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EXCLUSIVE: William H. Macy (Fargo, Shameless) has signed to star in crime comedy Too Many Crooks as an on parole career criminal whose bank robbery plan takes an unexpected turn when he discovers a heist is already underway at his chosen target.
Craig Berenson (Snakes on a Plane) and Todd Harris (Chicago 7) are producing the picture, written by Eddie Richey (Phoenix) and directed by Raja Gosnell (Never Been Kissed, Big Momma’s House, Scooby Doo).
Film Mode Entertainment (FME) has acquired global rights to the movie, which is currently in pre-production, and will launch sales on the title at the AFM next week.
Macy and FME President Clay Epstein also take executive producer credits on the crime caper which is based on a Donald Westlake short story, for which he was awarded the prestigious Edgar (Edgar Alan Poe) award for Best Short Story in 1990.
Westlake has been acknowledged by many writers and fans of crime fiction as one of the masters of the genre. Too Many Crooks was published internationally, including in Playboy Magazine.
“We’re thrilled to be launching Too Many Crooks at AFM and to be working with Todd and Craig on another stellar feature film,” said Epstein.
“The movie is the perfect combination of commercial viability and quality content, with a gripping, highly entertaining story, a team of expert filmmakers, and the unmatched talent of William H. Macy leading the cast.”
Macy’s character John Dornhoefer is a recently-released career criminal on parole, set on pulling off another bank robbery. With his trusted, but disheveled sidekick, Andy Karp, the plans start to take shape.
The meticulously planned operation takes an unexpected turn when they discover the bank is already being robbed.
The quick-minded Dornhoefer seizes an opportunity to protect the hostages, outsmart the gunmen, and sweet talk FBI agent Carol Reed who is the lead hostage negotiator. But bad habits die hard and while he may save the day, it’s still the money that could make it all worthwhile.
“Craig and I have loved Eddie Richey’s script for some time, and when you envision William H. Macy in the lead it all comes beautifully together with Bill’s wit, pathos, and relatability,” said producer Harris.
Late American writer Westlake wrote more than one hundred novels and non-fiction books over his career, specializing in crime fiction especially comic capers, with an occasional foray into science fiction and other genres.
Westlake created two professional criminal characters who each starred in a long-running series: the relentless, hardboiled Parker (published under the pen name Richard Stark), and John Dortmunder, who featured in a more humorous series.
He was a three-time Edgar Award winner and was one of few writers to win Edgars in three different categories (1968, Best Novel, God Save the Mark; 1990, Best Short Story, Too Many Crooks; 1991, Best Motion Picture Screenplay, The Grifters).
Many of his works went on to become feature films featuring icons of the big screen like Robert Redford, Robert Duvall, George C. Scott, Jean Luc Goddard, Christopher Lloyd, Antonio Banderas, André Holland and Gemma Chan, to name just a few.
Oscar and Golden Globe nominee, an Emmy and SAG Award winning actor and theatre, film and TV writer Macy was seen most recently in Disney’s Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes; Amazon’s Ricky Stanicky, directed by Peter Farrelly; the independent feature film Maybe I Do; the Hulu mini-series The Dropout, and starred in the Showtime series Shameless, for which he was nominated twice for a Best Actor Emmy Award and has won twice for the SAG Award.
Macy is a founding member of the Atlantic Theater Company. He is repped by Atlas Artists and Independent Artist Group. Film Mode Entertainment is repped by Lon Haber & Co.
