The assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy is one of the defining moments of the 20th century. And no one really knows how it all happened. It's the only presidential murder that was captured on film but where did the bullet that blew Kennedy's head apart really come from? And why was the trigger pulled in the first place?
Author James Ellroy has a theory in the best book he's written. A fictional one but one that would be absolutely fantastic to see onscreen. Twice screenwriters have tried to adapt this, once as a film in 2002 and as a TV series in 2008 but it hasn't happened yet. I've had my fingers crossed for years for an adaption. TV preferably. A film could not do this sprawling saga justice. Too much happens over too long of a stretch of time to too many characters.
The book is called American Tabloid and it's the first in a trilogy about the dark underbelly of the American dream in the latter half of the 20th century.
It's a story about 3 men. Pete Bondurant, a hulking, terrifying hitman/fixer working for Howard Hughes and a pair of FBI agents, the smooth talking Kemper Boyd and the driven and obsessive but weak Ward Littel. Their story takes place from 1958 to 1963 and sees the 3 men involved in some of the biggest political events of the century, presidential scandals involving Hollywood starlets, the CIA backed Bay Of Pigs invasion, plots to assassinate Fidel Castro, a massive theft of heroin from the mob and finally the plot to kill JFK. The 3 protagonists are fictional but the people they meet on their journeys aren't.
FBI director J.Edgar Hoover. The only man in America that Presidents were afraid of.
The previously mentioned insane recluse Howard Hughes.
Members of the Rat Pack including Frank Sinatra & Dean Martin.
Infamous mobsters such as Sam Giancana, Carlos Marcello and Santo Trafficante jnr.
Jack Ruby, all round dodgy chap who later murders Lee Harvey Oswald.
Guy Banister, FBI agent, private eye and a major person of interest in JFK's death.
Jimmy Hoffa. Head of the teamsters and America's most famous missing person. Al Pacino portrayed him recently in Martin Scorsese's The Irishman.
And finally
A triumvirate of Kennedys, John, Robert and Joseph Snr. Each one a far way from good.
Look at that for a cast of supporting characters. Amazing. A rogues gallery of bastards who changed American history.
Imagine a mix of The West Wing / Rubicon /Borgen/ The Sopranos / Narcos / The Wire. It could be brilliant if done right. A 13 part miniseries detailing the dark heart of the US of A. That would be enough time to do the story justice. The myriad of plotlines and characters would have time to breathe and expand. It's dark, dark stuff too, brutally violent in places. It would be a very adult show with ALL the shades of gray. Pete and Kemper are men with no qualms about killing whoever gets in their way. Ward tries to be good but his actions and weaknesses lead to more and more death. The story moves like a train too. The early 60's were a time of massive political upheaval and the book's timeline packs it all in. Mafia strife, racism in the south, the KKK and the Birmingham church bombings, the horror show that was the Bay Of Pigs, JFK making a name for himself, union troubles, the fear of Communism. All ripe to be shown in detail on screen.
HBO would be my pick to make this. They have great form with large scale TV shows with huge casts and labyrinthine plots. They've also had great (critical) success with shows that blended fact and fiction. Rome for example was the story of 2 fictional characters intertwined with the true life events of the time. Titus Pullo and Lucius Vorenus managed to be involved with every big event in the Roman Empire from 49BC to 30BC. Deadwood did the same thing, all the characters this time were fact based but the storylines added a lot of fiction. Both shows were amazing btw. And then stuff like The Wire and Game Of Thrones show the ability to deal with large casts and multiple storylines. They have the resources and access to a ridiculous depth of talent to do with it all. Plus they would also allow the writers the freedom to do the story justice too. This isn't a story that should have its edges smoothed off. They need to show the dark side of the American story is all its grimy detail.
As for the casting. My top picks would be -
Jon Bernthal
The Punisher actor could be great. He's big and scary. He does brooding, simmering rage well. He'd look very believable fucking people up. He can act. I think he'd be a perfect Pete Bondurant. Had the book been made back in 2002 Brendan Gleeson would have been a go to choice. C'est la vie.
Timothy Olyphant / Jon Hamm
Either of these would be great as Kemper Boyd. Kemper in the book is portrayed as a smooth southern charmer with a vicious side. Both of these actors have portrayed both these qualities in previous roles. Hamm in Mad Men and Olyphant in Deadwood and especially Justified.
Garrett Dillahunt
For Ward I'd like to see an actor that can play both mean and pathetic. Garret Dillahunt has form on both counts. As Jack McCall and Mr Wolcott in Deadwood and his role as Ed Miller in The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford especially. I've seen his name being suggested a few times and think he could be a perfect fit.
They are just who I can think of. The kind of faces I think of when I read the book. There's probably dozens of actors better suited to the roles that I ain't thinking of.
Any suggestions?
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