After achieving some success with the brilliant, independently 
made short film Color Blind, Shervin Youssefian was 
given a chance to direct a feature film that would mark his 
debut as a feature film director in Hollywood. The journey began 
when last November he turned in a copy of Machiavelli Hangman to 
producer/Disney Manager Artin Nazarian who was so impressed by 
the material that he immediately made it a priority to kick the 
project into full gear.
 
Disturbing, grotesque and very funny at times, Machiaelli 
Hangman is an extremely original piece of writing that upholds 
imagination over limitations of budget. The fresh storyline is 
reminiscent of the films of Quentin Tarantino mixed in with Billy 
Wilder’s witty repartee. 

Although, Machiavelli Hangman takes a few comedic detours it 
always manages to remind the audience of its serious nature. The 
film has a very strong theme of living your own life and not 
wanting to substitute it for anybody else’s. 

This film’s plot is similar to that of John Frankenheimer’s 
Seconds that came out in 1966, however, Machiavelli Hangman takes 
itself less seriously and that makes for a more enjoyable joy 
ride. Another interest characteristic of this new film by 
Youssefian is its ability to constantly cut back and forth 
through time and space without losing its audience. Other films 
that have tried this technique have run the risk of either 
confusing the viewer as in the example of this year’s Primer, or 
to lose their attention like in the Butterfly Effect.

Quentin Tarantino is a master of the broken narrative (Pulp 
Fiction, Jackie Brown) and in its early stages of production, the 
Machiavelli Hangman was thought to be Tarantino’s next project 
because of some rumors flying around that he had penned the story 
under an alias. This rumor circulated until it was revealed that 
the relatively unknown Youssefian was the one who wrote the 
original screenplay.

Till this day, the actual premise of the film is a big mystery. 
Some sources say that it is about JFK’s secret relationship with 
Monroe while others claim that it will reveal new information 
about the 1963 killing. There are other websites that have 
contributed countless of pages to the film as a tribute to 
independent filmmaking and calling it the beginning of the 
digital revolution.
 
One thing is for sure however. Machiavelli Hangman has a 
cast of celebrities that will remain anonymous until the film’s 
release in late November. Like Stanley Kubrick in his early 
career or Woody Allen, Youssefian and his team are extremely 
strict about letting anyone – except a select few – to find out 
anything about the project until it is released in the theatres. 

Peter Gribaldi is an entertainment columnist for various 
newspapers and online publications. He brings his personal 
insight into Hollywood to bear as he reviews the upcoming 
movie, Machiavelli Hangman: http://www.hangmanmovie.com