After a decade of pulling all the elements together from his second cousins who were reluctant to talk about their infamous father, Nick Celozzi finally has finally assembled all the elements to start production on a feature doc about Sam Giancana.
Chicago’s last Mafia don is filmmaker Celozzi’s grand-uncle and his doc will show the man behind the myth.
The Reel talked to Celozzi, who’s made about 20 movies in as many years, about his ambitious project, “Momo: The Sam Giancana Story,” being produced by his L.A.-based Le Monde Productions in Chicago.
REEL: When do you start shooting? CELOZZI: Nov. 18 for about three weeks in Chicago, filming five family members and friends who knew Sam best. Then we go to Vegas to shoot for a couple of days.
REEL: But you’re not based in Chicago. CELOZZI: No, I live in Calabasas, California and I rent a house here for eight or nine weeks a couple of times of year, whenever I teach an advanced film class at Act One. Right now I’m out in Oak Brook.
REEL: How did you persuade his daughters, Bonnie and Francine, who’ve been mum about their dad for 30 years, to go along with your project? CELOZZI: I called Bonnie in Arizona and said, I promise we’ll make the film the right way, by telling your relationship, and establish the man behind the myth.
