GameStop Stock Pic ‘Dumb Money’ Sets A-List Cast With Paul Dano, Seth Rogen, Sebastian Stan & Pete Davidson; Black Bear To Launch Sales Of Craig Gillespie’s Film At Toronto

GameStop Stock Pic ‘Dumb Money’ Sets A-List Cast With Paul Dano, Seth Rogen, Sebastian Stan & Pete Davidson; Black Bear To Launch Sales Of Craig Gillespie’s Film At Toronto

EXCLUSIVE: After signing on to the project in April, Craig Gillespie has lined up an all-star cast of faces familiar to the director. Sources tell Deadline that Paul Dano, Seth Rogen, Sebastian Stan and Pete Davidson are set to star in Black Bear Pictures’ Dumb Moneyan adaptation of Ben Mezrich’s book The Antisocial Network, with Gillespie directing. Rebecca Angelo & Lauren Schuker Blum are adapting with Ryder Picture Company’s Aaron Ryder, Black Bear’s Teddy Schwarzman and Gillespie producing.


Deadline has been all over this project going back to when the film was set up at MGM, who landed the rights to Mezrich’s manuscript in January. The project recently moved over to Black Bear, who is planning to launch sales on the film at this years Toronto Film Festival through their Black Bear International division led by John Friedberg. Executive producers include Michael Heimler, John Friedberg, Andrew Swett, Angelo, Schuker Blum, Mezrich, Johnny Holland, Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss and Kevin Ulrich.  Black Bear Pictures is fully financing, with Black Bear International handling the foreign distribution rights and launching sales at the Toronto International Film Festival. UTA Independent Film Group is representing the U.S. rights to the film.

Principal photography will begin this October on the film which tells the story of fortunes won and lost overnight in the David-vs.-Goliath GameStop short squeeze that may have ended up changing Wall Street forever. It offers a gripping portrayal of how a loosely affiliated group of private investors and internet trolls on a subreddit called WallStreetBets took down one of the biggest hedge funds on Wall Street, firing the first shot in a revolution that threatened to upend the establishment.


“Black Bear has diamond hands for Dumb Money. Lauren & Rebecca have masterfully adapted Ben Mezrich’s exceptional book, detailing one of the greatest underdog stories of our time. Craig Gillespie is a tremendous leader with exceptional vision, and has assembled a tremendous ensemble. We’re honored to partner with him, Aaron Ryder, and this terrific team in front and behind the camera to bring Dumb Money to audiences everywhere,”Schwarzman said.


Gillespie, Rogen and Stan have been looking for something to team up with following the success of their Hulu limited series Pam & Tommy and fit in their wheelhouse of stories that seemed to wild to be true. As for Pam & Tommy, not only was the series one of Hulu’s bigger hits of the year, it earned all three Emmy nominations along with the series being nominated for best limited series.

As for Dano, he is already gaining some award season momentum with his upcoming performance playing Burt Fabelman in Steven Spielberg’s The Fabelmans, premiering next week at the Toronto Film Festival. He also earned rave reviews as the Riddler in Warner Bros. box office smash The Batman, directed by Matt Reeves.


Besides Pam & Tommy, Rogen is also gaining his own award season buzz in The Fabelmans as well, where he plays the Uncle of the main character. He was also recently seen in the Emmy nominated Chip n Dale: The Rescue Rangers.


Stan also delivered a noteworthy performance in the black comedy thriller, Fresh, alongside Daisy Edgar-Jones. He will next star in Sharper and A Different Man.


Davidson was most recently Bodies Bodies Bodies for A24. He is currently in production on the series Bupkis for Peacock alongside Joe Pesci and Edie Falco.


Dano is repped by WME and Anonymous Content. Rogen by UTA and Principal Entertainment LA. Stan by CAA and Brookside Artist Management. Gillespie is represented by UTA and Rumble Media. Davidson, Angelo, Blum and Mezrich are repped by CAA. Ryder Picture Company is repped by UTA.


Black Bear has been rapidly expanding from its origins as an independent film production and financing company into a multifaceted studio across film and television. The recent formation of UK distributor, Black Bear UK, strategically complements Black Bear’s Canadian releasing arm, Elevation Pictures, and comes on the heels of the creation of Double Agent, a joint venture with New Regency, focused exclusively on the production and financing of premium unscripted content.