Exclusive: Deadline hears that STXfilms is in advanced talks with Let’s Be Cops and The Girl Next Door filmmaker Luke Greenfield to direct the action-thriller We Are Untouchable.
Greenfield will direct from a script he co-wrote with Captain Mauzner (Billionaire Boys Club, Wonderland, Factory Girl). The Greenfield/Mauzner screenplay is based on a screenplay by Oritte Bendory and Aaron Feldman with revisions by Michael Diliberti and by Anthony Drazan. Greenfield most recently directed and produced the Focus Features dramedy Half Brothers. We Are Untouchable will be his next project. Chernin Entertainment is producing. We Are Untouchable focuses on a group of international college grads working in Mexico City at their respective diplomatic embassies. By day, they’re slaving away as mailroom assistants getting abused by their bosses. But when they find out they have diplomatic immunity — and they can’t get arrested for anything they do — they go wild with...
Greenfield will direct from a script he co-wrote with Captain Mauzner (Billionaire Boys Club, Wonderland, Factory Girl). The Greenfield/Mauzner screenplay is based on a screenplay by Oritte Bendory and Aaron Feldman with revisions by Michael Diliberti and by Anthony Drazan. Greenfield most recently directed and produced the Focus Features dramedy Half Brothers. We Are Untouchable will be his next project. Chernin Entertainment is producing. We Are Untouchable focuses on a group of international college grads working in Mexico City at their respective diplomatic embassies. By day, they’re slaving away as mailroom assistants getting abused by their bosses. But when they find out they have diplomatic immunity — and they can’t get arrested for anything they do — they go wild with...
- 5/8/2020
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Across his sporadic and meager filmography, director James Cox has showcased an affinity for the quintessential bad boy in stories laced with toxic testosterone, heavy drug use and gruesome violence. Cox seems to revel in tales about young white men whose reckless ambition pushes them to commit unthinkable crimes and betray their buddies. Even if the results are catastrophic, he somehow portrays their acts not as malicious and reprehensible, but as commendable endeavors gone wrong.
This questionable bro-bravado in ingrained in 2002’s “Highway” (starring baby-faced Jared Leto and Jake Gyllenhaal), his 2003 John Holmes crime drama “Wonderland,” with Val Kilmer as the lead, and the more recent “Straight A’s,” with Ryan Phillippe and Anna Paquin. For his latest, “Billionaire Boys Club,” Cox enlists rising stars like Ansel Elgort, Emma Roberts and Taron Egerton as well as a veteran (Kevin Spacey) who up until recently could have served as a prestigious hook for the enterprise.
This questionable bro-bravado in ingrained in 2002’s “Highway” (starring baby-faced Jared Leto and Jake Gyllenhaal), his 2003 John Holmes crime drama “Wonderland,” with Val Kilmer as the lead, and the more recent “Straight A’s,” with Ryan Phillippe and Anna Paquin. For his latest, “Billionaire Boys Club,” Cox enlists rising stars like Ansel Elgort, Emma Roberts and Taron Egerton as well as a veteran (Kevin Spacey) who up until recently could have served as a prestigious hook for the enterprise.
- 7/18/2018
- by Carlos Aguilar
- The Wrap
Model/actress Suki Waterhouse ("Insurgent," "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies") will join Ansel Elgort, Taron Egerton and Kevin Spacey in the remake of "Billionaire Boys Club".
The film will follow the rise and fall of Joe Hunt (Elgort) and Dean Karny (Egerton), who ran a Ponzi scheme called the Billionaire Boys Club in the early 1980s. The scheme collapsed when real billionaire Ron Levin (Spacey) discovered his investment turned out to be worthless.
Hunt turned to murder to raise funds and was convicted in 1987 of killing Levin, while Karny served as the state's witness in the trial. Waterhouse will portray Quintana, the love interest of Karny, while Emma Roberts has been cast as Hunt's love interest Sydney.
James Cox ("Wonderland") is directing from a script he co-wrote with Captain Mauzner.
Source: Variety...
