Queenpins Cast And Character Guide: Where You Know The Actors From Rexha's character helps Connie and JoJo evade the authorities, mainly by strengthening their internet security. While it might seem outrageous and is played for laughs in the movie, in July 2012, a SWAT team really did raid the Phoenix residences of the three women who played a part in the counterfeit coupon operation. Mugshots of the real women behind Queenpins are displayed below. Her term of probation was recently extended for another five years, after she fell more than $4,000 behind in her restitution payments. Queenpins: Dirigido por Aron Gaudet, Gita Pullapilly. 'Queenpins': Here's the Real Story Behind Kristen Bell's Crime Comedy (edited by) Casting By Ben Harris Allison Jones Production Design by Jennifer Klide Art Direction by Adri Siriwatt Costume Design by Julie Carnahan Makeup Department Production Management Mike Upton . Those are intriguing issues but themovie is less interested in exploring them than it is giving the queenpins makeovers and silly plot detours involving a militia and extended scatological humor. The Coupon Information Corporation got wind of the scheme, and brought it to the attention of investigators, which is how it eventually landed on the desk of Phoenix Police Sergeant David Lake. Some of the coupon enthusiasts featured on the TLC show Extreme Couponing routinely purchased coupons from clipping services.In response to the Arizona coupon counterfeiting ring that inspired the Queenpins movie, the CIC's Bud Miller stated, "Coupon buyers expose themselves to the possibility of becoming involved with counterfeits, stolen property, or other criminal activities. In July 2012, police in Phoenix, Arizona arrested three women in a coupon scam that cost manufacturers roughly $40 million. On the case to bust them: a supermarket's. "I'm saving money!" They were ringleader Robin Ramirez (46 at the time of her arrest), Marilyn Johnson (62), and Amiko "Amy" Fountain (42). "These aren't 50-cent-off coupons. Upon realizing that they could get a coupon for a free item sent to them just by complaining to the manufacturer, they come up with a plan to smuggle and steal cases of those coupons, to then sell to people. The cast, with Kristen Bell and Paul Walter Hauser, is outstanding The Arizona women, Robin Ramirez, Marilyn Johnson and Amiko Fountain, pleaded guilty, Ramirez to. That's one reasonbeyond saving moneythe scam was so successful. They also come into possession of guns, cars and boats in an effort to clean the money theyve made from selling coupons. The only real-life individual you could say was better off after the case than before, is the man who cracked the case. Greg Garcia, a cashier at her local A&G Family Marts store, explains to her that companies habitually respond to complaint letters by sending coupons for free items. They also come into possession of guns, cars and boats in an effort to. Related:Worth Cast & Character Guide: What The Real People Look Like. According to KTAR News, a Phoenix radio station, the group focused on manufacturers coupons, which typically offer a free item or significant discount. They start buying things like sports cars, boats, planes, and guns, but Tina then criticizes their overspending and tells them that because their money was always clean, their purchases are just making them look more suspicious, instructing them to withdraw money from the bank in small increments and to sell off all their big purchases. The two women in the movie, Connie Kaminski (Kristen Bell) and JoJo Johnson (Kirby Howell-Baptiste), are not directly based on any of the real-life women.Kristen Bell's character's background of being a former Olympic race walker who turns to couponing after having no luck getting pregnant (and spending tens of thousands on in vitro treatments) is fictional, as is Kirby Howell-Baptiste's character's unsuccessful efforts to make it as a vlogger. She has also worked on soundtracks for movies like Abominable and, most recently, He's All That. Couponing goes criminal in the new trailer for Queenpins. But the coupons were high-quality counterfeits. The ring used a series of twelve different bank accounts to house their money. And in terms of the crime itself, Queenpins stayed pretty loyal. Singer-songwriter Bebe Rexha makes her feature film debut in the Queenpins movie. In February of 2013,Ramirez pleaded guilty to counterfeiting, fraud, and illegal control of an enterprise, though a forgery charge was dropped. In the movie, the women are fictionalized as Connie (Bell) and Jojo (Howell-Baptiste), who end up living much the same way. I have never purchased coupons from a clipping service or an auction site." But thats just Connie and Jojo. He has been commended by the FBI for supporting them in numerous efforts to fight "complex coupon fraud schemes." Included in the seizures were $25,000,000 worth of fake coupons, 22 assault weapons, and 21 vehicles including a 40 foot boat. Kristen Bell stars as Connie Kaminski, a suburban housewife who just wants to find a solution for the debtburying her and her husband. The character mainly functions to forward the plot and as the other half of the "buddy-cop" duo with Ken Miller (Paul Walter Hauser). They were ringleader Robin Ramirez (46 at the time of her arrest), Marilyn Johnson (62), and Amiko "Amy" Fountain (42). The Queenpins true story reveals that there were three women involved in the real-life scheme, not two like in the movie. Kristen Anne Bell (born 1980) is an American actress and singer. If you watch the movie 'Queenpins,' you will see, what I believe, is the first film in Hollywood to feature AEW in the film." Furthermore, Paul Walter Hauser reveals that he has actually had minimal wrestling training with several names from The Nightmare Factory including Anthony Ogogo, Preston Vance, and even WWE Hall of Famer Diamond Dallas . Johnson helped package and ship the coupons to customers, and Fountain placed hologram stickers on some of them to make them look more legitimate. 