Barefoot Bandit Nabs $1.3M Movie Deal

But Colton Harris-Moore won't be living large, he'll pay back his victims
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Aug 11, 2011 11:26 AM CDT
Barefoot Bandit, Colton Harris-Moore, Signs Movie Deal Worth Up to $1.3 Million
In a July 11, 2010 file photo, Colton Harris-Moore exits a plane handcuffed as he is escorted by police upon arrival to Nassau, Bahamas, according to police.   (AP Photo/Felipe Major, File)

The Barefoot Bandit, whose cross-country crime spree brought him folk outlaw status, has reportedly signed a movie deal worth as much as $1.3 million with 20th Century Fox. But 20-year-old Colton Harris-Moore won't see a penny for the rights of his life story: It instead goes to pay the minimum $1.4 million restitution he owes to the victims of his high-dollar thefts. The $1.3 million is unusually high, but Harris-Moore was on law enforcement's radar from the young age of 10, and many details surrounding his childhood remain a secret, attorneys for Harris-Moore said.

Rumors about who will play the Bandit already mention Zac Efron as a potential lead, reports the Daily Herald. Harris-Moore pleaded guilty in June to seven federal felony charges. Sentencing is set for October. But he still faces 30 state court charges, including one for first-degree burglary. "Getting money to my victims is the least I can do, and because of my situation it is probably the best I can do," Harris-Moore wrote in a statement. "I will continue to do everything in my power to make things better. My commitment to that endeavor is what keeps me going." (Click here to catch up on Harris-Moore's life on the lam.)

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