EXCLUSIVE: Controversial New York strip-club Scores, the celebrity-frequented but troubled night spot, is getting its close-up via a movie about the venueās colourful history and its co-founder Michael Blutrich.
In the early ā90s, despite being heavily targeted by professional thieves, the venue became a buzzed-about night spot and magnet for celebrity patrons, including Howard Stern, Madonna, Russell Crowe, Michael Jordan, Donald Trump, Bill Gates, Christina Aguilera, Jason Giambi, Demi Moore and more. At its peak, the franchise operated in two locations in Manhattan and licensed its name to strip clubs in five other cities.
But the club has been beset by legal problems over the years as a result of ties to organized crime, tax evasion and club-sanctioned prostitution. By 1996, after being implicated in an unrelated $400M fraud case in Florida, Blutrich began to cooperate secretly with federal authorities, concerning alleged Gambino crime family extortions. The film will be set specifically between 1991-1998.
Tommy V Films, the production company founded by producer Tommy Vlahopoulos, whose credits include the upcoming John Travolta feature Ed and Scott Eastwood action film The Outpost, has acquired Blutrichās life rights and is behind the film.
The development project is based on Blutrichās memoir Scores: How I Opened the Hottest Strip Club in New York City, Was Extorted out of Millions by the Gambino Family, and Became One of the Most Successful Mafia Informants In FBI History.
Vlahopoulos will produce alongside producing partners John Bortolis, Jimmy Black and Theodore Otto with Christopher J. Scott (Ed) serving as lead producer. The team is aiming to shoot later this year in New York and New Jersey.
In 2015, CBSās 60 Minutes profiled Blutrichās story in the Anderson Cooper report An Unlikely Informant, chronicling his transformation from Scores co-founder to undercover FBI informant.
āMichaelās story has every ingredient audiences look for in a great film,ā said producer Vlahopoulos. āItās larger than life, deeply human, and filled with unbelievable twists that actually happened. From the glamour of New York nightlife to the dangers of working alongside the FBI, itās a story that deserves to be told on the big screen. Weāre excited to bring Michaelās incredible story to audiences around the world.ā
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