The film will follow the rise and fall of Joe Hunt (Elgort) and Dean Karny (Egerton), who ran a Ponzi scheme called the Billionaire Boys Club in the early 1980s. The scheme collapsed when real billionaire Ron Levin (Spacey) discovered his investment turned out to be worthless.
Hunt turned to murder to raise funds and was convicted in 1987 of killing Levin, while Karny served as the state's witness in the trial. Waterhouse will portray Quintana, the love interest of Karny, while Emma Roberts has been cast as Hunt's love interest Sydney.
James Cox ("Wonderland") is directing from a script he co-wrote with Captain Mauzner.
Source: Variety...
- 11/26/2015
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
“Scream Queens” star Emma Roberts is in negotiations to play the female lead in “Billionaire Boys Club” alongside Ansel Elgort, Taron Egerton and Kevin Spacey, an individual familiar with the project has told TheWrap. James Cox (“Wonderland”) is directing the indie movie, which will be produced by Cassian Elwes and Holly Wiersma. Armory Films is financing and its principals Tim Zajaros and Chris Lemole will executive produce with Crystal Lourd, Jere Hausfater and Logan Levy. Written by Cox and Captain Mauzner, “Billionaires Boys Club” is based on a true story about a group of wealthy young men whose leader, Joe Hunt,...
- 11/5/2015
- by Jeff Sneider
- The Wrap
Kevin Spacey is set to join Ansel Elgort and Taron Egerton in James Cox's film adaptation of "Billionaires Boys Club".
The story story deals with how financial genius Joe Hunt (Elgort) and tennis pro Dean Karny (Egerton) ran a Ponzi scheme which allowed them to lead a lavish lifestyle.
The scheme collapsed when the investment of high-roller Ron Levin (Spacey) turned out to be worthless and Hunt was convicted of killing Levin. Judd Nelson, Ron Silver and Brian McNamara took on the roles in a previous 1987 mini-series version.
James Cox ("Wonderland") is directing from a script he co-wrote with Captain Mauzner. Holly Wiersma and Cassian Elwes are producing.
Source: Deadline...
The story story deals with how financial genius Joe Hunt (Elgort) and tennis pro Dean Karny (Egerton) ran a Ponzi scheme which allowed them to lead a lavish lifestyle.
The scheme collapsed when the investment of high-roller Ron Levin (Spacey) turned out to be worthless and Hunt was convicted of killing Levin. Judd Nelson, Ron Silver and Brian McNamara took on the roles in a previous 1987 mini-series version.
James Cox ("Wonderland") is directing from a script he co-wrote with Captain Mauzner. Holly Wiersma and Cassian Elwes are producing.
Source: Deadline...
- 11/4/2015
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
The Oscar winner will play murdered Beverly Hills high-flier Ron Levin alongside Ansel Elgort and Taron Egerton on the project that Good Universe introduces to buyers this week.
Holly Wiersma and Cassian Elwes are producing and Elwes represents Us rights with CAA. Princpal photography is set to begin in New Orleans on December 7.
Armory Films finances and Tim Zajaros and Chris Lemole serve as executive producers alongside Crystal Lourd and Jere Hausfater.
James Cox directs Billionaire Boys Club from a script he co-wrote with Captain Mauzner.
Elgort will play financial whizzkid Joe Hunt and Egerton will portray his lieutenant Dean Karney who together lured the sons of rich families from the Harvard School For Boys into a ponzi scheme.
When their money ran dry Hunt and others resorted to murder, including the killing of Levin in the mid-1980s. Karny would later testify against Hunt at the murder trial.
Elgort stars in the Divergent franchise and appeared...
Holly Wiersma and Cassian Elwes are producing and Elwes represents Us rights with CAA. Princpal photography is set to begin in New Orleans on December 7.
Armory Films finances and Tim Zajaros and Chris Lemole serve as executive producers alongside Crystal Lourd and Jere Hausfater.
James Cox directs Billionaire Boys Club from a script he co-wrote with Captain Mauzner.
