Strippers drugging their wealthy clients, maxing out those clients’ credit cards, laundering the stolen cash, and then relying on the scandal of it all to keep anyone who got hurt from going to the police: It’s an impressive scam, and an even better story.
Enter Lorene Scafaria, a writer-director with guts to spareHustlers, her cinematic telling of this true tale, earned $33 million and sparked Oscars speculation during its opening last weekend — creating a cultural moment almost as explosive as the events that inspired it.
The source material is Jessica Pressler’s 2015 article “The Hustlers at Scores,” an early chapter in the internet’s ongoing fascination with scam culture. The story practically begged for an adaptation, and shortly after it was published, Gloria Sanchez Productions optioned the dazzling account and began accepting pitches from filmmakers ready to take it to the big screen. Read more…
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