STEALING SINATRA

It’s 1963, John F. Kennedy is President, and every American wants a share of “the dream.” For three friends from California it will be an outlandish, get-rich-quick crime that only the truly naive would believe possible.

You feelin’ bold? Let’s kidnap Frank Sinatra, Jr. No lark, no off-the-cuff comment. It’s a proposition to his friends from Barry Keenan (David Arquette, Larry McMurtry’s Dead Man’s Walk, Scream), a loser in his early twenties who sees middle class as a death sentence. Sure, his way out is a crime, but if it’s done smoothly, it can work. He can invest the ransom, become a millionaire and, in time, maybe even get into politics. Barry has it all worked out. His agreeable partners are John Irwin (Oscar and Emmy nominee William H. Macy, Fargo), a patriotic ex-Navy all-American, and Barry’s high school buddy, Joe Amsler (Ryan Browning, Buffy the Vampire Slayer). They have the perfect victim the son of one of the most famous, wealthiest, and well-connected artists in the world. Besides, Junior (Thomas Ian Nicholas, American Pie) is only 19, still vulnerable, amiable, and willing to please. He’ll keep quiet. As far as his budding career goes, the headlines can’t hurt.

They have a new Chevy to get them to Lake Tahoe’s Ambassador Hotel, tickets to Junior’s hot new show at the Clubroom, and a rented house in Canoga Park to keep the singer reasonably comfortable. Barry also has duct tape, a gun, and high hopes. After all, he’s read Ten Mistakes Every Criminal Makes by J. Edgar Hoover. Being a well-read kidnapper, step one—the abduction—is pulled off without a hitch. Now all they have to do is call Daddy with the news. But in less than twenty-fours hours, three novice criminals, the FBI, and one indomitable legend are going to cross paths in a dusk-to-dawn disaster that became one of the most fascinating footnotes in the annals of criminal—and musical—history.