Dennis Quaid, Kate Bosworth, and Christian Cooke at a screening of the Art of More
Photo: Courtesy @Crackle Twitter
“At New York’s biggest auction house, there are some who have it all, some who want it all, and some who will do anything to get it.”
That’s the tagline for the new show the The Art of More, which looks as if it is either going to be the latest belly-flop of an attempt to capture the art biz in pop culture, or a seriously guilty, guilty, guilty pleasure.
The show features a flinty Dennis Quaid (also the producer) as a Mephistophelian art collecting billionaire who delivers statements like, “You’ve got balls, but you’re going to need more than that if you want to play with the big boys.” Also along for the ride: Carey Elwes (always and forever Wesley from the Princess Bride) and Kate Bosworth (Lois Lane in Superman Returns).
The cast of the Art of More
Photo: Courtesy @Crackle Twitter
Expect something about smuggled Iraqi antiquities, something about a fake Van Gogh, and a lot of people grinding frantically against each other. The sex-to-art ratio in the trailer is roughly 5-to-1, and the whole thing looks a bit like something that a Christie’s intern fantasized after falling asleep in front of The Wolf of Wall Street.
In case it is hard to figure out what, exactly, is going on in that whirlwind of glittering objects and heaving flesh, here’s a summary:
[T]he series follows Graham Connor (Cooke), a blue-collar upstart who leverages his way into this exclusive realm by exploiting connections to antiquities smuggling rings he was exposed to as a soldier in Iraq. Also inhabiting this rarified world is Sam Brukner (Quaid), a self-made billionaire, one who was pretty ruthless on his way up the food chain in the real estate world. Now he’s a tycoon with access to everything he wants and wants everyone to know it—he’s a collector of both art and people. Graham’s mentor is Arthur Davenport (Elwes), a shrewd and eccentric world-class collector of art and illegal antiquities. Roxanna Whitney (Bosworth) is a leading account executive and rival to Graham. The daughter of the CEO of one of the two warring auction houses—she was born into this exclusive world and thrives in it. However, she is riddled with insecurities that drive her to be formidable.
The first hour-long episode of the Art of More’s is set to debut November 19 on Crackle, a streaming network heretofore best known for the Jerry Seinfeld web series Comedians Getting Coffee in Cars.
A custom The Art of More auction paddle
Photo: Courtesy @Crackle Twitter