Since the success of Magic Mike, the film world has known there’s a market out there for movies about male strippers. Now Ben Stiller may be starring in one, as Variety reports that he is circling I Am Chippendales, with American Beauty and True Blood’s Alan Ball set to write and direct.
The movie is based on the true story of how Paul Snider, Somen “Steve” Banerjee and lawyer Bruce Nahin founded the Chippendales nightclub. However after initial massive success, things rather went to Banerjee’s head as he helped orchestrate a plot to murder of three former Chippendales dancers he thought were now in competition with him, as well as attempting to have Chippendales co-founder, Bruce Nahin, killed.
He pleaded guilty to attempted arson, racketeering and murder for hire charges.
If a deal is finalized, Ben Stiller will play choreographer Nick DeNoia, who helped conceive the idea of the Chippendales, helping turn the male dance club into an international sensation. However DeNoia ended up being one of the people Banerjee wanted dead.
Banerjee was known for being incredibly flamboyant and sharp, not putting up with any dancer who didn’t meet his exacting dimensions. It’s also believed he slept with more than a few, although due to the fact this was the 80s and the Chippendales were so determined they were for female rather than gay eyes, there was also a lot of homophobia around. It’s now known exactly how the film will deal with all this, but as Alan Ball is gay himself and has dealy with LGBT themes throughout his career, it probably won’t shy away from it.
Ball is directing from his own screenplay, which is adapted from Rodney Sheldon’s book. It’s not known when it will shoot.
Leave a Reply (if comment does not appear immediately, it may have been held for moderation)