Why take your morning coffee on a chain? When you can have a “taste of the mafia” at Caffe Palermo. Located in a building formerly owned by Al Capone, the Chicago mob boss himself. You’ll find posters for “Blackstone,” Vito Brancato’s PBS movie about the original plan to assassinate JFK in Chicago. A scheme originated by Sam Giancana, in retribution for the Kennedy administration’s stance on organized crime. Chicago natives Vito Brancato and producing partner J. Kenneth Ezra have a big stake in this little mob diner. Because? Because it’s authentic. In these modern times of computers, the Internet, and plastic surgery, what a breath of fresh air to walk into a coffee shop where former owner Al Capone ran a business. With a cute homemade cannoli from Italian mom and fresh espresso, it’s tucked away in the notoriously mob-influenced cities of Cicero and Berwyn, Illinois. If you’re lucky, you’ll have your order prepared by the filmmaker himself, when he’s not filming. .
But it goes further than that; these producers also look for authenticity in their cinematic adventures. “Blackstone” was a short film produced basically to bring “street rumor” to life. Once some news outlets found out, they insisted on showing it “as is” on PBS. J. producer Kenneth Ezra says his pride wasn’t broken when he was asked to publish it. “Ok, we make this short film, it is based on a lot of research and some uncorroborated first hand accounts close to the action. But we insist that this is only a short film. Also, Brancato is a perfectionist and would prefer to have the full feature film for show,” however, PBS loved the realism and obvious truth in the characters, though we’ll never know if Giancana actually put the hit into action. However, information is emerging to confirm such findings. In her next book, JFK and Sam: The Connection between the Giancana and Kennedy Assassinations, Antoinette Giancana claims that her father, the late Chicago mob boss, ordered the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Can you get closer to the story? So how did Vito Brancato and J. Kenneth Ezra get this information? Ezra uses his hands to explain, “Being in Chicago, you’re surrounded by a lot of people who know a lot of people who heard some things from a lot of people.” Aside from those “people,” recently released information may corroborate the story.
Brancato calls Blackstone “historical fiction”: real characters and events interwoven with fictional ones to give his story an eerie sense of possibility. For even more “realism”, Brancato intercuts archive footage of Kennedy at the Blackstone Hotel in the fall of ’62 during the film’s climactic scene. “I remember growing up on the North Side of Chicago, my grandfather and his old Italian friends in black slacks and white dress shirts, sitting in front of the corner store swapping old country stories,” Brancato recalls.
Why the coffee? Well, Ken has also combined coffee and movies. Ken is so committed to authentic movies that he played the role of boyfriend and volunteered to work the craft service desk on the set of “After Freedom,” winner of the Audience Award at the Pasadena Film Festival. Director Vahe Babian’s beautiful true story of Armenians adjusting to life in Los Angeles. “If it’s true and real and authentic, I want to be a part of it. Even if I have to serve coffee to literally everyone on set. Being a part of Brancato’s film continues my journey toward authenticity.”
Blackstone will be Brancato’s third feature film. It is a “fictional” story of a failed assassination attempt on JFK in Chicago before that fateful day in Texas. Brancato hopes to capitalize on Blackstone’s potential success in King of the Bandits, which he calls “a legitimate epic, a cross between ‘The Godfather’ and ‘Braveheart.’ Bandit is the incredible true story of Sicilian freedom fighter Salvatore Giuliano, who rose to national prominence and influenced Italian and American politics after World War II.
J. Kenneth Ezra has worked his way up to producing a 10-movie package. In the remake of the indie film “The Right Thing” (watch trailer at http://www.razorfilms.com), his partnership with director/writer Brancato gives us an authentic and modern point of view on the scene. Chicago mobster. Blackstone gives us a historical point of view on the influence of the Chicago mob. And King of the Bandits an old-time country authenticity.
Good luck guys,
How do you say authentically friends? Bye!