Focus Developing Film Based on Rachel Maddow’s Podcast ‘Bag Man’ With Ben Stiller On Board To Direct

Justin Kroll
·1 min read
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Focus Features is developing Rachel Maddow’s Bag Man as a feature film with Ben Stiller directing. Bag Man is based on Rachel Maddow’s podcast about the true story of one of the most brazen political bribery scandals in American history, which played out before the country while nobody was paying attention. Is it possible for an American Vice President to carry out a criminal enterprise inside the White House and have nobody remember?

Maddow’s Peabody Award-nominated podcast went back 45 years to dig into a story that got overshadowed in its day. There’s intrigue. Corruption. Envelopes of cash delivered to the White House. It’s a story that’s not well known, but it probably should be. Especially today. Bag Man.

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Adam Perlman wrote the script along with Ben Stiller and Mike Yarvitz. Yarvitz executive produced the podcast and co-wrote the subsequent book with Maddow. Lorne Michaels, Stiller, Mike Yarvitz and Josh McLaughlin will produce. Executive producers are Nicky Weinstock, Michael Price, Erin David, Andrew Singer and Rachel Maddow.

Stiller is coming off his Emmy-nominated work in the Showtime limited series Escape at Dannemora. He is currently developing a handful of projects including the Lionsgate pic London with Oscar Isaac attached to star. Perlman has cut his teeth in TV world over the past decade working on such critically acclaimed work like Billions and The Good Wife. He is currently has a number of projects in development including an untitled TV series with Team Downey.

Stiller is repped by WME and 3 Arts Entertainment and Perlman is repped by Gersh and Brillstein Entertainment Partners.

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