As far as wacky, unbelievable true stories go, Michael Finkel can lay claim to having one of the best. A writer for the New York Times back in 2002,
his life veers off course when Christian Longo, on the FBI Top 10 for murdering his family, was captured down in Mexico. The catch? He had been living there under the name of 'Michael Finkel'. Finkel was fired the next day with the paper claiming he had falsified a recent investigative report, only to then have Longo say the only journalist he'd speak to was....Finkel. What the hell? The two would form a strange sort of friendship, chronicled in a memoir written by Finkel.
Weird enough for you? Well that's only partially as strange as the phrase "Oscar nominee Jonah Hill", but after last night's Academy Awards we have to get used to it. And Hill must have had a good time working alongside his Moneyball teammate in Brad Pitt because they'll be doing it again with True Story, based on Finkel's memoir.
At this point, Pitt is only producing through his Plan B production shingle, with Hill taking on the Finkel role. Another Oscar nominee, James Franco, is set for the Longo role, making this probably the easiest movie to market ever.
Rupert Goold is directing, but this one's still pretty early in development. The money still needs to be found, but that definitely won't be a problem here. [Deadline]
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