Elgort will play financial whizzkid Joe Hunt and Egerton will portray his lieutenant Dean Karney who together lured the sons of rich families from the Harvard School For Boys into a ponzi scheme.
When their money ran dry Hunt and others resorted to murder, including the killing of Levin in the mid-1980s. Karny would later testify against Hunt at the murder trial.
Elgort stars in the Divergent franchise and appeared...
- 11/3/2015
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Taron Egerton ("Kingsman: The Secret Service") and Ansel Elgort ("The Fault in Our Stars") are in final negotiations to team up for James Cox's true story tale "Billionaires Boys Club" at Armory Films.
Set in Los Angeles in the early 1980s, the story follows the rise and fall of two outsiders - financial genius Joe Hunt (Elgort) and tennis pro Dean Karny (Egerton) - whose investment pool propelled them into society's upper echelons.
Their lavish lifestyle and impressive returns obscured a snowballing fraud with the Ponzi scheme collapsing after an investment by Beverly Hills high-roller Ron Levin turned out to be worthless. Hunt was convicted in 1987 of the murder of Levin.
"Wonderland" director Cox will helm from a script he co-wrote with Captain Mauzner. Holly Wiersma and Cassian Elwes are producing.
The story was previously adapted into a 1987 mini-series with Judd Nelson, Brian McNamara and Ron Silver.
Source: Variety...
Set in Los Angeles in the early 1980s, the story follows the rise and fall of two outsiders - financial genius Joe Hunt (Elgort) and tennis pro Dean Karny (Egerton) - whose investment pool propelled them into society's upper echelons.
Their lavish lifestyle and impressive returns obscured a snowballing fraud with the Ponzi scheme collapsing after an investment by Beverly Hills high-roller Ron Levin turned out to be worthless. Hunt was convicted in 1987 of the murder of Levin.
"Wonderland" director Cox will helm from a script he co-wrote with Captain Mauzner. Holly Wiersma and Cassian Elwes are producing.
The story was previously adapted into a 1987 mini-series with Judd Nelson, Brian McNamara and Ron Silver.
Source: Variety...
- 10/30/2015
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
DVD Playhouse September 2010
By
Allen Gardner
The Girl Who Played With Fire (Music Box Films) Follow up to the hit The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo finds Lisabeth Salander (Noomi Rapace) and Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist) joining forces once again as Blomkvist is about to break a story on Sweden’s sex trade, which leads unexpectedly to a dark secret from Elizabeth’s past. Starts off well, then quickly nose-dives into sensationalism and downright silliness, with a pair of villains who are straight out of a Roger Moore-era James Bond film. A real letdown for those of us who felt Dragon Tattoo had finally breathed life into the cinema’s long-stagnant genre of the thriller. Bonuses: English language track; Trailer. Widescreen. Dolby 5.1 surround.
The Killer Inside Me (IFC Films) Michael Winterbottom’s adaptation of Jim Thompson’s classic, and notorious, novel about the psychotic mind of a small town sheriff (Casey Affleck,...
By
Allen Gardner
The Girl Who Played With Fire (Music Box Films) Follow up to the hit The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo finds Lisabeth Salander (Noomi Rapace) and Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist) joining forces once again as Blomkvist is about to break a story on Sweden’s sex trade, which leads unexpectedly to a dark secret from Elizabeth’s past. Starts off well, then quickly nose-dives into sensationalism and downright silliness, with a pair of villains who are straight out of a Roger Moore-era James Bond film. A real letdown for those of us who felt Dragon Tattoo had finally breathed life into the cinema’s long-stagnant genre of the thriller. Bonuses: English language track; Trailer. Widescreen. Dolby 5.1 surround.
The Killer Inside Me (IFC Films) Michael Winterbottom’s adaptation of Jim Thompson’s classic, and notorious, novel about the psychotic mind of a small town sheriff (Casey Affleck,...
