Monday, March 26, 2007

Men At Work

Pamela McClintock of Variety reports that another cinematic reunion is in the works...

Martin Scorsese is looking to direct Leonardo DiCaprio in the film adaptation of Jordan Belfort' s upcoming tell-all autobiography "The Wolf of Wall Street" for Warner Bros. Pictures, with "The Sopranos" scribe Terence Winter aboard to write.

Leo And Marty Are Set To Do A 4th Film Together

Alexandra Milchan. will produce with DiCaprio's [production company] Appian Way, which has a first-look deal with Warners. Scorsese's Sikelia Productions is attached to produce.

It's unknown, however, where "Wolf" stands on the list of potential directing projects that have been announced for Scorsese since the Academy Awards.

Deal with Warners for "Wolf" was consummated Friday night, following a brief but aggressive bidding war between Warners and Appian on one side and Paramount Pictures and Brad Pitt's [production company] Plan B on the other.

Plan B wanted to produce for Par, where that shingle is based. Pitt wasn't necessarily attached to star.

...no official deals are in place for Scorsese to direct or DiCaprio to star.

In "Wolf of Wall Street" DiCaprio would play Belfort, a Long Island penny stockbroker who served 20 months in prison for refusing to cooperate in a massive 1990s securities fraud case that involved widespread corruption on Wall Street and in the corporate banking world, including mob infiltration....


Like "Catch Me If You Can," "Wolf" would be a two-hander with a key part for a second star: Much of the film would hinge on Belfort's relationship with the FBI agent who tried to make him an informant.

The bidding war between Paramount and Warners was preemptive, meaning that other studios didn't have the chance to bid.

Par does have the option to co-finance half of any project that Scorsese directs or produces elsewhere under the terms of its recently inked first-look deal with the filmmaker. A signed deal has to be in place before Par's option kicks in.


Scorsese has strong ties at Warners, where he made "The Departed" which earned him his first Oscar for director, along with the best pic prize. Paramount topper Brad Grey, then a producer, brought Scorsese aboard "Departed."

DiCaprio's next [movie] will be the film adaptation of Richard Yates' 1961 tome "Revolutionary Road," reuniting him with Kate Winslet.

Here's the complete story...

This news, is of course, not a surprise. Given how Scorsese and DiCaprio feel about working with each other--I'm surprised the announcement took this long...

The "Wolf" autobio hits bookstores this Fall...

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