EXCLUSIVE: Two-time Oscar nominee John Travolta (Pulp Fiction), Emmy and Tony winner Mandy Patinkin (Homeland), and SAG nominee Dermot Mulroney (August Osage County) have been set to headline JFK thriller November 1963 from two-time Oscar nominee Roland Joffé (The Killing Fields).
K5 International has boarded international sales ahead of next week’s European Film Market in Berlin.
November 1963 unfolds within the intense 48-hour period surrounding the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The film sheds light on crime group the Chicago Outfit’s alleged involvement in the assassination and draws directly from first-hand accounts, including insights from the family of crime boss Sam Giancana.
John Travolta will star as Johnny Roselli, a key figure in organized crime and the Outfit’s man on the West Coast and Vegas. Mandy Patinkin will star as Anthony Accardo, a powerful and calculating head of the Chicago Outfit, considered one of the most powerful crime bosses in America at the time. Dermot Mulroney will step into the role of Chuckie Nicoletti, Sam Giancana’s bodyguard and the Outfit’s most notorious South Side hitman. Additional casting is underway.
Nicki Celozzi, nephew of Sam Giancana, wrote the script and is producing the film. Bonnie Giancana, daughter of Sam Giancana, is also attached as an executive producer. The producers are handling the domestic sale. The project comes at a time of heightened interest in the tragic assassination given the impending U.S. release of previously classified documents about the shooting.
Director Roland Joffé commented on November 1963: ‘’This is a remarkable cast for a remarkable story.’’
Producers Kevin DeWalt from Minds Eye Entertainment and Nicki Celozzi from Le Monde Productions added: “This story brings audiences into the inner workings of the Chicago Outfit and their role in a seismic moment in history. With firsthand accounts and a legendary cast, November 1963 promises to be an unforgettable experience.”
K5 International, relaunched by CEO Daniel Baur in 2023, previously sold Kevin Costner’s Horizon: An American Saga, which debuted at the Cannes Film Festival, and that project’s second chapter, which debuted at Venice in 2024 ahead of a release later this year. Also on the EFM slate is Jean Reno hitman thriller The Butler.
As we revealed earlier this week, Celozzi is currently engaged in a legal dispute over a separate JFK project called Assassination.
