The next big-budget poker movie is on the way: Molly’s Game, the directorial debut of the Academy Award-winning screenwriter Aaron Sorkin is opening on November 22nd. Meanwhile, WSOP Main Event finalist amateur John Hesp accepted the offer of a UK film studio who are making his story into a movie.
Molly Bloom was an assistant at a small real estate company who went on to organize the highest stakes private games for Hollywood celebrities and millionaire business men, and eventually was arrested by the FBI – her story was written into a book back in 2014, and now it’s coming to the silver screen.
This is the biggest movie production about poker in a long time, having a $30 million budget and an Oscar-winner as the director. Although this is Aaron Sorkin’s first movie in the director’s role, he won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for the 2010 movie The Social Network.
Molly’s Game will be starring Jessica Chastain as the titular character. It’s already been shown at the Toronto Film Festival, receiving great reviews, before the nation-wide opening in the US on November 22nd. Here’s the official trailer for the movie.
Meanwhile John Hesp, the British recreational player who made quite a splash with his final table run at the WSOP Main Event is also about to witness his life recreated on film.
Hesp, a 64-year-old caravan salesman, grandfather of seven and proud local patriot of Bridlington, UK won $2.6 million by coming in 4th in the biggest poker tournament in the world, the World Series of Poker Main Event. Before that his largest live tournament cash was a humble $1,000 from a £10 buy-in tourney.
His rise to fame inspired many film producers – according to Hesp he got 3 different offers, two from big Hollywood studios but he ended up going with a British film production company. The undisclosed studio gets to make the tale of the British amateur who drew the attention of the poker world with his colorful personality and attire during the WSOP. The subject of the film describes it as "such a feel good happy story".
