As if an Academy Award nomination for his work in the film The Town, wasn’t enough, it looks as if Jeremy Renner is looking to cement a reputation as the guy to go to for a crime drama by becoming attached to the The King Of Heists. The film will be an adaptation of J. North Conway’s book King Of Heists: The Sensational Bank Robbery Of 1878 That Shocked America.
Renner will play the real life George Leslie, a mid-19th century architect from Ohio who moved to New York City and hid behind a shield of societal respectability while he masterminded numerous bank robberies. The largest of which was at the Manhattan Savings Institution which netted a haul of $3 million dollars in cash and securities. (That would be approximately $50 million today.) A real life Professor Moriarty, Leslie’s involvement was never even suspected until after his murder in 1878 when his various accomplices were gradually captured by the police and confessed.
This marks the second bio-pic that Renner is involved with. His production company, The Combine, which is producing this film is also developing a project based on the life of iconic actor Steve McQueen.
