New feature film planned as 'answer to Oliver Stone's fanciful 'JFK'

By Mike Scott, The Times-Picayune

President John F. Kennedy, shown with wife Jackie.

In marketing Oliver Stone's 1991 New Orleans-shot, Kennedy-assassination conspiracy theory "JFK," Warner Bros. referred to it as "the story that won't go away." Now, some 21 years later, another film company is doing its part to make sure that claim remains true.

President John F. Kennedy, shown with wife Jackie.

The Los Angeles-based Atchity Entertainment, in partnership with the Florida-based Ramos & Sparks Group, announced plans today (April 16) for a feature film based on one insider's account of the Kennedy assassination. The production is described it as an "answer to Oliver Stone's fanciful 'JFK.'"

The new film will be based on the New York Times bestseller "The Kennedy Detail," written by former Secret Service agent Gerald Blaine - a former member of Kennedy's security detail -- with journalist Lisa McCubbin.

The book has already spawned a Discovery Channel documentary, also called "The Kennedy Detail," which was narrated by Martin Sheen and nominated last year for a News and Documentary Emmy in the long-form historical programming category.

For its part, Stone's 1991's "JFK" was based on a book by New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison who -- unsatisfied with the official line -- launched his own investigation into the assassination. Shooting for two months in town in summer 1991, "JFK" stands as one of highest-profile films to shoot in New Orleans prior to the state's 2002 adoption of filmmaking tax incentives.

'The Kennedy Detail,' by former Secret Service agent Gerald Blaine and dissecting the Kennedy assassination, will be the subject of a new movie.

Upon its release in December 1991, the film earned more than $200 million in worldwide box office, as well as eight Oscar nominations, including for best picture. (It won two, for film editing and cinematography).

It also, however, generated no small amount of controversy, as Stone was widely criticized for playing fast and loose with the facts.

The new film, producer Rich Ramos says, will be different.

"As a life-long student of the Kennedy administration and the events of November 22, 1963, I could see immediately that this book provided a clear picture and keen insight into the everyday workings of the administration as well as that horrible day in Dallas," producer Rich Ramos said today in a news release.

"The true story contained in 'The Kennedy Detail' needs to be brought to theaters around the world so that history can be presented accurately, once and for all."
Producers are targeting a 2013 release date - exactly 50 years after the assassination -- although it's unclear when production will begin or where it will take place. No cast has been announced.