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And Soderbergh is extending his involvement in movies with numbers in the title, working on 'Ocean's 12' for 2004.
'Queens' follows a David Mamet like day in the life of two con artists. It swept the 2001 Argentine Film Assn. Awards, including best picture. Sony Pictures Classics released the film in the United States last spring.
Soderbergh and Clooney will produce the remake through their Section Eight Prods. banner, which is based at Warner Bros. Soderbergh's longtime first assistant director, Gregory Jacobs, will make his directorial debut and co-write the script with Soderbergh.
'For years, George and I have been trying to find a project for Greg to direct, and we all feel this material hits the bull's eye: a street-level contemporary crime film with brilliant plotting and complex characters', Soderbergh said.
In the original 'Nine Queens' the plot involves an experienced con-man who sees a young guy pulling off a bill-changing scam on a cashier, and then getting caught as he attempts to pull the same trick on the next shift. The older guy steps in, claiming to be a policeman, and drags the other out of the store. Once they are back on the street, he reveals himself to be a fellow swindler with a game of much higher stakes in mind.
They join up for a once-in-a-lifetime scheme which "seemingly" falls into their laps when an old-time con man enlists them to sell a forged set of extremely valuable rare stamps, The Nine Queens. Of course, a series of complications now ensues with a cast of suspicious characters, including relatives, thieves, conmen and pickpockets. As the deceptions mount, it becomes more and more difficult to figure out who is conning whom.
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