British director Tony Scott will bring to life the rags-to-riches story of trendsetter Somen “Steve” Banerjee, the man behind the Chippendales phenomenon of the 1980s. A Bengali immigrant to the US who previously worked for a California petrol station, Banerjee experienced an 80’s Cinderella story. When he initially bought a struggling L.A. nightclub, he decided to experiment by bringing in a New York choreography team to devise a male strip show for upscale women. With muscular men wearing only bow-ties and cuffs turned into male strippers dancing to a Las Vegas inspired routine, the Chippendales was born. Women flocked the female-only club to see these men and soon Banerjee became a multimillion dollar entrepreneur.
However paranoia crept in as he attempted to burn rival nightclubs as well as hiring a hit-man to assassinate former business partner along with ex-dancers. He had greatly feared they would open up a competitive club, but his actions led to his own downfall. Eventually being arrested, in October 1994, just before his trial, he was found dead hanging in his cell.
This as-of-yet-to-be-titled biopic is written by Lisa Schrager, the brains behind the Heidi Fleiss story “Pay the Girl” for Paramount and “Gangsta Bitches” for Universal. As of the moment, no cast had been signed on yet but director Scott is surely on board production. His last film was the action blockbuster “The Taking of Pelham 123”. Currently he is directing “Unstoppable” for Denzel Washington.
