In the last few years Matthew McConaughey has certainly moved away from the lazy rom-coms that were in danger of turning career into a bit of joke. Indeed it surprised many when he put in a performance in Dallas Buyers Club that won him an Oscar, as they’d forgotten he’s actually really good when he puts his mind to it.
Now he’s set his sights on wine, or at least a movie about a bottle of Bordeaux. He’s attached to a movie version of Benjamin Wallace’s book The Billionaires Vinegar, according to Deadline, which is based around the true story of an extremely expensive bottle of wine that’s believed to have once belonged to Thomas Jefferson.
The story ‘starts in 1985, when a Forbes family member paid $156,000 at auction for a bottle of 1787 Chateau Lafite Bordeaux, which Christies of London billed as part of a Jefferson cache discovered in France. The wine was supplied by Hardy Rodenstock, a music manager-turned-wine dealer who somehow unearthed several bottles of old wine. After paying $500,000 for the Jefferson bottles, billionaire Bill Koch paid twice that for an investigation to confirm their origins and then sued Rodenstock. The title comes from the peculiar fact that collectors spend tons of money for wine they will never drink or even open.’
Indeed much of the tale is based around the odd preoccupations and interests of those who have too much money, and how prestige around owning certain objects can become of vital importance – far outstripping the intrinsic value of the objects themselves.
Michael Brandt and Derek Haas are behind the script, but it doesn’t appear a director is attached as yet.