You Need Money to Be Rich

A romantic thriller about stealing with style
Reg’d © Library of Congress

She's tough; he's refined.

She's practical; he's cultured.

She's brilliant; he's elegant.

She's serious; he's frivolous.

She's a lawyer; he's a crook.

She never loses; neither does he.

Daring British barrister Francesca Smithson is the darling of the press for her courtroom tactics.

She is appointed to defend American CFO Hugo Danch at hearings to extradite him to New York for absconding with a fortune from his crashing company Engone.

Proposed cast: Tim Robbins (Hugo)

She'd rather not.  Hugo isn't all that savory—and she's in a rut, not only with her job but with her fiancé, Jason.

Proposed cast: Dominic Cooper (Jason)

But at the hotel there's a mix-up—she's sent to the suite of Romeo Balue, a light-hearted French charmer and art thief who mistakes her for the call girl he'd ordered—

Proposed cast: Vincent Cassel (Romeo)

—and, what is it, her spirit of fun? she is a little bored—she plays along!

Proposed cast: Anna Friel (Francesca)

Soon she's leading a double life—by night Romeo's bird of paradise, by day the defender of a man with a briefcase full of bearer bonds.

To avoid arrest Hugo allows her to take charge of the bonds—but then Romeo disappears with them, and with a truck full of paintings, leaves her on the hook with some murderous people...and the game heats up.

Set in London—

—and Lake Como:

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Pretentious Pictures presents a comic and romantic thriller.

Reg’d © Library of Congress