Back in November of 2014, Steve Jobs screenwriter Aaron Sorkin agreed to craft an adaptation of Molly's Game, Molly Bloom's memoir of life as a sports star-turned-poker magnate. Though he was only initially attached to pen the script, he's since signed up to make his directorial debut with the film. Now at the casting stage, he wants to see Jessica Chastain in the lead.
The deal isn't set in stone yet, with proper negotiations still to happen and Chastain juggling a busy schedule that includes The Death And Life Of John F. Donovan, No Show Jones and Miss Sloane. She is, however, according to The Wrap's "insiders", keen to make it work, via her production company Freckle Films.
Producer Mark Gordon, who nabbed the rights to the book in the first place, is on board for this one alongside former Sony boss Amy Pascal. Molly's Game, subtitled From Hollywood’s Elite To Wall Street’s Billionaire Boys Club, My High-Stakes Adventure In The World Of Underground Poker, chronicles Bloom, whose story is a fascinating one. A world-class skier since she could walk, she became a nationally-ranked business mogul at 21 while still excelling in college. She just missed out on joining the Olympic team upon graduating and took a year off to live in Los Angeles, choosing the unlikely path of waitressing. Thanks to her business acumen, she ended up making millions by running the world’s most exclusive high stakes poker game for eight years before the FBI came calling.
There's no start date set yet, so Sorkin may well have time to wait for Chastain to find a space in her diary. More news as we get it.