Where the Story Behind David Leitch’s ‘How to Rob a Bank’ Comes From
‘How to Rob a Bank’ opens wide in theaters on November 13 with an R rating, from Amazon MGM Studios. The title raises an obvious question about what the film is based on, and the answer says a good deal about what the movie is trying to do.
This look at the story behind ‘How to Rob a Bank’ covers the ideas that started the script, the route it took to director David Leitch, and what the finished film promises. It also covers the cast and the release timing for anyone planning a trip to the theater.
The Story Behind ‘How to Rob a Bank’ and Its Starting Point
According to screenwriter Mark Bianculli, the idea began with two unlikely sparks. The first was an online video of thieves stealing an ATM in about a minute with a truck and a cable.
The second was an FBI statistic showing that most first time bank robbers actually leave with the money. From those two pieces came a question that became the engine of his script, namely what it would take to convince someone to cross that line if the barrier to entry is lower than most people imagine.
Social media gave the story its edge. In Bianculli’s screenplay the internet works as another member of the crew, as essential as a getaway car. The first trailer opens with a statistic that nine out of ten armed robberies are successful, and the film appears far more interested in what happens during the tenth.
How the Mark Bianculli Screenplay Reached David Leitch
Bianculli wrote the script for a heist film and developed it for several years with Imagine Entertainment. Leitch boarded as director after 87North Productions and Amazon MGM Studios joined the project.
Outlets cite different parts of Bianculli’s résume. One describes him as co creator of the series ‘Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector.’ Another calls him a writer on the Amazon series ‘Hunters.’ A third notes he is also behind the upcoming ‘Cliffhanger’ remake.
Bianculli also serves as an executive producer alongside Ben Ormand. The producers are Brian Grazer, Jeb Brody, Allan Mandelbaum, Kelly McCormick and Leitch himself. That makes the writer a part of the production well beyond the page.
Social Media Bank Robbers and the Leitch Approach
The official synopsis describes a crew of social media savvy bank robbers who livestream their audacious heists, unaware that their skyrocketing online fame has made them targets for a seasoned FBI agent and a brilliant software engineer. John C. Reilly plays the agent and Zoë Kravitz plays the software engineer.
Leitch told Complex that the project appealed to him as “a fresh take on the heist genre.” He said he had always wanted to make a heist movie and that the challenge is finding an original way into the genre.
The content creator angle let Leitch and his team invent episodes that were not in the script, and he immersed himself in the YouTube algorithm to shape the film’s visual feel. Heists were staged like a play, with the actors wearing small cameras the way content creators would, and drones and 360 cameras helped build scenes in post.
Leitch also said the film becomes grounded once viewers understand the characters’ motivations, which he expects to prompt deeper conversations about what the story presents.
Cast and Release Date for the Heist Film
The cast includes Nicholas Hoult, Zoë Kravitz, Anna Sawai, Rhenzy Feliz and Christian Slater, with Pete Davidson and John C. Reilly. Slater plays a character named Walton.
The film is rated R for brief drug use, some violence and language, and it comes from 87North, Imagine Entertainment and Amazon MGM Studios. One report indicates moviegoers had to wait until November for the film.
A premise built on a quick ATM theft video and a statistic about first time robbers is an unusual foundation for a studio heist film, and it gives Leitch room to comment on internet fame as much as crime. When Hoult’s crew turns every score into content, will you find yourself cheering for their audience or siding with the agent and the engineer chasing them?
