After crafting the hermetically sealed, horrifying/hilarious original worlds ofDogtooth,The Lobster, andThe Killing of a Sacred Deer, filmmakerYorgos Lanthimostook on a real story, making the Oscar-winningThe Favourite. For his next project, Lanthimos will be moving to TV, but staying in the world of real stories. As reported by Deadline, Lanthimos will be directing and producing a miniseries through Searchlight TV about the true story ofClark Rockefeller. Or, should I say, “Clark Rockefeller.”
The Lanthimos miniseries will be an adaptation ofMark Seal’s acclaimed nonfiction bookThe Man in the Rockefeller Suit: The Astonishing Rise and Spectacular Fall of a Serial Impostor. As you’re able to likely ascertain from its subtitle, “Clark Rockefeller” is not a wealthy, charismatic member of the American Rockefeller dynasty. But that didn’t stop him from a shockingly effective impersonation. His is a story of deception, greed, fame, capitalism, and the inane insanities of human behavior. In other words – the perfect trampoline for Lanthimos to do some dang flips off of.
Clark Rockefeller’s story was originally in the works at Fox Searchlight to become a feature from directorPablo Trapero(The Clan) and starBenedict Cumberbatch, before changing directions into this miniseries iteration (No casting news yet, but hey, why not give Lanthimos museColin Farrellanother go?). It has been previously adapted to TV in the Lifetime Original MovieWho Is Clark Rockefeller?, withWill & Grace’sEric McCormackstarring as the title role. While Searchlight Television doesn’t have the same name recognition as, say, a Netflix or Apple yet, their initial projects are quite interesting. Beyond this project, they’re also working onThe Dropout, starringKate McKinnonas noted fraudsterElizabeth Holmes. Sounds like they’re carving out a nice little niche of “the underbelly of American fame and deception,” and it sounds like Lanthimos is gonna fit in nicely.
For more on our man Yorgos, check out our intel on anotherpotential crime dramabased on an acclaimed book. Plus, peep himchatting about directingwith, like, every other great director. And here’s our deep dive onthe mean, mean ending ofThe Favourite.
