What We Know So Far About ‘Molly’s Game’

Molly Bloom’s story is an unusual one. Through a series of unlikely events, the charismatic Olympic-league skier came to host Hollywood’s most exclusive underground poker games for eight years before being arrested by 17 gun-wielding FBI agents in the middle of the night. Her poker guests included celebrities, billionaire businessmen and mobsters. As you might imagine, Bloom encountered quite a few interesting characters during her time as the poker princess of Hollywood. Late 2014 saw the announcement of a movie adaptation of her autobiographical book, ‘Molly’s Game’. Few details have yet surfaced regarding the highly anticipated film, but below are some facts we know for sure…

It’s Based on the 2004 Memoir by Molly Bloom

Molly Bloom was earning $4 million a year hosting Hollywood’s most exclusive underground poker games. Her guest list starred as many high-profile actors as your average blockbuster, with the likes of Tobey Maguire, Matt Damon, Leonardo DiCaprio and Ben Affleck frequenting her games. The bizarre and sometimes dangerous world of backroom poker is brought to light, with fascinating and hilarious anecdotes about some of the biggest names in Hollywood. Aside from the poker room drama, ‘Molly’s Game’ is a book about one young woman’s brief venture into a world of luxury and fame – only to face an inevitable downfall.

Aaron Sorkin Will Be the Director

This will be the directorial debut from Aaron Sorkin who, though new to directing, has more than enough experience in screenwriting. His highly acclaimed and Academy Award-winning work as a writer for ‘The West Wing’, ‘A Few Good Men’, ‘The Social Network’ and ‘Steve Jobs’ has allowed him to establish a unique style of snappy dialogue and slick scene sequencing. These defining stylistic features will no doubt make the movie adaptation of ‘Molly’s Game’ a quirky, fast-paced and witty reimagining of the true events.

Some Big Names Have Joined the Cast

Jessica Chastain has been cast as Molly Bloom, with Idris Elba in the talks of joining the cast too. It is not yet known whether any of the A-list poker players will make a cameo appearance as themselves, though it’s understandably unlikely considering the dirt-dishing stories in Bloom’s book (the stories about Tobey Maguire, in particular, are less than flattering). Chastain and Elba hold more than enough star power to carry the movie – yet considering the number of actors wanting to work with Sorkin, there might well be a few more big names signing up as co-stars in the coming months. Latest rumour is that Michael Cera wants to join the cast.

Could Be the Biggest Gambler Flick Since ‘Rounders’

There’s no shortage of poker-based crime dramas or gambler road movies, but few have captured the spirit of poker quite as well as ‘Rounders’ – universally agreed to be one of the best gambler flicks of all time. Released at the height of the online poker boom, the movie was a huge hit and is nowadays regarded as a cult classic. There are promising signs that ‘Molly’s Game’ might be in league with the 1998 Matt Damon and Ed Norton movie. With a unique premise, renowned screenwriter and strong cast – real life poker players are hopeful this will be the next film to truly reflect the reality of the high-rolling community.

Release Date

No release date has been announced, though the movie is currently in pre-production, and IMDB lists the release year as 2017. STX Entertainment just bought the US and China film rights for $9 million – after Sorkin travelled to Cannes to pitch the movie adaptation himself. The movie will be produced by Amy Pascal and Mark Gordon for Sony. This will be the second collaboration between Sorkin and Gordon – the first being on ‘Steve Jobs’.

So far, there are a lot of bets on ‘Molly’s Game’ being a huge success; an all-round entertaining and dirt-dishing look into a shocking world of money, crime, glamour and – of course – poker.