Released by A&E
January 9, 2007

PASADENA, CA, JANUARY 9, 2007 Donnie Wahlberg (Sixth Sense, Boomtown and Band of Brothers) and Jason Gedrick (Boomtown, Murder One and Backdraft) star in the A&E Original Movie KINGS OF SOUTH BEACH, premiering on Monday, March 12 at 9pm EST/PST. Part Donnie Brasco and part Scarface, from the writer of Goodfellas and Casino Nick Pileggi, the film is based upon the true story of the club promoter who reinvented South Beach as a nightlife mecca. The Grosso-Jacobson production also stars Nadine Velazquez (My Name Is Earl), Ricardo Chavira (Desperate Housewives) and features a special guest appearance by Steven Bauer (Traffic, Scarface).

Dubbed The IT boy by People magazine, Chris Troiano (Jason Gedrick) is the founder of South Beachs most famous 1990s era nightclubs, frequented by top models and stars, including the likes of Madonna, Kate Moss and the Versaces. When Chris, with the help of his new and mysterious best friend Andy Burnett (Donnie Wahlberg), opens up one of the hottest nightspots to ever hit the Miami scene, trouble begins. They may be living new exhilarating lifestyles in South Beach, but secret pasts harbored by Chris and Andy are about to change everything. Once these pasts inevitably collide in a whirlwind of sexy models, mobsters, money and murder, Chris, Andy and South Beach are never the same.

Television for A&E Network. The screenwriter is Nick Pileggi (Goodfellas, Casino). The director is Tim Hunter (Cold Case, Carnivale). The Executive Producers are Sonny Grosso (Top Cops), Larry Jacobson, Clay Kahler and Van Vandergriff. Grosso, the former NYPD detective, and his partner, Eddie Egan, became the basis of the film The French Connection in which Roy Scheider portrayed Grosso's character . Emmy Award winner Kip Konwiser (Miss Evers' Boys, On Hallowed Ground) is the Producer and multiple Grammy Award winning producer Phil Ramone is the Music Supervisor.

Grosso Jacobson has produced numerous highly rated projects of critical acclaim including: Out of the Darkness, (The Son of Sam Story), starring Martin Sheen; Trackdown: Finding the Goodbar Killer, with George Segal; A Question of Honor, starring Ben Gazarra, Danny Aiello, and Paul Sorvino, and based on the book Point Blank by Sonny Grosso; The Mary Kay Letourneau Story: All American Girl starring Penelope Ann Miller and Mercedes Ruehl; A Family for Joe a half-hour weekly sitcom starring Robert Mitchum and 10 Mary Higgins Clark movies.

Sony Pictures Television is one of the television industry's leading content providers. SPT produces and distributes top-rated, award-winning programming in every genre, including series, movies and family entertainment for network and cable television; first-run syndicated series; off-network syndicated programs; and theatrical releases. SPT (www.sonypicturestelevision.com) is a Sony Pictures Entertainment company.

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Originally appeared at: The Futon Critic