Magic Mike star Joe Manganiello set to star in/ produce ‘Smiths’ movie

Magic Mike star Joe Manganiello has revealed that he is set to produce and star in an upcoming movie named  Shoplifters of the World. The film is based around a ‘real life’ incident that occurred in the 1980s where a man held a Denver radio station hostage and forced them to play nothing but The Smiths.

Apparently the project hs got the blessing of Smiths’ frontman Morrissey, and we can count on getting a whole bunch of Smiths’ music in the final movie. The word on the street is that Manganiello is looking to play the role of the D.J. in the film.

The whole ‘did this event actually happen’ thing has reared its head once again, and there are various reports that the incident didn’t actually take place at all. This from Westword.

After examining the letters he wrote to his parents, which were included in the original Lakewood police file, and the details of that harrowing and fateful day in the fall of 1988 from the original offense report, one thing becomes clear: James Kiss was a very troubled young man with a seemingly dastardly plan. But according to Agent Hitchins, who spoke with two witnesses, and Agent Hinkle, who obtained a confession from the suspect, the eighteen-year-old boy simply gave himself up without any sort of struggle and handed over his weapon. It was odd ending, considering that he had purchased the rifle, a Remington .22 caliber Apache 77, just a few days earlier, with the specific intent of taking over a radio station at gunpoint and then forcing the staff to play the music of the Smiths.

We like the idea anyway, and love the fact that Manganiello is the one of the creative forces behind it. Stephen Kijak will write and direct. More news as we get it.