrecy in 2013.
