The new true crime tale, American Pain, directed by Emmy® Award-winner Darren Foster traces the rise and fall of Chris and Jeff George, identical twins who are believed to be America’s most prolific opioid kingpins. In just a few short years of operation, the Georges ran a pill mill empire that attracted clients from around the country, and spawned a prescription drug trafficking network with an estimated street value of more than $500M. The film will premiere at the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival in June, and is currently slated for release in 2023.
Foster’s crime fable unfolds across a sundrenched Florida landscape as identical twin brothers Jeff and Chris George seized an opportunity to expand their steroid business into the bigger bucks of opioid pain clinics. Through a series of exclusive jailhouse interviews, the twins describe how they hired rogue physicians to prescribe alarming quantities of opioid painkillers to the maximum number of patients.
Foster’s mix of cinema verité, undercover footage, wiretaps, and direct-to-camera interviews with key players and rivals reveal how the brothers even used their own mother, and Chris’ girlfriend, to help manage the cash business and supervise the management of up to 500 patients per day. Their greed and extravagant lifestyles attracted the attention of the FBI.
In only a few years of operation, the brothers were responsible for millions of doses of opioids released to patients by allegedly fabricating patient records. Foster incorporates undercover video and interviews with federal agents to propel his fast-paced plot, describing how the criminal investigation took ever darker turns, as the Georges ran their business in a mob-like fashion, ruthlessly threatening competitors, while amassing a fortune from patients, even as dozens of their clientele were dying from overdoses.
Academy Award-nominated, Emmy® Award-winning producers Julie Goldman, Christopher Clements, and Carolyn Hepburn of Motto Pictures are producers, alongside Diane Becker of Fishbowl Films. Amy Entelis and Courtney Sexton of CNN Films are executive producers. CNN Films retains worldwide and North American television rights to the film. HBO Max holds streaming rights.
Related posts:
