HOLLYWOOD -- DreamWorks has optioned Jennifer Vogel's memoir "Flim-Flam Man: A True Family History," with "Birthday Girl" helmer Jez Butterworth attached to direct. Wonderland Films will produce.
Vogel's tome describes growing up with an extraordinary criminal, John Vogel, as a father. An armed robber, arsonist and counterfeiter, the elder Vogel was also a classical music enthusiast and failed novelist. However, while he wanted the finer things in life, he wasn't interested in the struggle necessary to earn them. When he became a fugitive after forging $20 million in currency (and was a subject on TV series "Unsolved Mysteries"), the author was forced to come to terms with the dad she loved.
Butterworth will adapt the screenplay with his brother, Tom. The two previously collaborated on "Birthday Girl," which starred Nicole Kidman. Bill Horberg and Rebecca Yeldham will produce the picture.
Scribner published Vogel's book in February. She is a former investigative reporter and editor in chief of Seattle alternative newsweekly the Stranger.
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