BBC and Stan Acquire The Real Wolf of Wall Street Documentary
The BBC and Stan have acquired The Real Wolf of Wall Street, a three-part documentary about Jordan Belfort, according to Deadline. The series was made for Paramount+. Stan is an Australian streaming service, and the BBC is the British public broadcaster.
The series is sold by Hat Trick International, a distribution company that handles television shows for buyers around the world. Hat Trick launched the documentary at MIPCOM Cannes, the large autumn television market on the French Riviera, where companies show new programmes to broadcasters and streamers.
Three companies co-produced the series for Paramount+: Maxine Productions, Bloomberg and See It Now Studios. Maxine is part of Sony Pictures Television, and its nonfiction arm handles factual programmes.
The documentary draws on unreleased footage, thousands of internal FBI documents and archival interviews. It also includes insights from Belfort's former wife, Nadine, and from former employee Donna Schlessinger. Nadine Belfort was the basis for the character played by Margot Robbie in the 2013 film The Wolf of Wall Street.
The story it tells is a long one. In the 1990s, Belfort led a team of brokers at Stratton Oakmont, the firm at the centre of his scheme. He later pleaded guilty to fraud and stock market manipulation and was jailed for 22 months. He then became an FBI informant and gave evidence against others involved in the scheme.
Hat Trick International was launched in 1998 and is part of Hat Trick Productions. According to the company's website, it represents formats and finished programmes from more than 30 third-party production companies. Its catalogue runs to more than 2,700 hours, and it specialises in scripted and non-scripted shows. Sarah Tong is the company's Director of Sales.
For the people who work on these shows, the sale matters in a practical way. A distributor's sale to a broadcaster or streamer is often how a documentary gets paid for and finished, and how the crew that made it gets to see it reach an audience. The BBC and Stan now have the series for their own services.
