Deadline reports that Steven Soderbergh’s drama about the Panama Papers scandal, The Laundromat, has landed a deal with Netflix to distribute the film on their platform. David Schwimmer (Friends) has also joined the cast, which includes Gary Oldman (Darkest Hour), Meryl Streep (The Post), and Antonio Banderas (Life Itself).
Schwimmer will play Matthew Quirk, an insurance company attorney who speaks on their behalf after twenty elderly passengers die on a boating excursion.
The film is based on Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Jake Bernstein‘s nonfiction book, Secrecy World: Inside the Panama Papers Investigation of Illicit Money Networks and the Global Elite. The book dives into the story surrounding the Panama Papers, which was the largest data leak in corporate and government history. Bernstein was part of the international team of journalists who are members of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists that broke the story of the Panama Papers in April. More than 11 million records were leaked as a part of the papers sourced from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca.
Netflix has been eyeing The Laundromat since it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, finally sealing the deal with this report. Soderbergh’s frequent collaborator Scott Z. Burns wrote the script. Lawrence Grey of Grey Matter Productions will himself produce alongside Anonymous Content’s Michael Sugar, Burns and Soderbergh. Bernstein will serve as executive produce alongside Grey Matter COO, Ben Everard.
This becomes the latest big-name film for the ubiquitous streaming service, which includes Alfonso Cuaron’s Roma, Paul Greengrass’ 22 July, and the Coen Bros’ The Ballad of Buster Scruggs.
