Dillon, Fraser, Robinson Get FREAKY DEAKY

Variety reported that Matt Dillon, Brendan Fraser and Craig Robinson will co-star in the adaptation of Elmore Leonard‘s novel FREAKY DEAKY starring William H. Macy and Camilla Belle. Scripted by Charles Matthau who will also direct the project, he changed the Detroit story’s period setting from the late ’80s to 1974..

Macy plays a character named Woody Ricks, described as “an alcoholic millionaire with a passion for show tunes, showgirls and a knack for avoiding getting blown up”
Dillon plays Chris Mankowski, “an LAPD bomb squad officer who stumbles upon a plot by two former hippie activists who plan to use their bomb-making skills to trick an alcoholic movie mogul into handing over millions of dollars.”
Fraser plays Skip Gibbs, “one of the former activists who has parlayed his skills into a career as a Hollywood pyrotechnics artist and demolition expert.”
Robinson plays Donnell Lewis, “a former Black Panther turned capitalist who serves as his assistant”

Order the book today at Amazon, here’s its official synopsis…

“Leonard starts and ends his latest page turner with a bang, and between explosions we meet a vivid group of characters who are mainly veterans of the youth rebellion of the 1960s. Chief among them are Chris Mankowski, 38-year-old Detroit police sergeant, newly transferred from the bomb squad to sex crimes; Woody Ricks, alcoholic auto scion; Donnell Lewis, ex-Black Panther who is acting as Woody’s driver, nursemaid and would-be swindler; Robin Abbott, ex-con, exfugitive (she bombed a federal office building) who has plans for a million dollar movie based on Woody’s life, with help from her old boyfriend and erstwhile bombing partner Skip Gibbs, now a movie dynamite expert. The only character who does not have ties to the ’60s is Greta (“Who’s Huey Newton?”) Wyatt, stagenamed Ginger Jones, who meets Chris when she reports that Woody has assaulted her. When Chris pursues the investigation, he is suspended from the force, ostensibly for nonresidence in Detroit but really because of Woody’s clout. Now determined to get to the bottom of things, Chris is caught up in a web of scams plotted by Robin, Skip and Donnell. Leonard (Bandits, Glitz) excels here with his trademark menace and his deadpan, throwaway humor. His superlative ear for the vernacular makes all the characters spring to life; Woody,”always in low with his dims on,” is a brilliant creation. This bang-up novel has bestseller written all over it.”