An all female “Ocean’s 8” film casts Richard Armitage in an as yet unknown role, January 18, 2017 Gratiana Lovelace (Post#1031)

The “Ocean’s Eight” film goes fem?  I love the idea of a strong all—or mostly all—woman lead cast for the next Ocean’s numerated caper movie.  At least, I assume it will be a caper movie like its predecessors—stealing something from bad/unethical guys, and just escaping by the skin of their teeth.   With a plot that has lots of twists and turns!  I guess that’s why they need a humongous cast that is so far listed on the film’s IMDB page.  (wallpaper below: waves Mark Sowers, Bing; images Google)

And though not listed yet in the cast list on IMDB, the exquisitely talented British actor Richard Armitage (article quoted below and image right) is slated to join the cast of “Ocean’s Eight” per Deadline dot com (Thanks! to TeresaA for pointing me to that article):

“Details of his [Richard Armitage’s] character are being kept under wraps but he’s in good company in the female-driven caper with stars Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, Mindy Kaling, Sarah Paulson, Awkwafina, Rihanna, Helena Bonham Carter and James Corden.”

And I noticed that Richard Armitage has worked with three of the actresses above:  Cate Blanchett in The Hobbit (though their roles and Galadriel and Thorin Oakenshield did not intersect), and as the father King Oleron  in Alice Through the Looking Glass to his daughters Anne Hathaway and Helena Bonham Carter.

And the Ocean’s films have great characters and locations!  Who can forget Carl Reiner in huge sunglasses as a con man pretending to be a whale—a big money target—in “Ocean’s Eleven”?

So if we could spin our dreams for a possible “Ocean’s Eight” film plot that would involve copious amounts of Richard Armitage screen time, what might that look like?  Here is one of my own character and plot ideas.

 

Grati’s Character and Plot Ideas—The Grifter returns and the Ladies revenge

Richard Armitage could portray David “The Falcon” Falconi—renamed David Falconer for their scheme–a retired small time con man turned semi pro stock car race driver, who just lost his team sponsor (below, Richard Armitage as Ricky Deeming from George Gently, left via RAnet, right via Noemi, Thanks!).  He has mouths to feed—for his racing team members’ families—and for his own family of younger adult siblings’ college tuition, etc.  He had become his 15 years younger brother’s and sister’s guardian when their parents died in a car crash ten years ago—hence his retirement from grifting and career change.

       before

The need for a promised $5 million dollar pay day for David is why he allows the Ocean’s Gals do a Pygmalion makeover on him—voice, comportment, manners, clothes, etc.–into a suave business man type (either as below top images as Lucas North from Spooks; or below images as Daniel Miller from Berlin Station).

       after makeover option A  (images via RABlogger and RAnet, thanks!)

or

          after makeover option B   (Images via mzperx tumblr and TeresaA)

The Ocean’s Gals want to utilize The Falcon as their shill for a realestate swap bamboozle of a tycoon who lives lavishly, yet doesn’t pay his bills in full before moving on to the next project.  I wonder if they could get Alec Baldwin for the role of the tycoon?  *wink*

The Ocean’s Gals came together for their fleecing scheme when several of their various family construction and custom renovation businesses were stiffed by the tycoon’s luxury apartments project.  And now it’s time for payback.  The Ocean’s Gals hope to clear a cool 50 million dollars each—with the tycoon not realizing that the private island they are trying to swap to him for his luxury apartment complex, is really a landfill that had been destined to become a resort complete with its own landing strip–until it was determined that the ground was too unstable for planes or any kind of long term habitation, since the island was sinking.  But the tycoon has never owned his own island and he fast tracks his trying to buy the island without looking into all of the details.

Armitage’s character will be the bait for the tycoon—the front man who is developing the island that the tycoon wants to buy—a man with his wife who are seemingly interested in buying one of the tycoon’s luxury apartment complex properties as a land swap for the island.  It seems that leased condos—and the residents paying for differing levels of luxury amenities, such as on site spas, restaurants, nightclubs, limousine services and such–are a license to print money.  And the Ocean’s Gals don’t want to give the tycoon any chance to fleece any other people.  So they will fleece him first.

