We've received your submission. Borsuk, now 35, is currently living in Brooklyn, where he serves on the board of directors of Die Jim Crow, the first nonprofit record label in the United States for currently and formerly incarcerated musicians. And there’s not many things I invented – it’s as close to the truth as it can be.’, However, Layton said there was one person he would have changed the movie for – Betty Jean Gooch, the librarian targeted in the heist. Even so, two days later, the teens went on a joyride to New York City, where they dressed as businessmen and attempted to sell the tome to Christie’s auction house. Lexington will have to wait to see 'American Animals' movie about Transy book heist May 30, 2018 10:49 AM On Dec. 17 a man who said he was "Walter Beckman" went to view Transylvania … It really humbled me.”, Released in 2012 after serving six years in prison and one year in a halfway house, Borsuk remains humble, despite his brush with the limelight. (He appears in the movie “American Animals,” which premiered at Sundance and starred X-Men actor Evan Peters as Lipka.). Metacriticによれば、40件の評論のうち、高評価は27件、賛否混在は11件、低評価は2件で、平均して100点満点中68点を得ている[8]。, “「スナッチ」「レザボア・ドッグス」「オーシャンズ11」を参考に強盗!? “I had a great judge, she was so fair and impartial,” he continued. This story has been shared 194,203 times. 'American Animals' Uses Documentary Techniques To Tell Story Of Kentucky Book Heist NPR critic Bob Mondello reviews American Animals. Layton added: ‘The FBI found a page on which they’d written out the whole getaway plan. This story has been shared 194,203 times. video, Speaking at a screening of American Animals at Everyman’s Screen On The Green, as part of the Wild Turkey Bold Cinema series, director Bart Layton said: ‘I was on a flight back from Sundance, and I found the story of this crime. 139,209, This story has been shared 135,632 times. This story has been shared 135,632 times. American Animals, directed by Bart Layton, tells the story behind the so-called “Transy Book Heist” mostly through reenactments. Privacy Notice Based on a book of real life events, “American Animals” depicts Eric Borsuk and three friends stealing a rare original copy of Darwin’s “On the Origin of Species” only to try to sell it to Christie’s auction house. Thanks for contacting us. Now, his memoir, also called “American Animals” (Turner Publishing), is out — further detailing his exploits. Eric Borsuk and three of his friends stole a library book, which led to a violent crime, as depicted in the movie "American Animals." The more I talked to them about their crimes, families and their homes, everyone shared this same story that they were searching for something in life. They were often decent people who had gotten themselves into bad situations. ドキュメンタリー出身のバート・レイトン（英語版）監督の長編劇映画デビュー作で[4]、出演はエヴァン・ピーターズとバリー・コーガンなど。 Eventually caught in an FBI raid after e-mail addresses linked them to the crime, Borsuk and his friends were all sentenced equally on charges that included theft of cultural artifacts and transportation of stolen property. I lived in Kentucky, Charlotte, Philly, San Francisco, LA and now New York. Sitemap I’ve been on the streets,” Borsuk said. After that, I had to dive deep into writing. However, this isn’t just a documentary. ‘Warren, who is a consummate fantasist, had kind of become the architect of this fantasy they were all going to play in, and while Spencer was constantly waiting for the bubble to burst, Warren was in the background smoothing out all of the bumps. We talk to the college kids-turned-criminals responsible for history’s most inept art theft. “When I got out, I did probation, then I traveled a lot. Warren Lipka and his friend Spencer Reinhard, Eric Borsuk and Charles ‘Chas’ Allen II attempted to steal four double-sized folios of John James Audubon’s Birds of America and a first edition of Charles Darwin’s On The Origin Of Species from the library, first disguised as old men, and, when that failed, pretending to be gentlemen interested in the works. Layton said: ‘I showed them all the film before we premiered it – not because I would have allowed them to change it, but because it felt like the decent thing to do. “I just want to experience life as much as possible, as long as I stay true to myself and don’t compromise my morals again.”. “Then we did an interview with Vanity Fair and it completely set off the prosecutor. Everybody loves a good heist film. ‘If I had to come down on either side, I’d say he did go to Amsterdam – but I’m not sure he met anyone while he was there.’. April 4, 2020 | 10:25am | Updated April 5, 2020 | 3:03pm. “The sentencing took a year, so we got to say good bye to family and friends. I didn’t think “wow, this would be a really great film”, but I thought there were so many unanswered questions. But while the quartet were living their criminal mastermind dreams, the plan was doomed to fail. host, dead at 80. Does Layton think he was lying? The enigmatic Warren Lipka is the ringleader of the heist, and we see him (played by Evan Peters) flying off to Amsterdam to meet a stolen goods buyer – but the idea is later floated that not everything he says happened was true. ‘She took a while to convince to be involved, and if she felt in any way misrepresented, that wouldn’t have been ok. When he was 19 in 2004, Eric Borsuk and three of his friends pulled off a bizarre heist: They stole a rare original copy of Darwin’s “On the Origin of Species” from a college library in Kentucky and assaulted an elderly female librarian in the process. Although the real life Warren, Spencer, Eric and Chas all appear in the film, they are played by Evan Peters, Barry Keoghan, Jared Abrahamson and Blake Jenner, with the movie switching us back and forth between the fantasy and the reality. browser that Borsuk describes this as a horrifying moment, where he felt his whole life change, “like a train switching tracks.”. Layton spoke to the four men over ‘months and years’ while they served seven years each for their attempted heist, and they all appear in American Animals to tell their stories. There’s loads in there they should be ashamed of or feel embarrassed by, but they felt it was accurate to their memory. A complimentary Old Fashioned comes with your ticket. The prosecution was tough and wanted 15 years for us. 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American Animals brings to the silver screen the story of the Transy Book Heist of 2004, where four students tried to steal $12 million worth of arts and books from the Special Collections … In fact, I probably wouldn’t have made it without her blessing.’, Thankfully, BJ was a fan of the film, with Layton saying: ‘The thing that she realised was that she could start to feel forgiveness for the guys because they weren’t criminals so much as idiots.’. Nobody knows this more now that Warren, Spencer, Eric and Chas. Where would they put the money? Borsuk, grew up in Lexington, Ky., with a mechanical-engineer father, kindergarten-teacher mother and two siblings. It just didn’t add up.’. Now, Borsuk is living in Brooklyn and has written his own book on the experience. The judge said that ‘wouldn’t serve your lives any justice.’ She wanted us to be able to get back on track.”. “The first two years, we had been doing really good setting up classes almost like a college curriculum,” Borsuk said.