Details have been released about the upcoming film “Molly’s Game”, based on the memoir of the same name by notorious underground poker ringleader Molly Bloom. The autobiography was published back in 2004 and included a host of revelations about high-stakes Hollywood poker games involving high-profile actors and film industry celebrities. The film will be directed by Oscar-winning screenwriter Aaron Sorkin, who penned the script for films such as The Social Network and Steve Jobs, and acclaimed television shows like The Newsroom and The West Wing. It will be his debut as a director and Hollywood is buzzing with excitement.
The film is due to star British actor Idris Elba, who has appeared in the HBO series The Wire and BBC drama Luther, as well as movies such as Beasts of No Nation (for which he won a SAG Award). He will be joined on the film with Academy Award nominee Jessica Chastain, who will be playing the title character Molly in the movie.
Molly Bloom rose to fame in after publishing her book, “Molly’s Game: From Hollywood’s Elite to Wall Street’s Billionaire Boys Club, My High-Stakes Adventure in the World of Underground Poker” which dished details on her career as a poker hostess, organising high-stakes card games for the Hollywood elite.
Her range of notorious clients included the likes of George Clooney, Ben Affleck and Leonardo DiCaprio. Sorkin has experience when it comes to depicting real life figures on the big screen – his portrayal of Mark Zuckerberg (founder of Facebook) won wide praise when The Social Network was released. It’s even rumoured that these actors may even pop up in the film to play themselves. Bloom gives positive portrayals of all the above in her memoir, although was critical of Spider-Man star Tobey Maguire, who was allegedly a temperamental player and bad tipper.
Bloom herself has an interesting back story. She was a top-class skier who, after failing to make the Olympics, took a year off before law school and took a job as a waitress in Los Angeles. She put her entrepreneurial skills to good use and eventually found her way into running high-stakes poker games for Hollywood’s elite for eight years before the FBI brought her down. She was sentenced to a year’s probation and a fine of $1,000 in June following a FBI investigation.