Despite the current uncertainty over whether writers will have agents with the current WGA saga, film packages are still being agreed to. The latest is Leslie Jones and Kristen Bell starring in the true story comedy, Queenpins.
The film is a dark comedy in the vein of Thelma & Louise and I, Tonya. Jones and Bell will star as Phoenix housewives who create a scheme to counterfeit coupons, and are soon sitting atop a $40 million coupon cartel. Husband and wife team Aron Gaudet and Gita Pullypilly are attached to write and direct. They previously directed Beneath The Harvest Sky.
This is the latest project based on a comical true story to be greenlit in Hollywood. Ben Affleck and Matt Damon have signed on for a film based on a nationwide Monopoly scam, Elizabeth Banks is starring in a film about a maid winning a date with Prince, while Michael Keaton will play millionaire John McAfee, who cashed in his fortune, left civilisation, and moved to the Belize jungle.
The reason for this? Possibly the new wave of true crime popularity, which has spawned an avalanche of shows over recent years. While those are usually very serious, these projects give a lighter side to the genre, while retaining its intrigue.
CAA is shopping Queenpins right now, and it’s expected that a studio will quickly jump at it. Jones continues to be a Saturday Night Live mainstay, while Bell stars in The Good Place, and will lead the upcoming Veronica Mars reboot, too.
#Peace.Love.Queenpins
