Tinseltown- According to an item in The Hollywood Reporter, actor William H. Macy is set to play CPA Lew Berman. If your next comment is how thrilling, note that Berman was a Florida accountant appointed by a judge to run a string of strip clubs.

Macy, who had a role in Boogie Nights, and Steven Schachter who collaborated with Macy on the Emmy-winning Door to Door, are teaming up again to do the movie based on a real-life scenario. The project is tentatively titled The Accountant and The Stripper and the real life Berman will serve as consultant on the project.

Berman was thrust in the limelight when, in 1996, a judge presided over a $17 million legal battle between Michael Peter, proprietor of a chain of strip clubs, and a Jacksonville-based insurance executive, Mark Sanford. The $17 million was given to Peter by Sanford’s insurance company in 1989 and never returned. Sanford claimed Peter defaulted on a loan, while Peter called it an investment that ended up losing money. With Peter facing racketeering charges, Berman, a retiree, was appointed receiver
to oversee the management of Peter’s clubs, talent agencies and related businesses. Berman subsequently turned around the finances of Peter’s six clubs, making them profitable for the state.