WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 24: U.S. Rep. George Santos (R-NY) leaves a House Republican conference meeting in the Longworth House Office Building on Capitol Hill on October 24, 2023 in Washington, DC. Members of the GOP conference met for a closed-door vote to select their nominee for Speaker of the House to succeed former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), who was ousted on October 4 in a move led by a small group of conservative members of his own party. The Republicans nominated Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN) today but he has already dropped out of the running after it became clear he could not secure enough votes to be elected Speaker. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
HBO Films announced it is working on the story of disgraced former Rep. George Santos’ (R-New York) rise to political power and the lies that got him there.
Last month, HBO Films optioned the right to the book, The Fabulist: The Lying, Hustling, Grifting, Stealing, and Very American Legend of George Santos by Mark Chiusano, which was published on November 28.
Santos was expelled from Congress on December 1, due to multiple ethics violations, including spending donor funds on luxury trips and Botox treatments. He has denied the charges and promised to fight back against them.
Santos’ biopic has been characterized as an investigative and darkly humorous look at the remarkable congressional race on Long Island that led to Santos being elected to Congress.
The film’s executive producer will be Frank Rich, who also executive produced the HBO shows, Veep and Succession.
The biopic will be written by Mike Makowsky, the writer-producer of the HBO show, Bad Education.
While Rich and Makowsky are the film’s executive producers, Chiusano is the consulting producer.
This motion picture shares the story of a seemingly minor local race that wound up a battle for Long Island and suddenly created the path for the infamous ex-congressman.
It focuses on the Jay Gatsby-like journey of a nobody who ended up exploiting the system, waging a war on truth, and deceiving voters in his wealthy district.
On December 18, Santos responded negatively to the biopic focusing on him in an interview with comedian “Ziwe” Fumudoh.
During the interview, Fumudoh brought Santos’ feelings about Bowen Yang, who portrayed him on Saturday Night Live. Santos then stated that the actor is worthy of an EGOT (Winner of an Emmy, Golden Globe, Oscar, and Tony Award).
“Would you like Bowen Yang to play you in the HBO biopic,” Fumudoh asked.
“That movie’s not ever gonna happen,” Santos replied. “The book has no perspective of me or anybody close to me. It’s a f—ing fiction.”
Shortly after his expulsion, Santos declared that he would file ethics complaints against the five representatives who voted for his removal, which included four former GOP colleagues and one Democrat.
Santos believed that they “bullied” him to force him out of Congress. He strongly rejected the accusations described in the House Ethics Committee report but failed to provide any evidence to support his claims.
Back in early December, Saturday Night Live aired a skit satirizing Santos for his expulsion. It included a mock press conference and a musical performance.
The skit’s cold open began with an announcement regarding a breaking news press conference from the Capitol.
During the skit, Yang mocked Santos by saying the U.S. is bullying him on the ground that he is a “proud gay thief.”
Since his expulsion, Santos has found work on Cameo – selling short videos for $300 each.
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