'Wolf Of Wall Street' Jordan Belfort Is Writing A TV Show About The Excess Of Wall Streeters
Basically, "The Wolf of Wall Street" the TV show.
"The idea was to come up with a show about that period with really interesting characters, and so my manager pitched the idea to Brett Ratner, who fell in love with it," Belfort explained to the Weekend Australian in a new interview.
Packer says of the future series: "I respect Jordan for his perseverance. Like many others, he is a man that made a lot of mistakes but he isn't hiding. Jordan worked hard to build his new career and this adventure is an important part of his journey."
Belfort, who will co-write the series, will produce the show alongside Ratner, Packer, and Wall Street financier Steven Mnuchin's production company, RatPac-Dune Entertainment, reports PageSix.
In September, Ratner's RatPac-Dune closed a $450 million financing deal with Warner Bros. to fund up to 75 upcoming films. "Gravity" was the first title covered by the new, four-year partnership - which pocketed the company a cool $40 million.
"The Wolf Of Wall Street" has raked in over $392 million since it's Christmas Day release last year. Belfort was played by Leonardo DiCaprio in the Oscar-nominated Martin Scorsese film.
Belfort spent 22 months in prison after defrauding more than 1,500 investors during his career as a stockbroker in the 1980s. He was ordered to pay $110.4 million in restitution to victims of Stratton Oakmont. He hasn't finished paying them back yet, but has said that he would be able to finish doing so thanks to his $100 million speaking tour.
As a stockbroker, he made about $50 million per year.
In December, Belfort was pitching an uplifting reality show to various networks, in which he would "step in to help others who, like him, have hit rock bottom but still hold out some hope for redemption," according to The Hollywood Reporter. No word yet on whether the show has been picked up.