 

So with one of the Ocean’s ladies as David’s pretend wife, who gets to be the wife to Armitage’s husband?  For my money, I would say Cate Blanchett could play Armitage’s grifting partner—as the other ladies swirl around in their various roles for the scheme.  Cate Blanchett is tall and classy–and the tall and commanding Richard Armitage has said that he would like to work with her again, since their roles in The Hobbit did not intersect.  And will they fall in love, or merely fall in unrequited lust—since they each have other love partners that they are involved with before the scheme begins.

 

And there could be some especially poignant moments as Richard’s character of David’s younger now med school intern bound sister (to be played by Dakota Fanning?) bumps into her brother in New York City at a hospital charity gala where part of cultivating the tycoon takes place by the Ocean’s Gals and by David.   And David’s sister almost blows his cover—and the whole operation.  It turns out that The Falcon’s sister is there to help fundraise—for the hospital.  The vapid rich, like the tycoon character—not to be confused with the philanthropic rich–like to be seen doing good (whether or not they actually do good, let alone make a donation), and this tycoon target is no different.  But David is desperate for his sister not to get involved in their somewhat illegal fraud.

 

Unfortunately, the tycoon has an eye for the ladies—though his pocket book, rather than his person, is what appeals to some women that he has gone out with in the past.  So the Ocean’s Gals switch gears to help out David–and to help themselves out. And with Sandra Bullock in the cast, wouldn’t it be great to play her against type with her pretending to be a prim and no nonsense upscale matchmaker who insists that the tycoon treat all of the women she introduces him to as ladies?  No sex—nor any hanky panky–before marriage.  These ladies (some of the Ocean’s Gals) get the tycoon’s mind off of David’s sister.  Of course, the Ocean’s gals will slip some knockout drugs into the tycoon’s drinks to insure that the no sex rule is in full force–with the tycoon none the wiser.   Whereas each gal is alternatively scouring his luxury apartment, bugging his cell phone, or hacking into his home computer for more evidence of tycoon’s own skullduggery while the tycoon is unconscious.  The Ocean’s Gals also plan to turn over the evidence they uncover to the FBI and law enforcement, in the hope that more small businesses stiffed by the tycoon might get their proper payments plus interest and aggravation compensation.

 

In the end, the greedy tycoon signs on the dotted line for the property swap—him gleefully planning a luxury resort for his new island.  The Ocean’s Gals get the luxury apartment complex property from the tycoon, as a swap for the tycoon getting the sinking island.  Of course, the tycoon doesn’t discover that he has been bamboozled until the Feds come a calling when the tycoon tries to bribe inspectors to certify that the island is ready for construction and occupancy–so he could build a new luxury resort without him having to wait for all the proper surveying and water quality certifications and such.

The Ocean’s Gals get their $50 million dollars each from the sale of the luxury apartments to a reputable realestate mogul–to pay their family businesses the construction money that the tycoon owed them plus interest and for them all to have a cushion.  And David “The Falcon” Falconi gets a cool $5 million as his slice of the pie–which he shares in part with his racing team and family, then he sets up a corporation with his lawyer younger brother for lucratively sponsoring their and other racing teams with the rest of the money.  So everyone is set for life.

 

Sort of.  As the tycoon has his assets and bank accounts stripped from him and he goes to jail for his own fraud and for bribery charges.  One wonders if that will be the end of this story.  After all, hell hath no fury like a tycoon scorned.  Hmmm.  I sense a sequel coming on.

Disclaimer:  Any resemblance to actual persons living or not, or places that might be obliquely referenced in this film scenario is purely coincidental. *wink*

And P.S. to the Casting Director:  Please try to work in a bit more diversity.  Rihanna and Mindy Kaling are the only diverse lead and second tier cast members that I see in the IMDB cast list so far—so the film could use more multicultural diversity.  And how about more, or any, older over 50 people in the cast, too? Etc.  If you want people to come see your film, they need to be able to see themselves in the film.   I’m just saying.

Another P.S.  And I notice that Anna Wintour (Vogue Editor queen) and Zac Posen (clothing designer) are also listed among the cast.  So I hope that this film isn’t just about fashion.  Women have more interests than what they wear.