The time for dueling Lou Pearlman projects is nigh. Following news of a limited TV series based on the boy-band manager (and mis-manager), Deadline reports that a movie about Pearlman’s life is also in the works. The big-screen project, which will use Tyler Gray’s book, The Hit Charade: Lou Pearlman, Boy Bands, and the Biggest Ponzi Scheme in U.S. History, as its source material, is to be produced by Desmond Child, Andreas Carlsson, and man-bander John Stamos. Pearlman, who died last month in prison, gained fame as the Svengali figure behind boy bands including Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC, and O-Town, only to later find infamy for mismanaging many of his boy-bander clients’ funds and, more pressingly, for masterminding a two-decades-long Ponzi scheme. The latter offense landed him 25 years behind bars, where, eight years in, he died. Now, as the Lou Pearlman Deep Impact/Armageddon influx approaches, remember: you can like both the TV show and the movie, but, as with choosing a boy band, only one may have your heart.
