House of Games

The Art of Scamming

There’s nothing more ripe for adaptation nowadays than the scammer’s tale. Mark my words, any minute now Deadline will announce that Ryan Murphy has bought the life rights to the George Santos story. And it wouldn’t surprise me if some indie darling spearheads a project about Sam Brinton, the non-binary, Biden-appointed nuclear official who steals luggage (and that’s just the start of it).

For a moment I thought we were exiting that era, that there couldn’t possibly be anything more to say about the psychology of a professional narcissist and the culture that allows them to thrive. For a moment I thought I was over it too, but I guess, since the history of film, there will always be something interesting to say about liars. Not everyone can do it, but when it’s done well…well, fuck.