Dev Patel's directing dreams have been given a big boost – Netflix bosses have snapped up his debut, ‘Monkey Man’, as part of a $30 million deal. Dev Patel recently finished filming the movie in Indonesia.
Filming recently wrapped on the movie, in which ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ star Patel will portray a convict seeking revenge on the people who put him behind bars.
The thriller, co-starring ‘District 9’ star Sharlto Copley and Indian actor Sikander Kher, became part of a big bidding war at the virtual European Film Market recently.
Patel wrote the script with Paul Angunawela and his ‘Hotel Mumbai’ collaborator John Collee.
"I'm so thrilled to be partnering with Netflix on this adventure. I hope this will be a fresh addition to the genre at a time in this industry where my story can become our story," he told Deadline. "Shooting a film during a pandemic has been quite challenging to say the least, but the opportunity to reimagine stories from my childhood and infuse them with my love of action cinema has been an absolute joy."
The film was due to shoot in India last year but relocated to Indonesia due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The 30-year-old actor – whose previous credits include 'The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel' – is also part of the cast of the Chippendales movie, which will chart the rise and fall of the well-known male strip club.
Dev will play the role of Somen 'Steve' Banerjee, a businessman who bought a Los Angeles nightclub called Destiny II and transformed it into Chippendales, Deadline reports.
The strip club ultimately became a multi-million dollar brand in the 80s, making money in a variety of ways, including calendar sales, and touring performances. However, the success was later overshadowed by crime, as Banerjee became involved in plots to kill two former Chippendales dancers.
The movie has been developed by producer David Permut of Permut Presentations and is set to be helmed by Craig Gillespie, who is best known for directing 2017's 'I, Tonya'. Comedy star Ben Stiller was at one point attached to play Banerjee's business partner De Noia, but he's since moved on from the project.
Meanwhile, Dev previously admitted he "didn’t quite know" what he was getting involved in when he decided to pursue an acting career. The acclaimed star also revealed that his teachers disapproved of his career choices.
Dev – who made his screen debut in the teen drama 'Skins' – said: "I didn’t quite know what I was getting myself into.
"The teachers didn’t approve of 'Skins' and my drama teacher hated me after I got on to it."
(Cover Media/BANG Showbiz/Reuters)