Big Al's Place: Dreams & Schemes

In A Nutshell

Years after his release from Alcatraz, bedeviled by hallucinations fueled by untreated, late-stage syphilis, Al Capone wanders the overgrown grounds of his Miami Beach estate, ruminating with ghosts. Tomorrow will bring his forty-eighth birthday and one week later he will be dead. Between then and now sprawls an epic life, from the wild streets of turn-of-the-century Brooklyn, to a bloody Saint Valentine’s Day that shocked the world; here is the glamorous ascent and shocking decline of America's true king of crime.

Some History

Jim VanBebber's 2004 feature, The Manson Family, was hailed as, "Crucial," by Peter Travers in Rolling Stone's four-star review. It inspired Roger Ebert to proclaim, "...it has an undeniable power and effect...it exists in a category of one film - this film." The film's successful theatrical release brought further critical acclaim and Manson then went on to thrive on home video, including as the centerpiece of Visions of Hell: The Films of Jim VanBebber, a mid-career retrospective DVD box set released in 2008.

Capone first met VanBebber at Wright State University when both men were enrolled in the Motion Pictures Production program headed up by Academy Award nominated documentary filmmakers Jim Klein and Julia Reichert. When, in junior year, the class was divided into small groups with the purpose of producing a short film, VanBebber, with partners Marcello Games and cinematographer Mike King, decided to shoot a full length feature. That film, 1988's Deadbeat at Dawn went on to earn true cult status, playing to crowds on 42nd Street and on many waning drive-in screens before landing on cable's The Movie Channel where it debuted on Joe Bob's Drive-In Theater, hosted by Joe Bob Briggs, who had singled out Deadbeat in his nationally syndicated four-star review.

With funds derived from the sale of Deadbeat, King, Games and VanBebber began their follow up production, The Manson Family, which brings us full circle

12/16/09

Dreams & Schemes

Things have been moving along at a pretty brisk pace of late and we couldn't be more jazzed about it. A solid plan has been emerging and we're as optimistic about the future as old Johnny Torrio was in late 1919, when the proposition of bootlegging was turning his eyes into dollar signs. Our boys have been as busy as a one legged man in an ass kickin' contest, with Jimmy working the land which is La La and Michael stalking the mean streets of Gotham. Obviously, knowing when to keep your trap shut is something the Management values, so no details I'm afraid, but we do want to offer a major slap on the back to ace strategist Karri O'Reilly, talented filmmaker Ron Atkins, cinematographer Mike King and actor extraodinaire Vic Noto. Yeah, and a special hush-hush thanks-a-million to You Know Who and The Powers That Be. You folks are the tops!