THE BOOKIE & THE BRUISER: ‘The Gentleman’ Star Theo James Joins S. Craig Zahler’s 50s NYC Gangster Pic

Bone Tomahawk helmer S. Craig Zahler’s The Bookie & The Bruiser is set to go before buyers at the Marche du Film this month. Anton is repping international rights on the film which is now casting Theo James (HBO’s “The White Lotus,” Guy Ritchie’s “The Gentlemen”), replacing actor Adrian Brody since last year’s report.

James joins Zahler’s Dragged Across Concrete and Brawl In Cell Block 99 cohort Vince Vaughn in the gangster thriller, with a script by Zahler. Set in 1959 in New York City, The Bookie & the Bruiser features a pensive, Jewish fellow named Rivner (James) and an oversized Italian American tough named Boscolo (Vaughn). Having served in World War II, the two return as changed men, no longer fitting into their old lives. Unwilling to take orders or play by the rules of polite society, the two partner up as a bookmaker and his enforcer and run an illicit gambling operation that proves highly profitable—but dangerous. Their operation thrives until they’re caught in a violent power struggle between the Mafia and an Irish gang, forcing them into a violent fight for survival.

Academy Award-winner Anthony Katagas (12 Years a Slave, Ad Astra, Adrian Lyne’s Deep Water) is producing via his Keep Your Head Productions alongside Dave Caplan (Longlegs, The Monkey). C2 Motion Picture Group is fully financing the project.

UTA Independent Film Group and Range Select arranged the financing and are representing the North American distribution rights.

Lead image: Theo James in Netflix’s “The Gentlemen”