Heidi Fleiss, whose downfall after running a stable of high-priced call girls rocked Hollywood in the early 1990s, will be the subject of a film that Paramount Pictures is developing as a potential vehicle for Nicole Kidman.
Fleiss has made a deal for her life rights to be used as the basis for "Pay the Girl," with Lisa Schrager scripting. Anonymous Content's Steve Golin and Larry Kennar will produce.
Fleiss, whose downfall brought a three-year sentence in federal prison for money laundering, tax evasion and attempted pandering, said the prospect of Kidman portraying her was a major enticement to finally sell her rights. A bold actress will be needed for the kind of movie the former madam envisions.
"This should be like 'Pretty Woman,' but with the visual energy and excess of 'Scarface,'" Fleiss said. "All of the madam movies have been like B-level porn or they've been boring. The world I was living in was not boring."
The daughter of a pediatrician, Fleiss quickly ingratiated herself into the power set in her late teens. Her ticket was a relationship with the woman then considered the town's top madam.
"I (then) cornered the market and stayed on top for two and a half years," Fleiss said. "I ran my business dealing with the top 1% of the richest people in the entire world, people who run countries and whose actions change economies. It was very intoxicating and the money was huge. Then I went to prison. I went in like Barbie and came out like G.I. Joe. I learned a lot of survival instincts."
Fleiss's burgeoning profile led her to become the focus of a sting operation by federal and local authorities. Her arrest made her a media sensation, prompting her high-profile clients to shun her even as she kept their identities secret.
Paroled since 1999, Fleiss said she's getting into publishing. First up is her own self-styled memoir, "Pandering," which will be distributed by Pacific Group West.
Schrager wrote "Original Gangsta Bitches," a pic being developed at Universal for Reese Witherspoon.
Fleiss was repped by attorney Carlos Goodman, Schrager by Endeavor and Anonymous.
Contact the Variety newsroom at
news@variety.com