.png)
2 weeks ago
9 ARTICLE AD
EXCLUSIVE: Gabriel LaBelle (Saturday Night) and Isabela Merced (Alien: Romulus) have signed on to star opposite the previously announced Chloë Grace Moretz in Dutch & Razzlekhan, the forthcoming true crime love story directed by BAFTA nominee Jon S. Baird (Tetris), on which we were first to report.
The pair take over roles originally announced as being played by Lewis Pullman and Ariana DeBose, who have departed the project due to scheduling conflicts. Being introduced to buyers at AFM by North.Five.Six, the film has another key creative now in Brad Feinstein, who has come aboard to produce and finance through his Romulus Entertainment banner. Production kicks off in New Jersey in January.
Based on the 2022 Business Insider article “The $4.5 Billion Question” by Rob Price and Becky Peterson, Dutch & Razzlekhan is the explosive and unbelievably true story of the most expensive heist in history, with Heather “Razzlekhan” Morgan (Moretz) and Ilya “Dutch” Lichtenstein (LaBelle) — lovers, hipsters, and aspiring rapper-entrepreneurs — at its center. Merced plays Carla Vargas, the master hacker who was blackmailed by the FBI to help track down the duo.
After stealing over $4 billion worth of cryptocurrency, the millennial couple was caught by the Department of Justice and charged with conspiracy to launder the stolen bitcoin in February 2022. The pair were convicted the following year and are set to be sentenced in November.
Logan & Noah Miller penned the script. In addition to Feinstein, Mad Chance’s Andrew Lazar and David Fliegel are producing. Exec producers include Logan Miller, Noah Miller, Baird, René Besson, and North.Five.Six’s Michael Rothstein and Samuel Hall. CAA reps domestic rights to the film.
LaBelle excels as a young Lorne Michaels in Jason Reitman’s Saturday Night, the recently released Sony pic about the chaotic process of staging Saturday Night Live‘s first show. Breaking out as a stand-in for a young Steven Spielberg in his Universal film The Fabelmans, he’s also been seen in titles like Snack Shack and The Predator, as well as Showtime’s American Gigolo.
Another fast-rising young star, who’s coming off of a role in Alien: Romulus, Merced will next be seen in DC’s new Superman — as Kendra Saunders aka Hawkgirl — as well as The Last of Us Season 2.
LaBelle and Merced are both represented by CAA. LaBelle is also repped by Play Management, Canopy Media Partners, and Sloane, Offer, Weber & Dern; Merced by Peikoff Mahan.
