Darren Aronofsky, the talented director behind Requiem For a Dream, The Fountain, and The Wrestler, may be looking toward the real life story of the Securitas Depot robbery in Tonbridge, a massive heist thought to be the brainchild of former UFC star “Lightning” Lee Murray.
The details of the heist, which occurred in February of 2006, are being adapted into a screenplay by writer Kerry Williamson, who’s currently adapting Fork in the Road for Alexander Payne.
Allegedly, Williamson will be working from two original sources: A Sports Illustrated article entitled “Breaking the Bank” and Howard Sounes’ book Heist: The Inside Story of the World’s Biggest Robbery. /Film has the details on what the book contains:
On Wednesday, 22 February 2006, GBP53 million in bank notes was stolen from a cash warehouse belonging to the Securitas company in Tonbridge, Kent — a sum of money so vast that if the notes were stacked up they would equal the height of high-rise building. In terms of value, the Tonbridge Securitas robbery puts all previous famous British capers, such as the Great Train Robbery and the Brink’s-Mat bullion heist, in the shade; it also overshadows similar robberies overseas. Only in times of war have larger cash sums been stolen. This was a crime notable for its audacity, carried out in a small town in the Garden of England. A large number of people have been charged in connection with the Tonbridge robbery, with eleven men and women standing trial at the Old Bailey in summer 2007.
This sounds like a perfect fit for the director, who’s prided himself on having an asymmetrical career path, yet consistently focuses on real life grittiness in dynamic ways. Right now, he’s in pre-production on Black Swan, which will detail the rivalry between two ballet dancers (Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis).
And while it’s sad to see his take on Robocop possibly pushed back even further, it’s great to see that a recent (and largely unheard of, at least in my neck of the woods) story of this gravity will possibly be told by one of the most talented directors at work today.
