Days before, the disgraced congressman became the first member of the House to be expelled in almost two decades.
The Hollywood Reporter revealed on Saturday that HBO Films is now working on a film on George Santos.
Mark Chiusano’s book, The Fabulist: The Lying, Hustling, Grifting, Stealing, and Very American Legend of George Santos, was published on November 28. HBO Films has optioned the rights to the novel.
The movie, directed by Frank Rich (HBO’s Veep and Succession), is billed as a “forensic and darkly comic look” at the historic Long Island, New York, congressional election that saw Santos win a seat in Congress.
Days after Santos became the first member of the US House to be expelled in over 20 years, the movie announcement was made. Furthermore, he is just the sixth House member in history to be ousted by his peers.
Mike Makowsky, who penned HBO’s Bad Education, is attached to write the movie and executive produce with Rich. Chiusano will work as a production consultant.
The movie’s synopsis describes it as “the tale of a seemingly insignificant local race that ended up a struggle for Long Island’s soul, and unexpectedly carved the path for the world’s most famous (and now disgraced) congressman.” The story of a man who appeared out of nowhere, used the system to his advantage, attacked the truth, and deceived one of the wealthiest districts in the nation in order to realize his American Dream, akin to Jay Gatsby.
Santos has been involved in a number of scandals since moving to Washington about a year ago. More recently, a report detailing claims that the disgraced congressman submitted fraudulent campaign statements and misused donor funds to finance his opulent lifestyle was released by the nonpartisan House Ethics Committee. In addition, he has entered a not guilty plea to 23 federal accusations against him, including wire fraud and money laundering.
The news was first reported by deadline.