'We gotta steal these coupons and sell them to families who really need them. They were just two normal women, who felt taken advantage of by major corporations, and genuinely wanted to help other women and families who were struggling. She was most likely added to the script for comedic reasons in order to frame Connie and JoJo as being in over their heads and desperately needing outside help. But I I sort of didnt approach it from an occupational standpoint, Houser told TheWrap. Details of the true story at the heart of Queenpinswere first revealed in July 2012. Had the system been better then, Lake said, we could have arrested probably another 50 people at least, who were buying hundreds of these coupons at a time and saying, I know theyre fake, but they work great.. Queenpins is playing in theaters with plans to stream on Paramount+ in the near future. The three real-life Coupon Queens carried out their counterfeit operation in Phoenix, Arizona where they lived. However, they quickly learned that with a little crime, they could actually make money off of it. [Resumes eating snacks and looking out the window], Watch Queenpins: Gita Pullapilly & Aron Gaudet On Why Kristen Bell And Kirby Howell-Baptiste Were Right For Their Roles, Watch Queenpins: Kristen Bell On How She Became Involved In The Film, Watch Queenpins: Paul Walter Hauser On What Drew Him To The Film, Watch Queenpins: Kirby Howell-Baptiste On How She Became Involved In The Film, Watch Queenpins: Bebe Rexha On The Experience She's Had So Far Acting In Her First Film. I'd recommend this film for unwinding on a Friday night after a long week. Queenpins - Chapter 3 - Elias_Pedro - Archive of Our Own Queenpins movie review & film summary (2021) | Roger Ebert Ame hissed, "Getting partnered with someone like me. For diapers and toothpaste. Credit: Courtesy STX Films. I went to the detectives and I said, we have what appears to be a large multimillion-dollar, maybe hundreds of millions of dollars, theft affecting over 240 victims, the now-retired Lake told Coupons in the News. Indeed, the movie is inspired by a true story, but just how closely does the film follow the events and people its based on? We dont want people to think its funny. As far as the real women involved, stars Kristen Bell and Kirby Howell-Baptiste admit that they never actually met or spoke to the actual minds behind the crime to learn what sparked it. She has spent her life chatting about popular media to anyone who would listen, even appearing on conference panels to discuss her favorite (and least favorite) shows and movies. Instead, Hauser's character is a loss-prevention officer for a grocery store chain. Police in Phoenix, Arizona, announced the arrest of three women after they confiscated more than $25 million worth of fake coupons in a raid. Talk about extreme couponing! However, he doesn't appear to have inspired Vaughn's Kilmurry. In the movie, the women are fictionalized as Connie (Bell) and Jojo (Howell-Baptiste), who end up living much the same way. 'Queenpins' Review: Suburban Scammers Two cash-strapped neighbors devise a multimillion-dollar coupon swindle in this mildly entertaining comedy. Woman on Plane: Hey sorry, uhm, would you mind if we switched seats, just for this last part? According to Coupons in the News, Ramierz started selling counterfeit coupons as early as 2007, and was eventually joined by the other two women. Queenpins, directed and written by Aron Gaudet and Gita Pullapilly, adapts a real-life story and presents it most humorously and entertainingly. But during Proctor & Gamble'sroutine audits ofthird-party coupon processors, the discovered fakes in circulation and hired private investigators to do some more digging. In real life, the FBI did get involved, along with the non-profit Coupon Information Center. The bare-bones blueprint for the story is accurate; a small group of women make millions selling counterfeit coupons. Yes, like the grocery store coupons that come with the Sunday paper. Illegal couponing doesn't seem like ahigh-levelcrime, but the two women manage to grow rich off their scheme. And it seems like the makers of the movie share this sentiment. David Lake, who led the Phoenix Police Departments investigation, told KPHOat the time. Marilyn Johnson, 54, Robin Ramirez, 40, and Amiko Fountain, 42, were taken into custody, and in a press conference, police said a search warrant served resulted in the seizing of $40 million worth of coupons and $2 million worth of assets from the womens homes, including $240,000 in vehicles, 22 guns, and a 40-foot speedboat. Here . She also was ordered to pay restitution of up to $5 million. While the movie is focused on two women, there were three at the heart of the real coupon ring. But Aron [Gaudet]and Gita [Pullapilly], as storytellers our writer and directors have added so many specific elements of storytelling to this about what Connies career was, what Jojos career was, their circumstances in life in order to create a story that you would root for, and then it sort of goes into the nonfiction aspect that it sort of wasnt maybe as necessary to take on a ton of the real life characteristics of the women.. In Queenpins, its Ken Miller who pleads with the FBI to get involved, but in the end, he ends up working with Vince Vaughns postal inspector character, with the reasoning being that the crime was technically committed via snail mail. All three women were arrested and charged with forgery, fraud and counterfeiting. There's a reason Bell is making quips about crime. Follow and/or unfollow him on Twitter. In the movie, the women are fictionalized as Connie (Bell) and Jojo (Howell-Baptiste), who end up living much the same way.