OLIVIA MARNE
If you’re a twitterer, you’ll start spotting the hashtag #AFM around a lot over the next few days. AFM stands for the American Film Market, and it’s a convention where filmmakers, producers and distributors gather to promote and ideally sell – sometimes before the films have even been completed, or, in some occasions, cast – their latest films.
One of the new films just announced is a Kennedy assassination flick from Tom Hanks’s crowd, Playtone. “Parkland” is set to star Billy Bob Thornton, Paul Giamatti and Jacki Weaver and will revolve around the dramatic true story of the chaotic events that occurred at Parkland Hospital in Dallas on the day President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963. Parkland will be shot in Austin, Texas and is destined for a 2013 US theatrical release around the 50th anniversary of the assassination.
The film, written and directed by Peter Landesman, is based on “Reclaiming History: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy”, by renowned author and former prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi. The work was published in 2007 by W.W. Norton & Company and won the 2008 Edgar Award for Best Fact Crime. Bugliosi, a three time Edgar Award winner, also wrote the number one New York Times bestsellers; “Helter Skelter,” “And The Sea Will Tell” and “Outrage.”
“Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman are two exceptional producers with great taste so we are delighted to be collaborating with them on this fascinating film about such a significant chapter in American history,” said Nigel Sinclair and Guy East. “Paul, Billy Bob and Jacki are perfectly cast to bring Vincent’s book to life. It’s the definitive account of the untold events that took place in Parkland Hospital on that infamous day – it’s a unique and compelling story and Peter’s adaptation is remarkable.”
Matt Jackson, Exclusive Media’s Head of US Production, will oversee the production on behalf of the company. Exclusive Media will handle the worldwide distribution rights to the film that will be introduced to buyers at the upcoming American Film Market by Alex Walton, Exclusive Media’s President of International Sales and Distribution.