- 9/25/2010
- by The Hollywood Interview.com
- The Hollywood Interview
Brittany Murphy’s British-born screenwriter husband Simon Monjack was found dead at his Hollywood Hills home on Sunday night. He was 39. Murphy, who had roles in Clueless, 8 Mile, and Just Married, died of pneumonia five months ago. She was 32. Monjack, who had been suffering from a serious heart condition, co-wrote the original story of Factory Girl. The 2006 film — Captain Mauzner received screenplay credit — starred Guy Pearce and Sienna Miller as pop cult figure Andy Warhol and one of his muses, Edie Sedgwick. George Hickenlooper directed. Monjack also directed, produced, and co-wrote (with Nick McDowell and Jessica Wells) the 2001 drug-rehabilitation drama Two Days, Nine Lives, starring Luke Goss and Sienna Guillory.
- 5/24/2010
- by Zac Gille
- Alt Film Guide
Turning pre-schooler properties into big Hollywood movies seems to be the latest in stupendously stupid filmmaking crazes. Tim Burton is remaking Alice in Wonderland, Wes Anderson is ruining The Fantastic Mr. Fox, and Spike Jonze is doing something appropriately weird with Where the Wild Things Are. But these are classic children.s properties. Maybe they.re for pre-teens but they.re tried and true, respected, and they deserve this kind of attention. The same would seem to be true of Thomas the Tank Engine. THR says Josh Klausner is writing a movie based on the classic, 1940s toy-train world originally created by Rev. W.V. Awdry. It.s sure to be a notch the usual, horrible, Dora the Explorer crap our kids are being dumbed down with. But what really makes it worth doing, at least from the perspective of Hit Entertainment, is that they claim it.s the world...
- 9/30/2009
- cinemablend.com
The story of New York it girl, fashion icon and Andy Warhol muse Edie Sedgwick (1943-71) has taken on the proportions of a cult myth, as do most true tales of brief, intense lives. Focusing on the year or so in the mid-1960s when she burned brightest and crashed most dramatically, "Factory Girl" boasts its own bright intensity, fueled in large part by leads Sienna Miller and Guy Pearce. Director George Hickenlooper captures the energy and ultra-irony of Warhol's scene, but his attempts to give the film a conventional biopic arc end up wallowing in dime-store psychology. The central performances will generate strong word-of-mouth for the picture, which enters limited release today.
A work-in-progress version that the Weinstein Co. screened only weeks ago had a rawer, more immediate power than the final cut. In particular, the addition of a framing interview set in 1970 -- with Miller's Sedgwick in scrubbed California-girl mode, having abandoned Manhattan, heavy eyeliner and hard drugs -- has a defusing effect, explaining what already is evident, especially when it is used in voice-over. Intercut talking-head comments from the likes of George Plympton and one of Sedgwick's brothers, which provided far more interesting context and commentary than the current narration by Sedgwick, are now relegated to the end-credits sequence.
Some of the changes might have to do with Bob Dylan's objections to the original script and threatened legal action. He apparently was concerned that the film would draw a cause-and-effect line between the end of his relationship with Sedgwick and her suicide. (Sedgwick has long been viewed as a key inspiration to "Blonde on Blonde"-era Dylan, but whether they did indeed have a love affair appears less likely.) Coyly unnamed in the film, the famous, scruffy musician who temporarily draws Edie out of the Warhol orbit is clearly based on Dylan. If anything, though, the character, played by a charismatic Hayden Christensen, comes across as the sole voice of reason in Sedgwick's increasingly out-of-control life.
"Factory Girl" draws a too-easy opposition between the musician's authenticity and the artificiality of Warhol's world of surfaces. But at its strongest, it explores a timeless tension between style and substance, form and meaning. At the center of this tug of war is the blueblood gamine Sedgwick, a striking beauty and would-be artist whose unique glamour snags Warhol's heart, inasmuch as he will admit to having one.
Perhaps the cruelest irony of Sedgwick's story, as it is presented here, is that she escapes her troubled family, albeit on trust-fund purse strings, only to end up in the grip of another ultimately poisonous clan. If there is a villain here besides Edie's father (James Naughton), the part goes to Warhol (Pearce). After making Edie the "superstar" of his controversial movies, he jealously guilt-trips her over her involvement with the rock star. He is an unlikely Oedipal figure for Sedgwick, whose suspicions toward happy-family facades are explained in all-too-familiar melodramatic fashion.
