Operation Greylord, the massive, lengthy 1980s corruption sting that put Cook County judges and other public officials behind bars, reportedly will be the subject of a movie produced by the politically minded director of “The Big Short.”
Deadline.com reports that Adam McKay will be executive producer of “Crook County,” starring Emory Cohen (“Brooklyn”) as Terrence Hake. Hake was the FBI mole who posed first as a dishonest prosecutor and then an unethical defense attorney in the undercover investigation.
The film will be directed by Aron Gaudet and Gita Pullapilly, who wrote the script.
Terrence Hake in 1984. | Sun-Times file
Since his Oscar-winning turn with “The Big Short,” about the crash of the housing market, McKay has been lining up projects attuned with his interest in political controversy. His upcoming works include a biopic of former Vice President Dick Cheney and a vehicle for Jennifer Lawrence to play Elizabeth Holmes, head of a real-life blood testing firm that crashed and burned.
McKay learned the ropes as an improviser at Chicago’s iO and Second City before going national at “Saturday Night Live.”
“Aron and Gita are two of the most passionate and committed filmmakers I have ever met,” he told Deadline. “They’ve written a script about systemic corruption and justice that will be very relevant to the times we’re living in.”
Production will begin in the spring, in Pittsburgh.
