ENID, Okla., Nov. 8, 2011
A new feature screenplay based on the Keith Schooley classic, Merrill Lynch: The Cost Could Be Fatal – My War Against Wall Street’s Giant, is being pitched to Hollywood in tandem with the Occupy Wall Street movement.
Robber Barons of the Big Board, written by acclaimed investigative reporter Chandra Niles Folsom, reveals what happens when an idealistic rookie stockbroker notices unlawful business practices at America’s most trusted financial firm and turns whistleblower.
Alternating between small town Oklahoma and big city New York, a cast of unforgettable characters find their worlds colliding as the U.S. economy melts under the searing heat of greed and corruption fed on a steady drip of Bush/Cheney policy steroids.
Several top U.S. production companies, A-list actors and an independent film producer in the Arabian Peninsula have shown interest in the work, which Schooley hopes to have in production by next year. Among others eager to read the script was former “Sheriff of Wall Street” and New York governor, Eliot Spitzer.
“This screenplay is my story,” says Schooley. “But, more importantly, it is an authentic American story that could have only occurred during an era when the Federal government existed primarily to serve the desires of Corporate America while ordinary citizens paid the bill.”
As the Wall Street protests continue to grow in size and scope, occupying city streets from coast to coast with the message that big banks and the mega rich must be held accountable, Schooley’s crusade to clean up Wall Street is one step closer to becoming a reality.
“I witnessed the corruption from the inside,” says Schooley. “I knew that if it was happening at Merrill Lynch, it must be going on at the other big banks and now everyone recognizes they were duped by Wall Street’s big lie.”
Veteran entertainment attorney Jay Shanker, who has practiced in Los Angeles for more than 25 years, is currently representing Robber Barons.