EXCLUSIVE: The meteoric political rise of George Santos and the web of fabulist tales it was built on are getting a movie treatment. HBO Films has optioned the rights to Mark Chiusano’s new b…

The meteoric political rise of George Santos and the web of fabulist tales it was built on are getting a movie treatment. HBO Films has optioned the rights to Mark Chiusano’s new book The Fabulist: The Lying, Hustling, Grifting, Stealing, and Very American Legend of George Santos, which was published on November 28, 2023.

The news comes on the heels of Santos’ Washington D.C. career coming to a dramatic end yesterday when he was expelled from Congress for alleged ethics violations, including donor funds spent on racy subscription website OnlyFans and Botox treatments. He has denied the charges and has vowed to fight back.

The film, now in development, is described as a forensic and darkly comic look at the crazy, unprecedented congressional race on Long Island that led to Santos being elected to Congress. It comes from Frank Rich, who executive produced HBO’s Emmy-winning Washington DC satire Veep as well as the network’s Emmy-winning drama Succession.

      • jopepa@lemmy.world
        7·
        1 year ago

        Maybe, but at the same time if we all collectively ignore and forget about people like this then they can slowly chip away at that embarrassing branding and take advantage elsewhere. If we let talented comedians and creators tear them down, then Santos is working against the kind of image damage that sticks with people. At least more sticky than CSPAN or SNL. Facts won’t connect with people like art can, and I think it’s better for society to crown bad leaders with a legacy as a punchline instead of fading into another forgettable obscure Jeopardy question. If it’s lionizing then that’s only to the people that have made up their mind on him well before any of this came to light anyways.