Mythology Entertainment, the production company behind Roland Emmerich’s WHITE HOUSE DOWN, have recently secured the feature film rights to the rather curious and very tragic true story of a 2003 bank robbery that went very much awry.
“Known by the FBI as ‘Collarbomb, Major Case #203,’ the incident began when Erie, Pa. pizza delivery man Brian Douglas Wells entered a bank and told the teller he’d been shackled with an explosive device around his neck and forced to pull off a heist. The bomb went off as Wells exited, surrounded by cops, and it killed him instantly. While investigating the crime after his grisly death, the FBI ultimately discovered that Wells was not an innocent victim but a co-conspirator unaware that a real bomb would be involved for the actual heist. The alleged mastermind of the intricate plot was Marjorie Diehl Armstrong who is currently serving life in prison plus thirty years.”
Now you may be saying “wait, this sounds a bit like that comedy with Jesse Eisenberg and Danny McBride called 30 MINUTES OR LESS that didn’t do so hot back in the 2011.” And you’d be right, as it’s a similarity that the folks behind 30 MINUTES OR LESS weren’t at all happy about. But now we’ll be getting the full treatment of the tragic side of that story, with Mythology currently calling their movie COLLAR BOMB HEIST.
The movie will be primarily based on the soon-to-be-published book “Pizza Bomber: The Untold Story of America’s Most Shocking Bank Robbery,” a book authored by former FBI Special Agent Gerald Clark (who investigated the case) and journalist Ed Palattella. Mythology has also secured the “life rights” of Clark and Palattella, as well as prosecuting attorney Mary Beth Buchanan. Rights have also been optioned to the Wired magazine article “The Incredible True Story of the Collar Bomb Heist” by Rich Shapiro, and all in all it sounds like Mythology is doing its very best to have a fully researched and fleshed out film. Think it’ll be the sort of tough story that you would want to see?
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