Sony-based Centropolis Entertainment has paid six figures for the rights to Elizabeth Gilbert's forthcoming GQ article "The Sting," about the real-life experiences of indie film producer George Moffly, as well as the rights to Moffly's life story. The project was purchased as a vehicle for Tony Bill ("Five Corners") to direct.
Gilbert's article recounts how Moffly got his big break only to discover that the movie he was set to produce was actually just a front for an FBI sting operation on the mob.
"This is a great piece of material that we are thrilled to be developing," Centropolis partner Dean Devlin said. "It's made even funnier by the fact that behind the absurdity is a true story. Tony directed (Centropolis partner) Roland Emmerich's favorite episode of our television series 'The Visitor' and we've been looking for a project to do together ever since."
Another Gilbert article, "The Muse of Coyote Ugly," was sold as a screenplay and will be released this summer by Disney as the feature "Coyote Ugly."
Gilbert and Moffly were repped by Kassie Evashevski and Michael Siegel of Brillstein-Grey Management on behalf of the Wylie Agency of New York. The project was negotiated on behalf of Centropolis by senior VP Peter Winther and Sony senior VP of business affairs Jon Gibson.
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