Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Edward Bass: Going beyond the Ponzi scheme

Edward Bass image credit: thebestthingieverdid.com


Before Bernard Madoff, there was Charles Ponzi, the proponent of the infamous get-rich-fast scheme that has become one of the world’s greatest financial scams. However, acclaimed filmmaker Edward Bass has chosen not to delve exclusively into the genius of the Ponzi scheme. He has opted to offer a character study of one of the most notorious con-men of all time.

Edward Bass image credit: geektyrant.com


Unlike what happened in Clint Eastwood’s J. Edgar that has left an ambiguous impression of FBI’s powerful head, Ponzi will tackle Charles’ secret life outside the carefully orchestrated financial chicanery in order to paint a picture of a delusional, yet likable man who doesn’t appear 100% evil.

Legend tells that Charles boarded the gravy train when he was still young. He told his first victim to lend him $20 and that he would return $30 in 90 days. Succeeding in this intriguing offer, Charles went off to victimize another and the Ponzi scheme came into fruition.

Producer Edward Bass says, “It's amazing to me, that today, 9 out of 10 people know what a Ponzi scheme is, but don't realize there was Charles Ponzi. And furthermore, people have fallen for these same cons over and over."

The film can be dubbed as a significant literature unraveling the true character of a man with a propensity to fabricate facts about his life. Some of the issues that the film would explore are Charles’ motivation behind the fraudulent act, his family, and how he felt about his success story gone wrong.


Edward Bass image credit: edwardbassfilms.com


Edward Bass’ upcoming film is produced in cooperation with Victorino Noval Productions. For more details, visit www.edwardbassfilms.com.

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