Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
On August 28, 2003, a pizza delivery man named Brian Wells robbed a bank with a bomb strapped around his neck. He was apprehended by police shortly after in a nearby parking lot and would be dead before he could reveal the truth about what happened to him. He had allegedly been lured out on a pizza delivery and ambushed by a group of criminals who put the bomb around the neck and forced him to rob the bank. The bomb around his neck evidently detonated, killing him and leaving the world with a million questions. Netflix‘s Evil Genius chronicles this crime and its bizarre details, introducing us to the mastermind behind the plan, Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong. But it’s not the first time this story has been seen on screen since its tragic conclusion.
You might remember the Pizza Bomber Heist because of the media firestorm surrounding it back in 2003 and during the years that followed, or if you’re younger, you may recall similar details in a 2011 comedy called 30 Minutes or Less. The film stars Jesse Eisenberg, Danny McBride, and Aziz Ansari, and is described as such: “Two fledgling criminals kidnap a pizza delivery guy, strap a bomb to his chest, and inform him that he has mere hours to rob a bank or else…”
Sound familiar? Yeah, Brian Wells’ family thought so, too.
Like the Wells case, Eisenberg’s character delivers a pizza, is held up by criminals, and has a bomb strapped to his chest, told that if he robs a bank in time, he will live, but if not – the bomb will explode. Doesn’t necessarily seem like the stuff comedies are made of, but that’s exactly how the flick plays out. Sony, for their part, claims that the film wasn’t based on the case at all. “Neither the filmmakers nor the stars of 30 Minutes or Less were aware of the crime prior to their involvement in the film.” The stars echoed this sentiment: “It’s about normal guys who were forced to rob a bank, and I don’t think we are poking fun at any kind of tragedy,” said Ansari.
Despite the denial that the film was based on the heist, Evil Genius makes it even more difficult to deny the link. Guy is called to deliver pizza to remote area (a junkyard for 30 Minutes, a radio transmission tower for Wells), motive for heist in 30 Minutes or Less is paying for a hitman to kill a father for inheritance, and Diehl-Armstrong wanted to pay Kenneth Barnes to kill her father for apparently wasting her would-be inheritance. In Evil Genius, Wells is described as “almost child-like”. 30 Minutes or Less‘ Nick is described as a “manchild”. You get the picture.
Whether or not screenwriters Matthew Sullivan and Michael Diliberti will ever concede that they based 30 Minutes or Less on the Pizza Bomber Heist remains to be seen, but the links are undeniable.
