Sexy Beast Writer Pens The Princess' Gangster
Louis Mellis, one half of the writing team behindSexy Beastand44 Inch Chest(currently in limited release in the US) has been tapped to writeThe Princess' Gangster, about the reported affair betweenPrincess Margaret, younger sister of England’s Queen Elizabeth II, and charismatic actor/tough guyJohn Bindon. It was tabloid stuff decades ago when Bindon claimed to have slept with the Princess, who had already been linked to a couple of other affairs. So Mellis would be working with a story of royalty, gangsters, tabloid fame and the movie business? Sounds like a perfect fit.THRhas details about Mellis being hired to work onThe Princess' Gangster, but doesn’t offer too much more info. Fortunately there’s plenty of stuff out there about Bindon. After doing an early ’60s stint in Borstal, Bindon scored parts in films likePoor Cow(the movie with Terence Stamp that acts as flashback material inThe Limey),PerformanceandQuadrophenia. Later in life he worked security for Led Zeppelin on a US tour before being charged with assault and fired for various violent incidents. Bindon met Princess Margaret while both were on the island of Mustique; introduced by a mututal friend, the two reportedly engaged in a little holiday fun.
Channel 4 has already done a short expose about the affair between Margaret and Bindon;The Princess and the Gangsteraired a year ago. The affair has had other resonance in the movie world, too. InThe Bank Job, the macguffin was a set of photos supposedly showing the Princess having a beach affair; given the circumstances, the man involved would likely have been Bindon.
Incidentally, theGuardianran a piece on Mellis and former writing partnerDavid Scinto, who have experienced a falling out and are no longer writing together. That piece mentions that Mellis has an upcoming project withJacques Audiard, director of the acclaimedA Prophet. Could that beThe Princess' Gangster?
