Earlier this week there was a terrific article at The Daily Beast which chronicled the true story of how an ex-cop rigged the McDonald’s Monopoly game in the late 90s/early 2000s and stole millions of dollars for him and his friends and family members.
Although the story had briefly been national news at the time, it was practically forgotten since it occurred right before 9/11, and naturally the news media and everyone else were far less interested in a story about a monopoly scam after a huge tragedy like that.
However, ever since the story was published, talk was floating around that it was ripe for a Hollywood adaptation, and that’s exactly what’s going to happen. Reportedly, a bidding war ensued for Jeff Maysh‘s article, with 20th Century Fox winning out.
Straight away, the studio have brought Ben Affleck on board to direct the project, Matt Damon to star in the lead role, and Deadpool screenwriters Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese to tackle the script. Affleck and Damon will also produce under their Pearl Street banner.
That’s a lot of big names, and it had to be because the bidding was reportedly ferocious. Universal Pictures wanted the project for Kevin Hart, Warner Bros. had lined up Steve Carell to re-team with his Crazy Stupid Love directors John Requa and Glen Ficarra, while Netflix put together a package that included Robert Downey Jr., Susan Downey, and Todd Phillips producing.
But Fox have come out on top, and will give Affleck and Damon the opportunity to reunite that they have been promising for years. They have been trying for a while; they came close to making The Trade together, the story of the professional baseball players who swapped wives, and also planned on making a Whitey Bulger project before Johnny Depp‘s Black Mass beat them to it.
Affleck has struggled to find his next directorial project after Live By Night didn’t do so well, but his directorial effort prior to that, Argo, won Best Picture at the Oscars so he’s always got that to fall back on. This project sounds like a great fit for both him and Damon, so let’s hope this is the film that does finally get them back together.
#Peace.Love.Monopoly
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