The dark comedy “Mope” starring David Arquette, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett and Max Adler released a new trailer ahead of its release online on June 16. The film is the darkly hilarious and tragic true story of best friends Steve Driver and Tom Dong as they struggle to make it as porn stars, but end up getting hired as “mopes,” the porn equivalent of movie extras.
Mope is directed by Lucas Heyne and premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, and was planning a limited theatrical release, but will now make a wide digital release.
Based on a true crime story by Michael Louis Albo, the film is a dark comedy about the multibillion-dollar world of pornography, the term mope refers to a low-level, wannabe porn actor. They’re the lowest of the low, hanging around sets and taking on menial jobs with aspirations of becoming huge stars. In this tragic true story, Stephen Clancy Hill and Herbert Wong, respectively known by their porn alter egos Steve Driver and Tom Dong, were two such mopes—real-life best friends attempting to live the impossible dream, but the blurred line between reality and delusion ultimately sent them both tumbling down a path of destruction.