Notorious NYC mass transit thief who has been, uh, appropriating subways and buses since 1981 is getting the Hollywood treatment with one of the biggest stars: Julia Roberts is reportedly interested in starring in a film about Darius McCollum.
According to Variety the film, called Train Man, will be about "the criminal (and Internet celebrity) known for impersonating public transit authorities in order to drive away subway trains and Greyhound buses. McCollum, who is diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome, has been arrested more than 25 times for such crimes." His early heists (starting at age 15) will also be shown throughout the film via flashbacks.
Roberts will portray his most recent lawyer, and those who have read the script by Simon Stephenson (of the U.K. series “Eleventh Hour”) tell that Variety it’s a meaty role for Roberts, along the lines of her Oscar-winning portrait in 2000’s 'Erin Brockovich.'"
McCollum was most recently arrested last November for stealing a Greyhound bus from the Port Authority Bus Terminal. He was pulled over in Brooklyn, by police officers who heard the alert; McCollum apparently told the authorities, "Next time I’m taking a plane."
His first brush with the law was when he commandeered an E train in 1981, taking it "from 34th Street to the World Trade Center without the conductor or passengers reporting anything amiss." McCollum's mother has said she's gone into debt, hiring lawyers for him repeatedly.
Mostly recently, his lawyer Sally Butler suggested that McCollum could help the authorities, since he obviously knows how to exploit weaknesses in the system, "He walked with them through the system, showing them where things were vulnerable. And obviously, he still knows them. If anyone can walk up in Port Authority and steal a bus, do you think we need some assistance?"
McCollum, now 50-years-old, faces charges including grand larceny, criminal impersonation of a public servant and unauthorized use of a vehicle. He is currently being held on $50,000 bail or $100,000 bond at Rikers. His next court date is March 21st.
