Crime writer Don Winslow is about to have a moment. Sony is building a franchise around Austin Butler with his series City on Fire, and there is already an adaptation of his novella Crime 101 in production in Los Angeles. Halle Berry was seen filming on Venice Beach yesterday, sporting bare feet and a leopard print top. The film also stars Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Barry Keoghan, and supposedly Corey Hawkins and Monica Barbaro, too.
Crime 101 is directed by Bart Layton, his first feature film since 2018’s American Animals, which also stars Barry Keoghan. I’m a big fan of that film, it’s a mix of documentary and dramatization, a heist film about college kids attempting to steal a rare book from a university library. It’s a great film, capturing the thrill and stupidity of the heist, with a great cast (Evan Peters also stars).
So I’m interested to see what Bart Layton can do with Don Winslow. He’s co-writing the script with Peter Straughan, and once again, he’s assembled a helluva cast. Crime 101 is about a jewel thief who adheres to a strict set of rules in order to get away with his crimes, and the dogged detective who investigates his heists. It’s not clear who is playing whom, but my money is on Chris Hemsworth playing the jewel thief and Mark Ruffalo playing the detective, and I bet Halle is playing Sharon, the fence. She looks stressed in these photos, things appear not to be going well. When do they ever in heist movies? Someone should make a heist movie where they get away with it, like the Canadian maple syrup heist. Oh wait…Margot Martindale is starring in just such a series? Yes, please.
