One of those stranger-than-fiction stories that stem from pieces of investigative journalism, The Incredible Case Of The P.I. Moms has so far inspired a radio documentary and a book. It's now set to be a film too, with Lynn Shelton aboard to adapt and direct.
As outlined in an hour-long episode of This American Life, the story follows a young mother who takes a job at a Private Investigating agency and is surprised to find it's entirely staffed by attractive soccer moms like herself. Running the business was charismatic ex-cop Chris Butler, and the agency, taking cases like insurance frauds and cheatin' wives and husbands, picked up some positive press coverage.
But it turned out it was all a front for Butler's criminal enterprise, which largely involved a deal with a corrupt local drug enforcement officer to re-sell drugs that had been seized by the police. Butler wanted the money to finance a reality TV show about his agency. Which Lifetime picked up and then dropped when the scandal was exposed.
You almost couldn't make it up. “When I heard this episode of This American Life, I was completely blown away by the characters and plot of this incredible true story," says Shelton. "Yet all of these characters are real, driven by the same things that drive us all. As I listened, it was as if the movie was already playing in my head. It’s that cinematic.”
The documentary was written by Joshua Bearman (who also wrote the article Argo was based on), and journalist Pete Crooks' book The Setup will also be a touchstone for the film version. Ira Glass and Alissa Shipp from This American Life are among the producers, and Shelton has co-written the screenplay with Megan Griffiths (Eden, The Night Stalker). There's no start date or studio package yet, but the project is expected to move quickly.