Pearce, one of the most versatile of screen actors, is compelling and witty as the pallid Svengali, for whom society gossip seeps into even Catholic confession. His anxious, hungry gaze conveys envy, self-loathing and a childlike fascination with beauty. As the beauty who for a while captivated him beyond all others, Miller delivers a powerful performance, often baring all to give us Edie at her most candlelit exquisite as well as her most degraded. From the throaty laugh and old-money inflections to the extreme vulnerability, neediness and intelligence, she brings to life Sedgwick's legendary allure.
Supporting performances are a mixed bag, ranging from the awkward (a decidedly unflamboyant Jimmy Fallon as a "flamboyant socialite," Mena Suvari as rich girl Richie and Illeana Douglas as Diana Vreeland) to the convincing (Armin Amiri as fellow Factory girl Ondine, Beth Grant as Andy's mother and Edward Herrmann as the Sedgwick family attorney).
Screenwriter Captain Mauzner, who co-scripted the John Holmes-centered "Wonderland", indulges in too much explanatory psychologizing. But stripped of that overlay, his screenplay often sizzles with the self-conscious humor of smart nonconformists. DP Michael Grady ably helps Hickenlooper pay homage to Warhol's inventively bad-is-good filmmaking and renowned B&W screen tests. Playing '60s New York, Shreveport, La., lends a fitting vintage feel, while the production design by Jeremy Reed and John Dunn's costumes create an exuberant blend of high society and underground scene.
A work-in-progress version that the Weinstein Co. screened only weeks ago had a rawer, more immediate power than the final cut. In particular, the addition of a framing interview set in 1970 -- with Miller's Sedgwick in scrubbed California-girl mode, having abandoned Manhattan, heavy eyeliner and hard drugs -- has a defusing effect, explaining what already is evident, especially when it is used in voice-over. Intercut talking-head comments from the likes of George Plympton and one of Sedgwick's brothers, which provided far more interesting context and commentary than the current narration by Sedgwick, are now relegated to the end-credits sequence.
Some of the changes might have to do with Bob Dylan's objections to the original script and threatened legal action. He apparently was concerned that the film would draw a cause-and-effect line between the end of his relationship with Sedgwick and her suicide. (Sedgwick has long been viewed as a key inspiration to "Blonde on Blonde"-era Dylan, but whether they did indeed have a love affair appears less likely.) Coyly unnamed in the film, the famous, scruffy musician who temporarily draws Edie out of the Warhol orbit is clearly based on Dylan. If anything, though, the character, played by a charismatic Hayden Christensen, comes across as the sole voice of reason in Sedgwick's increasingly out-of-control life.
"Factory Girl" draws a too-easy opposition between the musician's authenticity and the artificiality of Warhol's world of surfaces. But at its strongest, it explores a timeless tension between style and substance, form and meaning. At the center of this tug of war is the blueblood gamine Sedgwick, a striking beauty and would-be artist whose unique glamour snags Warhol's heart, inasmuch as he will admit to having one.
Perhaps the cruelest irony of Sedgwick's story, as it is presented here, is that she escapes her troubled family, albeit on trust-fund purse strings, only to end up in the grip of another ultimately poisonous clan. If there is a villain here besides Edie's father (James Naughton), the part goes to Warhol (Pearce). After making Edie the "superstar" of his controversial movies, he jealously guilt-trips her over her involvement with the rock star. He is an unlikely Oedipal figure for Sedgwick, whose suspicions toward happy-family facades are explained in all-too-familiar melodramatic fashion.
Pearce, one of the most versatile of screen actors, is compelling and witty as the pallid Svengali, for whom society gossip seeps into even Catholic confession. His anxious, hungry gaze conveys envy, self-loathing and a childlike fascination with beauty. As the beauty who for a while captivated him beyond all others, Miller delivers a powerful performance, often baring all to give us Edie at her most candlelit exquisite as well as her most degraded. From the throaty laugh and old-money inflections to the extreme vulnerability, neediness and intelligence, she brings to life Sedgwick's legendary allure.
