Based on “The Stolen Kids of Sarah Lawrence,” a cover story for New York magazine by Ezra Marcus and James D. White, Blum’s production company picked up the rights to the story about Larry Ray shortly after it was published late last month.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, the production is in its infancy, and it is not clear if it will be turned into a feature film or limited series. Wahlberg would star as Ray if it hits theaters.
The story centers on Ray, who was released from prison and moved into the co-ed dorm of his daughter at Sarah Lawrence, located near the border of Yonkers and Bronxville.
Ray would cook fancy meals, and share stories about working for the CIA and being a Marine. What was to be a short arrangement led to “Ray taking charge of the kids’ lives and then whisking them away to a private apartment in New York for a summer,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.
With only his daughter by his side, Ray attempted to turn the students against their parents, got involved in their sex lives, and emotionally and physically abused them, the New York magazine story said.
“Larry was of average height and overweight, yet he could be intimidating. He had a clean-shaven head and favored polo shirts cut to make his 50-year-old frame look hulking. His machismo was out of place on the liberal-arts campus,” Marcus and White wrote. “He could also be charming. He was a good listener and engaged the group on heady concepts like truth and justice.”
The project is being produced by Blum’s blockbuster studio Blumhouse Productions, and Wahlberg will team with Steven Levinson to produce the project through their Closest to the Hole production company.
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