Netflix's new drama Inventing Anna has each and every quirk of a must-watch show. The series stars Ozark star Julia Garner in the true story of German con artist Anna Sorokin, who defrauded wealthy New Yorkers, banks and hotels out of tens of thousands of US dollars between XNUMX and XNUMX. It will be released on February XNUMX.
The series comes from the powerful producer Shonda Rhimes, who was in charge of Grey's Anatomy, Scandal and How To Get To Away With Murder for the American giant ABC before being bought by Netflix in a million-dollar deal. Rhimes' first sketch for the streamer was Bridgerton, and she's now delivering round two of it.
Rhimes left Regency England behind, but still delivers Shondaland's own drama. The series is based on Jessica Pressler's XNUMX New York Gazette article How Anna (Sorokin) Delvey Tricked New York's Party People. This is actually Pressler's second trip to the screen, after her XNUMX feature The Hustlers at Scores was transformed into Jennifer Lopez's XNUMX vehicle, Hustlers.
If you want to dive right into the TV series, be warned, there are plenty of spoilers here, but if you want to get a taste of the true story that inspired Rhimes' new blockbuster, then it's all down for you...
What is Inventing Anna?
Inventing Anna recounts the journey of Anna Delvey, apparently a wealthy German heiress who boasted to her friends that she had a fortune of more than €XNUMX million.
Anna Delvey turned out to be Anna Sorokin. She had no fortune and she did not wish to inherit anything. Between XNUMX and XNUMX, she swindled her new friends out of thousands of US dollars.
His victims included wealthy art dealer Michael Xufu Huang and Rachel DeLoache Williams, a former Vanity Fair photo editor. It was Williams that Sorokin had slapped on her with a bill for US$XNUMX for a Moroccan pension that she had agreed to pay.
In addition to his friends, Sorokin also defrauded 2 Manhattan hotels, a private airplane company and a number of banks, out of a total amount owed over €200,000. He likewise came close to persuading a hedge fund to give him €XNUMX million to open a private club worth twice as much.
Eventually, the money ran out and the unpaid credit card bills started piling up. Sorokin was arrested in October XNUMX and convicted in May XNUMX of attempted grand theft (attempting to steal large sums of money). She was sentenced to four to twelve years in prison.
The Netflix version of the saga is told from the perspective of Vivian Kent, a fake version of Pressler, as she seeks to hijack Delvey's story and save her career in the process.
Where is Anna Sorokin now?
After excusing himself for his crimes through a parole hearing in October XNUMX, Sorokin was released from jail for good behavior in February XNUMX. She was expected to then be deported to Germany.
A month later, however, Sorokin was detained by immigration officials for overstaying his visa and he is still in a New Jersey County jail awaiting deportation.
How did Netflix get the rights to tell Anna Sorokin's story?
In order to get Sorokin's approval for his rights to life, Netflix had to give three hundred and twenty US dollars.
Now, as a general rule under New York State law, criminals cannot profit from their crimes, and when it was first suggested that Netflix was paying Sorokin, law enforcement immediately stepped in to block payment.
However, Sorokin appealed, and early last year Albany County Judge Richard Platkin unblocked Sorokin's bank accounts and allowed him to settle some of his many unpaid bills using the dinner.
Delvey's story, or rather Sorokin's, is perfect fodder for Rhimes. She is bubbly, glamorous, and full of intrigue and suspense. It's easy to see why the company was so eager to get their hands on the story.
Who is Anna Sorokin?
Anna Sorokin was born in Russia in XNUMX and moved to Germany when she was sixteen with her parents and younger brother. After graduating from high school, Sorokin moved to London to study at Central Saint Martins College, but she ultimately dropped out and headed to Berlin, where she interned in fashion public relations. After that, she moved to Paris, where she landed an internship at the Purple Gazette. It was here that she took the name Anna Delvey.
In the summer of two thousand and thirteen he traveled to New York to attend Fashion Week. After enjoying a productive week and quickly making friends, Sorokin decided to stay and moved into Purple's New York office.
She did not stay there long enough, instead focusing her energies on her idea for the "Anna Delvey Foundation", a private club and art foundation. The friends she had made of her accepted that she would be paid out of a trust fund, since she had told everyone that she was a German heiress. (For what reason would he need a foundation?) Since he had suggested establishing his club in Church Missions House, a sprawling 6-story building in Manhattan that last came on the market in XNUMX for US$XNUMX million, he was a understandable assumption. .