Supporting performances are a mixed bag, ranging from the awkward (a decidedly unflamboyant Jimmy Fallon as a "flamboyant socialite," Mena Suvari as rich girl Richie and Illeana Douglas as Diana Vreeland) to the convincing (Armin Amiri as fellow Factory girl Ondine, Beth Grant as Andy's mother and Edward Herrmann as the Sedgwick family attorney).
Screenwriter Captain Mauzner, who co-scripted the John Holmes-centered "Wonderland", indulges in too much explanatory psychologizing. But stripped of that overlay, his screenplay often sizzles with the self-conscious humor of smart nonconformists. DP Michael Grady ably helps Hickenlooper pay homage to Warhol's inventively bad-is-good filmmaking and renowned B&W screen tests. Playing '60s New York, Shreveport, La., lends a fitting vintage feel, while the production design by Jeremy Reed and John Dunn's costumes create an exuberant blend of high society and underground scene.
- 12/29/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
- Distributed by The Weinstein Company (Bob and Harvey, who had formerly founded Miramax which was later usurped bought by Disney, who eventually weeded out pursued an option to void the brothers’ contract, thus tightening their stranglehold furthering their conquest for world domination) and penned by Captain Mauzner (Wonderland), Factory Girl (a reference to Andy Warhol’s work-living space) will tell the tumultuous life of Edie Sedgwick, with Sienna Miller (Layer Cake) in the title role and Guy Pearce (L.A. Confidential) as Warhol, along with Hayden Christensen (Shattered Glass…say, wasn’t this guy supposed to do the whole world a big favor by quitting acting and becoming an architect or something?), Mena Suvari (American Beauty) and Jimmy Fallon (umm… Taxi?). A little background info on Factory Girl and who this film is about: an American socialite and heiress, Edie Sedgwick moved to New York in 1964 to pursue a modeling career.
- 1/26/2006
- IONCINEMA.com
PARK CITY -- The Weinstein Co. head of acquisitions Agnes Mentre said Monday that the company has acquired all rights in North America, the U.K., Australia, New Zealand and South Africa to George Hickenlooper's Edie Sedgwick biopic Factory Girl from L.I.F.T. Prods. The film, starring Sienna Miller in the title role, tells of the ill-fated 1960s "superstar" who was part of Andy Warhol's circle. It is set in 1965, the year Sedgwick -- who died of a drug overdose in the early '70s -- met Warhol. The project, written by Captain Mauzner (Wonderland), also stars Hayden Christensen, Guy Pearce, Mena Suvari and Jimmy Fallon and was brought to the Weinstein Co. by executive vp acquisitions and co-productions Michelle Krumm.
- 1/24/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Val Kilmer is in negotiations to star as the late porn legend John Holmes in Lions Gate Films' true-crime tale Wonderland for director James Cox. Christina Applegate, Kate Bosworth, Lisa Kudrow and Josh Lucas are in talks to round out the cast of the film, which begins shooting next month. Holmes was perhaps the most famous porn star of his time; he made more than 2,000 hard-core movies and slept with more than 10,000 women. (His life was one of the inspirations for Paul Thomas Anderson's 1997 film Boogie Nights.) A drug addict, he died from AIDS-related complications in 1988 at the age of 43. Lions Gate's project will not be a biopic, but a true-crime tale focusing on a specific time in Holmes' life, namely his implication in what is known as the Laurel Canyon Murders in 1981, a quadruple homicide on Wonderland Avenue that also involved his teenage lover (Bosworth). Kudrow would play Holmes' wife, Sharon, with Lucas and Applegate as Holmes' friends Ron and Susan Lawnius. Todd Sanovitz, D. Loriston Scott, James Cox and Captain Mauzner wrote the script, which is being produced by Holly Wiersma. Lions Gate, Mike Paseornek, Marc Butan, Tom Ortenberg and Peter Block are executive producing.
- 10/1/2002
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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