Annapurna Pictures and Gloria Sanchez Productions have acquired the film rights to The New York Magazine article “The Hustlers at Scores” by Jessica Pressler.
A modern twist on the Robin Hood tale, the December 2015 article told the story of a crew of savvy former strip club employees who band together to turn the tables on their Wall Street clients.
As the article describes, the story takes place “back in the early aughts, when the industry was enjoying a cultural moment. Improbably, the values of third-wave feminism had aligned with those of Howard Stern, ushering in an era in which taking off one’s clothes in front of an audience was no longer degrading but sexually liberating and financially empowering. New York City clubs like Scores, with their bright lights and bottle service, had successfully marketed themselves as a naughty-but-harmless night out for men and women, and celebrities and athletes were all too happy to be photographed with dancers who looked as wholesome as topless cheerleaders.”
But, “while evolutionary theory and ‘The Bachelor’ would suggest that a room full of women hoping to attract the attention of a few men would be cutthroat-competitive, it’s actually better for strippers to work together, because while most men might be able keep their wits, and their wallets, around one scantily clad, sweet-smelling sylph, they tend to lose their grip around three or four. Which is why at Hustler, as elsewhere, the dancers worked in groups.”
Knowing that dropping $100,000 in a single evening was nothing to many of the high-end Wall Street guys that frequented the clubs, a few women banded together to create an elaborate scheme to rob from the rich and give to the poor: themselves.
Annapurna pictures was founded by Megan Ellison. No word yet on a cast or director.