FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MAMET TO WRITE AND DIRECT MOB TAKE ON WHO SHOT JFK
How Mafia Don Sam Giancana Got Revenge on the Kennedys,
The Story Finally Told in
2 Days/1963
Los Angeles, CA (June 28, 2022) – Two-time Academy Award Nominee and Pulitzer prize-winning playwright David Mamet and producer Nicholas Celozzi, scion (grandnephew) of notorious Chicago mobster Sam Giancana, will collaborate on a feature film detailing the real story behind the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Mamet will direct 2 DAYS/1963 and write the screenplay based on the story by Celozzi. The feature will be produced under the banner of Celozzi's production company Monaco Films, with colleague and VP Michael Sportelli, based in Los Angeles.
2Days/1963 is a revelation of previously untold events that took place during the 48 hours before the assassination of America’s 35th president in November 1963. Among other theories, it has been suggested that the Mafia was responsible for the shooting. Producer Celozzi recalls his Uncle Joe, “Pepe” brother to Sam Giancana, telling him about The Outfit's complicity in the killing. The story will unveil the mob’s version of the assassination—planned payback for JFK’s snubbing of Giancana, after he helped get Kennedy elected, and for Robert Kennedy’s investigation into and attempted dismantling of organized crime.
Production will begin fourth quarter of 2022 in Los Angeles and on location in Dallas. Distribution and release of the feature are in current discussions. Celozzi is CEO and founding partner of Monaco Films, along with VP Michael Sportelli, who will also produce. Bonnie Giancana, daughter of the late mobster, will serve as a consultant and Executive Producer. The deal was brokered by John Burnham of Atlas Artists, Stan Coleman of Weintraub Tobin, and attorney Alan Abrams.
One of the great voices of American stage and film, Mamet has penned stage plays that include Glengarry Glen Ross, for which he received the Pulitzer and which earned four Tony nominations; Speed-the-Plow, nominated for three Tonys; and American Buffalo, recipient of four Tony nods. Mamet’s screenplays include The Postman Always Rings Twice, The Verdict, House of Games, The Spanish Prisoner, Wag the Dog, State and Main, Hannibal, Heist, Hoffa, and The Untouchables, nominated for four Academy Awards. Mamet wrote and directed the feature Phil Specter, nominated for 11 Emmys, two Golden Globes, two SAG awards, and a Critics’ Choice Award. He has also authored several non-fiction books and the novel Chicago, about the gangland in the 1920s. Mamet also directed the critically acclaimed film, House of Games and Homicide where he was nominated for a Palme d’Or award.
Highlights of Celozzi’s film work include the up-and-coming true story, The Legitimate Wiseguy, the documentary Momo: The Sam Giancana Story, and double installments of the Kickboxer film franchise, Kickboxer: Retaliation and Kickboxer: Vengeance. Celozzi has also written and produced the psychothrillers The Lost Angel, Nightmare Boulevard and Shattered. His latest project, The Class, acquired by Brainstorm Media, will enjoy a limited theatrical release and be available on all digital platforms on September 9.
