It was revealed today that Academy Award winnerSteven Soderbergh(Traffic,Erin Brockovich,Ocean’s Eleven) will produce, with an eye to direct, a movie based on the infamousPanama Papers, the largestdata leakin corporate and government history.Lawrence Grey’s Grey Matter Productions acquired the feature film rights to the forthcoming book, Secrecy World, being written by Pulitzer Prize winning journalistJake Bernsteinand published by Henry Holt and Company, and is teaming with Anonymous Content (The Revenant,Spotlight,Babel) to develop, finance and produce the film.
Producers areLawrence Grey,Anonymous Content’sMichael Sugar,Scott BurnsandSteven Soderbergh. Executive Producers areJake Bernsteinand Grey Matter COO,Ben Everard.Jake Bernsteinwas part of the international team of journalists who are members of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists that broke the story of thePanama Papersin April. More than 11 million records were leaked as a part of the papers sourced from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca.
Bernstein’s book contains all-new details about thePanama Papers, including revelations about the financial machinations of rulers and royalty, the illegal activities connected to dozens of banks, and the extent to which U.S. companies and citizens are involved.Jake Bernsteinwon a Pulitzer in 2011 for his and ProPublica cohortJessie Eisinger’s reporting aboutWall Streetahead of the financial crisis. He also co-authored the 2006 book Vice: Dick Cheney and the Hijacking of the American Presidency with journalist Lou Dubose.
The deal was negotiated byJamie Feldmanof Lichter Grossman Nichols Adler & Feldman.David Pattersonof Stuart Krichevsky Literary Agency along withHowie Sandersof United Talent Agency (UTA) represent and negotiated on behalf ofJake Bernstein. The next Grey Matter movie to hit theaters will be the much anticipated horror filmLights OutstarringTeresa PalmerandMaria Bello, which opens nationwide on July 22nd (Warner Bros. and New Line). The film is based on the short film phenomenon that has over 150 million views online and was written byEric Heissererand produced alongsideJames Wan.
Grey Matter is going into production this Fall on an untitled film starringSylvester Stallone, written byDan Caseyand to be directed byJim Mickle. Other upcoming projects on the Grey Matter film slate are the MI6 formation storySection 6(Universal), whichJoe Cornishwill direct andJack O’Connellwill star; the Santa Claus origin storyWinter’s Knight(Sony), which will be directed byPirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No TalesdirectorsJoachim RonningandEspen Sandberg. Founded by producer and former studio executiveLawrence Greyless than three years ago, Grey Matter Productions has quickly emerged as one of the industry’s most prolific independent production outfits with the capacity to develop, package, finance, produce a broad array of commercial films and television series. The company has a multi-year funding agreement with an investor group led by principalsCyrusandDarius Mojibi,Patrick WadeandLawrence Kao.
