Amazon and Netflix were reportedly engaged in a heated bidding war for Crime 101, an adaptation of a Don Winslow novella of the same name, and it has been reported that Amazon has won out. Winslow is best known for writing Savages, The Force, and the Cartel Trilogy. Oliver Stone previously adapted Savages for theatrical release in 2012.
The film has Chris Hemsworth and Pedro Pascal attached to play the leads. The novella follows a crime thief who has operated for years by a very particular modus of operandi that frames the Mexican Cartel for his heists. However, his pursuit of one last, big score is causing him to break his rules, which puts him in the crosshairs of a determined detective.
Bart Layton is attached to direct with Winslow penning the script. Layton most recently directed 2018's American Animals, which starred Evan Peters, Barry Keoghan, and Blake Jenner.
According to Puck [via The Playlist], Amazon has secured the rights to the film in a $90 million dollar deal.
Of course with the dual strikes of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA currently showing no signs of slowing down, don't expect cameras to begin rolling on this project anytime soon.
With the studio unable to begin production anytime soon, the most notable discussion to emerge around the deal is talk centering on whether the AMPTP are taking the strikes seriously. Shelling out $90 million for a film that won't be made anytime soon certainly doesn't seem like an indicator that the studios are panicking about the lack of content being produced right now.
On the other hand, some are pointing out that this might be a calculated tactic to make the WGA and SAG-AFTRA think just that; leaving guild members worried that the AMPTP is prepared to let the strike drag out for an indefinite amount of time. Most of the trades believed the strike would be resolved before Labor Day but that national holiday has come and gone.
Regardless of how things with the strike shake out, Crime 101 certainly sounds intriguing and we're hopeful that Hemsworth and Pascal remain aboard.
A string of high-level jewel heists up and down the Pacific Coast Highway has gone unsolved for years, mostly because the perpetrator has lived by a strict code he calls Crime 101. Police attribute the thefts to the Colombian cartels. But Detective Lou Lubesnick’s gut says it’s the work of just one man. Now the lone-wolf jewel thief is looking for that fabled final last score and Lou breaks all the rules of Crime 101.