True story of a school embezzlement on Long Island

Bad Education, a film inspired by the true story of an embezzlement scheme on Long Island, debuts on HBO April 25. Hugh Jackman and Allison Janney are in the cast.

Cory Finley directed the movie, which came out in 2019. “The darkly comical film highlights the deficiencies of the public education system in the U.S. while examining the broader forces that foster greed, corruption, and lack of accountability in our institutions,” said HBO.

Mostly shot in and around the Long Island town of Roslyn, 15 years after the scandal came to light there, the film focuses on educator Frank Tassone (Jackman), whom HBO calls an “expert manipulator willing to steal from the very same people he was so eager to help.”

Janney plays Pam Gluckin, business manager for the Roslyn school district.

Mike Makowsky, who is from Roslyn, wrote the screenplay. The film is based on a New York Magazine article written by Robert Kolker.

“Mike’s script was unique, with a precise comic tone,” said Finley. “The facts of the story are over-the-top in a way that lends itself to black comedy, but there's also a real tragedy to it. I'm always drawn to telling stories that walk those sorts of tightropes, and that deal in moral gray areas. I wanted to make a movie about a very specific time, place and culture, but in doing so, pose big questions about American culture — how our economic system shapes us, and what we’re willing to accept from those in power when it’s in our own interest."

Automatik, Sight Unseen Pictures and Slater Hall are the producers.