Initially, he tried to raise investment capital, but failed to persuade investors to invest. Overwhelmed, Sorokin created fake bank statements that appeared to show that she had access to around €22 million stored in Swiss checking accounts. He put them up as part of a €XNUMX million loan request to City National Bank. They refused, so he took the proposal to Fortress Investment Group.
Fortress agreed to estimate the claim, but only if Sorokin paid €100,000 to cover legal fees related to the claim.
Penniless, Sorokin returned to City National Bank and used his charms to persuade a clerk to give him a temporary overdraft service. However, the petition failed, and Sorokin's hope of being able to "fake it until he does it" was dashed.
Meanwhile, Sorokin's lifestyle gradually became more peculiar. He had racked up bills at multiple of New York's most expensive hotels and even managed to book a private jet to Nebraska, without paying the €35,390 fare up front.
At each hotel, Sorokin employed the exact same scam, booking without registering a credit card. At the time the hotel demanded a rate, she complained about a transfer, which never came, in which case they kicked her out. The tactic was enough to rack up over €000 in unpaid hotel bills. Finally, Beekman and W Hotels demanded that charges be brought against her. And when his financial activity came under scrutiny, everything fell apart for Sorokin.
All this has earned him a nickname, the Soho Grifter. It was in the papers in the days following his indictment and was what persuaded Netflix to part with so much money for his story.
How did Julia Garner become Soho Grifter?
Garner, whose breakout role in Ozark as the scheming Ruth Langmore earned her much applause, had her pick of roles, but she was actually second choice to play Anna Delvey.
Rhimes' first choice was Madeline Brewer, who you may know from her roles as Janine on The Handmaid's Tale or Tricia Miller on Orange Is The New Black. However, scheduling clashes caused Brewer to withdraw from her and her position fell to Garner.
The actress took her investigation very seriously, since she spent time with Sorokin in jail.
“You can't loathe the person you're playing for 8 or 9 months,” he discovered to the Wall Street Journal, “it's going to show up on screen and the acting isn't going to be as good. She had her reasons why she did everything she did.
Garner has said in interviews that he wanted to nail Sorokin's accent, which continually fluctuates between Germanic intonations and a strange American southern bobsled. It was uniquely quite difficult for Garner as he was playing Langmore in Ozark at the same time.
She told Town and Country: "I really made sure the script supervisor kept an eye on my accent throughout that time. Playing those 2 parts at the same time was probably the most difficult thing I've ever had to do in my life." They are not simple women.
Apparently, it all depends on how you use the language. Garner added: “Anna's tongue is quite flat. She practically feels heavy and greasy. I must have completely changed the way she moved her tongue in 3 weeks.
While Garner's accent drew some criticism from viewers, she found she played it before Sorokin herself, adding, "She's like, 'Please let it go. I'm listening to it. It's gotten very meta."
You can judge for yourself in the trailer below:
Who else is in the Inventing Anna fan?
- Julia Garner as Anna Delvey/Sorokin
- Anna Chlumsky as Vivian Kent, a reporter studying Anna Delvey (based on Jessica Pressler)
- Katie Lowes as Rachel, a friend of Delvey's (based on Rachel DeLoache Williams)
- Laverne Cox as Kacy Duke, a celebrity trainer who became Delvey's close friend.
- Alexis Floyd as Neff, an aspiring filmmaker whose job as a hotel concierge made her Delvey's accomplice.
- Arian Moayed as Todd Spodek, Delvey's lawyer
- Anders Holm as Jack, Kent's husband
- Jeff Perry as Lou, a colleague of Kent's
- Terry Kinney as Barry, a colleague of Kent's.
What is the release date of Inventing Anna?
The show starts on Netflix on February 9. It will be released in XNUMX parts, each and every one free to binge-watch on the streamer from day one, if you want.
Are there any reports of Anna Sorokin?
Sorokin's lavish habits and penchant for cheating were featured in HBO Max's reportage series Generation Hustle.
Sorokin sat down next to WeWork creator Adam Neumann and received his hour-long standalone episode, Anna Delvey Takes on Manhattan.
Rachel DeLoache Williams, Sorokin's attorney Todd Spodek, restaurateur Richie Apreciar, stylist Sergio Corvacho, DJ Elle Dee and creative director Marc Kremers were interviewed and recounted their experiences with Sorokin.
Williams also wrote about her experiences in detail in her book, My Friend Anna: The True Story of a Fake Heiress, which is out now.
This book was picked up by HBO and is developed for TV by Lena Dunham.
The BBC also covered Sorokin's story in depth on its Fake Heiress podcast.