You may not remember the names Richard Matt and David Sweat, but chances are you remember what they did. For three weeks in the summer of 2015 they had the entire nation on the edge of their seats after the two convicted murderers escaped from the Clinton Correctional Facility, leading to a nationwide manhunt. The way they escaped was about as cinematic as it gets, and so were the other details leading up to their flight from justice, which is why their story is becoming an event series with a pretty great cast.
Ben Stiller will direct and star alongside Benicio Del Toro and Patricia Arquette in Showtime's Escape from Clinton Correctional. Working from a script by Ray Donovan writers Brett Johnson and Michael Tolkin, the series will follow how Matt (Del Toro) and Sweat (Stiller) dug themselves a tunnel from their prison cells ala The Shawshank Redemption. Meanwhile, Arquette will play prison employee Joyce Mitchell, who helped them escape because she wanted Richard to kill her husband, but then backed out at the last second.
Compelling stuff and should be an interesting display of Stiller's abilities behind the camera. I'm curious to see how this is played, whether it goes for outright drama or if some of the story's quirkier elements will be given the spotlight. Either way, it's another feather in Showtime's cap.
