Barry Levinson's Assassination: Everything we know so far

News of a new thriller about John F. Kennedy's death, Assassination, came out in late 2023. Some of the movie scene's biggest names like Al Pacino were attached to it. Besides bringing an intriguing new take on the JFK murder, the film is hotly anticipated because The Godfather star Al Pacino is set to star as another mob boss in it.

Now, the upcoming mystery thriller has more industry heavyweights attached to it, including Jessica Chastain. She's set to play a key role in how the movie will retell the story of JFK's death and offer a different perspective on the tragedy.

Barry Levinson is directing the film from the script he wrote with David Mamet and Sam Bromell. The cameras are scheduled to start rolling early next year.

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What is Barry Levinson's Assassination going to be about?

JFK's story has been told plenty of times, but Assassination will take a unique perspective in retelling the former US President's life and tragic death.

The upcoming movie will center around Dorothy Kilgallen (played by Jessica Chastain), an American columnist and journalist and one of the biggest voices in media at the time. She investigated JFK's death at the time, which put her up against both the CIA, FBI and the mafia bosses.

Per Levinson, Kilgallen was the only woman to ever cover the assassination case of JFK. She's also the only reporter to speak with Jack Ruby, the nightclub owner who killed JFK's suspected assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald. The director also teased mystery in their chosen perspective to retell JFK's assassination, saying that Kilgallen's death was "very suspicious" but that it was never investigated.

Jason Sosnoff will be producing the film with Corey Large and Nicolas Celozzi. He shared Kilgallen's background in a statement via Deadline on October 29, 2024, providing more context on what the upcoming movie will be about. He said:

"We love the idea of exploring this topic through Dorothy's perspective. She was relentless and courageous in pursuing the truth, and this film is as much her story as it is the uncovering of what happened that day in Dallas."

Focusing the movie on Kilgallen's investigation makes Assassination both a murder mystery and a film noir.

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The film features a star-studded cast

Since the movie was first announced last year, several Hollywood icons have been attached to it. There's Al Pacino and Viggo Mortensen who have worked together in the gangster thriller Carlito's Way in 1993, John Tavolta, Shia LaBeouf and Rebecca Pidgeon.

However, only Al Pacino's character is confirmed. He's set to play the senior mob boss Tony Accardo.

Besides the addition of Jessica Chastain to the cast list, other newly confirmed actors to join the movie include Brendan Fraser and Bryan Cranston.

Chastain has won an Oscar for The Eyes of Tammy Faye, while Fraser got his for his performance in The Whale. Meanwhile, Cranston received an Oscar nod for playing the titular blacklisted Hollywood screenwriter in the biopic Trumbo.

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The screenplay is co-written by Pulitzer winner David Mamet

The screenplay is co-written by Levinson with Sam Bromell and Pulitzer winner David Mamet, who won the Pulitzer Prize in 1984 for his play Glengarry Glen Ross.

Marnet also got two nods from the Academy Awards for writing the screenplay for The Verdict and Wag the Dog, which was directed by Levinson. Marnet wrote screenplays for Hannibal, Ronin and over 60 episodes for The Unit.

As for Bromell, his name is attached to the screenplays for films like The Get Down and Elvis.

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When will Assassination release?

No release window for Assassination has been announced yet, but the production is set to start filming in early 2025.

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Stay tuned for more news and updates on Assassination and other favorite movies as the year progresses.