Dumb Money, the upcoming film by Craig Gillespie, takes a satirical and uproarious look at the GameStop investment drama in 2021, and one of the key parties involved was Keith Gill. Gill, also known by his online alias “Roaring Kitty” on Reddit and “DeepF***ingValue” (DFV) on YouTube, gained prominence for his involvement in the GameStop stock saga that took place earlier in 2021. Gill is a former financial analyst and was known for his enthusiastic support of GameStop (GME) stock on the subreddit r/wallstreetbets.

Gill’s analysis and posts on social media platforms, particularly Reddit and YouTube, played a significant role in driving interest and investment in GameStop. The stock’s value surged dramatically, leading to a short squeeze and causing significant losses for some hedge funds that had bet against GameStop’s success. Gill’s actions and his investment strategy subsequently became widely discussed in financial and mainstream media.

Speaking with Collider’s Steve Weintraub, the film’s writing and producing team of Rebecca Angelo and Lauren Schuker Blum opened up on how the production team were able to work with Gill (played by Paul Dano) in the film, in order to tell his story, adding that he didn’t want fame and adulation, he just wanted to use his brain to make his family rich and to help others to the dame.

Keith Gill, Reluctant Hero

“One thing that’s great about Keith Gill—I mean, there are so many things that are great about Keith Gill—is that he’s a really singular figure in that he is a reluctant hero,” said Angelo. “It feels like we live in a time where everybody wants fame and attention, and here is a person who really believes in something and so brought his conviction to the internet, but didn’t do it really for the money or for the attention because since then he has lived such a private life.”

Angelo continued, adding as writers, it was their moral obligation and a sense of duty on their part to ensure that their right to privacy was upheld and, as such, they were fully involved in the writing process to ensure that they were well looked after.

“So for us as screenwriters and as just responsible, moral human beings, it was important to us that even though he became a huge public figure, and with him, his family became public figures to a degree, we wanted to both respect their wish for privacy and also give them the opportunities that we would want if we were ever so lucky as to be in his situation, to participate in the process. So we reached out to them throughout the process, and then we drove to them and said, “We’ll show you the movie if you want.” We want to respect their right to privacy, so we won’t go into that anymore, but we will say that they are the smartest, coolest, nicest people.”

Blum concurs, observing that Gill’s family are the “funniest people”, adding: “It’s very clear Keith got all this from his family. They’re as extraordinary as he is.”

To see Keith Gill’s story, check out Dumb Money when it opens wide on September 29th.