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Ben Affleck's McDonald's Scam Movie Is Still In Development
Ben Affleck confirms his McDonald's Monopoly scam movie is still in development. Based on the true story of ex-cop Jerry Jacobson's rigging of the famous McDonald's Monopoly game (where he stole $24 million), the project was originally announced back in 2018. Affleck was set to direct and Matt Damon was lined up to star. 20th Century Fox won a heated bidding war that set Hollywood records, but little progress has been made on the film in the past couple of years. With HBO tackling the story in their McMillion$ documentary series, some might have thought Affleck's version had died by the wayside. However, it's still very much alive.
Speaking with Collider while promoting his new movie The Way Back, Affleck was asked for updates on his McDonald's movie. Chalking things up to the oddities of last year's Disney/Fox deal, he stated a new script draft is complete:
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“We’ve gotten a new draft. That’s really good. Hollywood’s a weird place, because the person who was running the studio when they bought that script, just left that job. And the studio that was going to make it got bought by another studio. So there’s these moments where things sort themselves out, and you sort of see 'Is this still a priority, or are they really interested in different kinds of movies?' And I’m not sure whether or not, McScam, what kind of priority it is. We really like it. We’re still developing the script."
The McScam script was reportedly tackled by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, the duo best known for the Deadpool movies. The pair's sense of humor combined with Affleck's skills as a director have the potential to deliver a wild and entertaining crime film, which is why cinephiles were excited by McScam. It's encouraging to hear that Affleck and Damon remain committed to the project, and hopefully it comes into fruition in the near future. Based on what Affleck's saying, the ball is now in 20th Century/Disney's court, and the studio will have to decide whether or not McScam gets the go-ahead. It's worth mentioning Affleck and Damon are currently shooting Ridley Scott's The Last Duel for 20th Century and Affleck is also starring in the studio's upcoming Deep Water, so Affleck is building some history with 20th Century.
In the meantime, those curious about the true story can watch McMillion$. The documentary's synopsis reads as follows: A six-part documentary series from Executive Producer Mark Wahlberg, McMillion$ chronicles the stranger-than-fiction true story of how $24 million-dollars was stolen from the McDonald’s Monopoly game of the 1990s, the mystery mastermind behind the scam and the intrepid FBI agents on his trail.
