It may seem like Oliver Stone has the market cornered on JFK assassination films, but there are a couple of projects that are looking mighty promising. One is Peter Landesman's Parkland, set in the hospital where Kennedy was treated after the attack. And now David Mamet and Cate Blanchett are teaming up for Blackbird, which approaches the incident from a conspiracy theorist's perspective.
Mamet will write and direct the film, with Blanchett starring as "Janet, who travels to Los Angeles for the funeral of her grandfather, a Hollywood visual effects artist who moonlighted for U.S. special ops agencies. Her grandfather’s well-kept secrets become a threat to her, forcing Janet to discover the truth about a man who dedicated his life to making illusion reality." Described as a "Hitchcockian nail-biter", it makes for an interesting career move for Mamet following his HBO biopic, Phil Spector.
Blanchett has a busy year ahead of her, appearing in Woody Allen's Blue Jasmine and George Clooney's potential awards contender, Monuments Men. She's set to play the evil stepmother in Disney's Cinderella, directed by Kenneth Branagh. [Variety]
