Following a trio of high profile castings in the reboot of The Naked Gun, Marvel Studios’ The Fantastic Four, and the Josh Gad-directed Chris Farley biopic, we now have a first image of Paul Walter Hauser in Samir Oliveros’ Press Your Luck, a film based on the true story of Michael Larson, an ice cream truck driver who participated in the gameshow ‘Press Your Luck’ and won big amid the scandal that followed.
“Set in 1984, the film follows Ohio resident Michael Larson, who steps on to the set of game show ‘Press Your Luck’ harboring a secret: the key to endless amounts of money. But his winning streak gets threatened when the executives in the control room start to uncover his real motivations,” reads the synopsis.
Starring alongside Hauser are Walton Goggins (Fallout), David Strathairn (Where The Crawdads Sing), Maisie Williams (Game of Thrones), Haley Bennett (Swallow), Shamier Anderson (John Wick: Chapter 4), David Rysdahl (Oppenheimer), Johnny Knoxville (Jackass), Brian Geraghty (1923), Patti Harrison (Together Together) and Shaunette Renée Wilson (Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny).
Press Your Luck was written by Oliveros and Maggie Briggs (Joyland). It is produce by Plenty Good and Fabula with Protagonist Pictures handling distribution.
Said Oliveros of the film: “I kept having this recurring dream with a white-bearded man,” said Oliveros on adapting this story. “I couldn’t make any sense of it until I stumbled upon his face on a VHS tape I found at a thrift shop. That’s how I learned of Michael’s story. During our next encounter he said if we made the film in time for the 40th anniversary of his feat, he would guide us in the right direction. I’m glad we could make it happen with the support of such incredible partners.”
“Samir has crafted a unique and stylish telling of the incredible true story of a down on his luck everyman gaming the system,” said Protagonist Pictures’ CEO, Dave Bishop. “We couldn’t be happier to be working with the very talented Samir and our friends at Fabula and Plenty Good.”
“We’re drawn to films that don’t behave. Whether it’s an unruly character, an unconventional structure, or an irreverent style, our movies challenge what’s expected. Michael’s bold behavior inspired us, and we hope it inspires you,” said Plenty Goods founder Amanda Freedman.
Press Your Luck is currently in post-production.
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