The Deal

Here's the deal. CAPONE: King of Crime is an original screenplay, meticulously researched and written by cult director Jim VanBebber and film & television editor Michael T. Capone.

We are currently seeking partners interested in producing a low budget independent feature, but would also welcome inquiries regarding professional representation.

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.

Drop Us a Line

Are you somebody we should know? A big shot, maybe?
Well drop us a line at mistercapone@gmail.com and we'll see what we can do.

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

4/23/11

PUNCTURE a sharp picture


Some longtime pals of ours, mainly screenwriter Chris Lopata and co-directors Adam and Mark Kassen, premiered their gripping indy drama PUNCTURE just days ago at this year's TriBeCa Film Festival and boy let me tell ya, this picture is pure dynamite!

"Mike Weiss (Chris Evans) is a talented young Houston lawyer and a functioning drug addict. Paul Danziger (co-director Mark Kassen), his longtime friend and partner, is the straight-laced and responsible yin to Mike's yang. Their mom-and-pop personal injury law firm is getting by, but things really get interesting when they decide to take on a case involving Vicky (Vinessa Shaw), a local ER nurse, who is pricked by a contaminated needle on the job. As Weiss and Danziger dig deeper into the case, a health care and pharmaceutical conspiracy teeters on exposure and heavyweight attorneys move in on the defense. Out of their league but invested in their own principles, the mounting pressure of the case pushes the two underdog lawyers and their business to the breaking point.

Brothers and first-time directors Mark and Adam Kassen bring this real-life story to the screen with all the urgency and passion of the subjects themselves. The result is an effective issue-driven drama that finds its footing in a contemporary David and Goliath story. The performances are solid and Chris Evans refreshingly infuses Weiss with crackling charisma while grounding him with real insecurities and compassion."

-Genna Terranova - from the 2011 TRIBECA Film Festival website.

Fresh visuals and precise performances from the entire expert ensemble highlight this smart and compelling story which finds an unexpected angle on the not unfamilliar little-guy-vs-the-world scenario. A hearty congratulations to the Kassen Brothers and Chris Lopata on the flick! And keep an eye out on your local bijou for PUNCTURE which is as they say, coming soon.
Posted by CCI at 8:48 AM
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