Masterminds has made its way to Netflix UK's Top 10 this week, and many viewers will have a hard time believing it's based on a true story.
Starring Zach Galifianakis, Owen Wilson, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones and Jason Sudeikis, this comedy film centres on a disastrous robbery driven by love, ambition and the desperate need for a life change.
Now sitting among the best comedies on Netflix, Masterminds offers a comedic take on the story of David Scott Ghantt. Here is everything that happened to him before, during and after one of the biggest robberies in US history.
Is Masterminds based on a true story?
Yes, Masterminds is based on a real-life case known as the Loomis Fargo robbery.
"It's a comedy. Not a documentary. You have to remember that it's Hollywood and they'll take what was a minor event and they'll blow it up and make it as funny as they can," said the real David Scott Ghantt, who served as an unpaid consultant in the movie, in an interview with Gaston Gazette in 2016.
Back in 1997, Ghantt was working for Loomis, Fargo & Co, a cash handling company, as a vault supervisor in their regional office in Charlotte, North Carolina. His former co-worker Kelly Campbell introduced the idea of robbing the vault, helped by former FBI informant Steven Eugene Chambers, his wife Michelle Chambers and another five accomplices.
Knowing he was going to become the main suspect, Ghantt accepted. A Gulf War veteran, he was unhappy, overworked and underpaid — he often worked close to 80 hours a week for around $8 an hour.
On the evening of October 4 that year, they took $17.3 million in cash from the vault, which at the time was the second biggest robbery in US history.
It all sounds very serious, but the actual robbery was full of mistakes — hence the material for a comedy movie like Masterminds.
Ghantt forgot to disable all of the cameras in the vault and failed to consider the insane weight of the money they were about to carry in an ordinary van. Ultimately they weren't able to carry as much as they wanted, but $17 million is still an incredible sum.
After the robbery, Ghantt fled to Mexico with $25,000 in his pocket (far from the $5 million cut he was promised), while the Chambers family purchased a mansion and did little to hide their unexpected change of circumstances.
"It baffles me to this day," Ghantt admitted.
"I don't want to be mean, but that's probably the dumbest thing they could do. I wanted to get as far away as I could. I knew I was going to be the prime suspect. If you go from a mobile home to a mansion, that's going to attract attention," he added.
Meanwhile, Ghantt made it to Cozumel, Mexico, where he spent his cut of the money on luxury hotels and scuba diving classes. When the money ran out, he asked Chambers for more money, but his former partner wasn't too happy about that.
Chambers ended up hiring a hitman to get rid of Ghantt, but not even that went according to plan — unable to perpetrate the murder, the hitman ended up befriending Ghantt and staying in Mexico.
In March 1998, the FBI traced a call from Ghantt's phone resulting in his arrest. It wasn't hard to track Campbell, Chambers and the rest of accomplices soon afterwards, given the little care they put into hiding their newly found wealth.
Ghantt was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison, but he was released on parole after six. Chambers was in prison for eleven years.
"I hate to say it, but I had six years of sitting in a box to think about my life. In that time, I realised most of my problems were because of me," Ghantt said in 2016.
After being released from prison, Ghantt found a job as a construction worker, got married and had a child.
"That was the most painful truth to come to. That time in prison was actually good for me. If I hadn't done what I did, the life I have now with my wife and child, I wouldn't have. So I guess I have no regrets."
Masterminds is available to watch on Netflix.
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Deputy Movies Editor, Digital Spy
Mireia (she/her) has been working as a movie and TV journalist for over seven years, mostly for the Spanish magazine Fotogramas.
Her work has been published in other outlets such as Esquire and Elle in Spain, and WeLoveCinema in the UK.
She is also a published author, having written the essay Biblioteca Studio Ghibli: Nicky, la aprendiz de bruja about Hayao Miyazaki's Kiki's Delivery Service.
During her years as a freelance journalist and film critic, Mireia has covered festivals around the world, and has interviewed high-profile talents such as Kristen Stewart, Ryan Gosling, Jake Gyllenhaal and many more. She's also taken part in juries such as the FIPRESCI jury at Venice Film Festival and the short film jury at Kingston International Film Festival in London.
Now based in the UK, Mireia joined Digital Spy in June 2023 as Deputy Movies Editor.
