Tony Scott will douse himself in coconut oil, signing on to direct the biopic of former Chippendales’ creator Steve Banerjee, says Variety.
Banerjee was consumed by excess and competition when the male strip clubs became a phenomenon in the 1980s. His story sparked the “Top Gun” and “Domino” director’s interest. He’s tapped Lisa Schrager, who penned the Heidi Fleiss story "Pay the Girl" for Nicole Kidman at Paramount, to pen the script.
With a tone similar to the Scott-directed "True Romance," pic will follow the improbable rise and fall of Banerjee, who went from pumping gas in Culver City to running a high-end nightclub that evolved into Chippendales. After hiring a New York choreographer to polish the all-male dance troupe, Banerjee became wildly rich, as well as unreasonably competitive and paranoid. Banerjee hired a hitman to murder the choreographer when negotiations went sour. After being arrested, Banerjee died in jail awaiting trial.
Scott’s next film is the Runaway Train-thriller “Unstoppable” starring Denzel Washington.
