Emily Blunt to Star in Criminal-Conspiracy Film ‘Pain Hustlers’

Variety.com: Emily Blunt will star in “Pain Hustlers,” a criminal-conspiracy film directed by “Fantastic Beasts” helmer David Yates that will be introduced to buyers at Cannes.

From a script by “The True American” writer Wells Tower, the film is produced by Lawrence Grey through his Grey Matter Productions banner and Wychwood Pictures.

The movie’s official logline reads: “Dreaming of a better life for her and her young daughter, Liza Drake (Blunt), a high-school dropout, lands a job with a failing pharmaceutical start-up in a yellowing strip mall in Central Florida. Liza’s charm, guts and drive catapult the company and her into the high life, where she soon finds herself at the center of a criminal conspiracy with deadly consequences. In the vein of ‘The Big Short,’ ‘American Hustle’ and ‘The Wolf of Wall Street,’ ‘Pain Hustlers’ is a hilarious, dramatic and wild journey to the corrupt heart of the American dream.”

Production on “Pain Hustlers” is set to begin on Aug. 22. The Veterans and CAA Media Finance are representing the film at the Cannes Film Market. Grey originally pitched the project to Yates and Wychwood Pictures, and from there sold it to Sony Pictures.

BAFTA-winning filmmaker Yates is fresh off the release of his third “Fantastic Beasts” film, “The Secrets of Dumbledore.” Golden Globe winner Blunt most recently starred in “Jungle Cruise,” and will next appear in Christopher Nolan’s World War II epic “Oppenheimer.”

Yates is repped by CAA, Casarotto Ramsay, and Eric Brooks at Goodman Schenkman & Brecheen, LLP. Blunt is represented by CAA, The Artists Partnership, and attorney David Weber at Sloane Offer Weber & Dern. Tower is repped by CAA and attorney Tara Kole at Gang, Tyre, Ramer, Brown & Passman Inc.