What is up with all the economic-based films going into production now? “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps” hits this fall, “Margin Call” shoots this summer, and of course Michael Moore was already here on this subject with “Capitalism, A Love Story” last year and he was only one year behind the times. Guys, we’re better now! The economic crisis is over! Ok, recent unemployment numbers do suggest the opposite and our bank account still hasn’t recovered from the fall of 2008. Either way, this topic is still of big interest to Hollywood and Ridley Scott, who is already developing a movie based on the board game “Monopoly” (though to be fair, that film sounds like it’s on acid).
Scott has another similarly themed project potentially up his sleeve. According to Deadline, it’s Jordan Belfort’s tell-all autobiography of 1990’s stockbroker decadence, called, “The Wolf Of Wall Street” and it may reteam Scott with his “Body Of Lies” star Leonardo DiCaprio.
This is a project that Dicaprio was going to make with his directing friend and frequent collaborator Martin Scorsese and it was announced in the trades back in 2007 with “The Sopranos” writer Terence Winter onboard to write. But it evidently got bogged down in a studio tug of war by Warner Bros. and Paramount (DiCaprio’s Appian Way had a first look deal there and Scorsese has a sweet deal with Paramount).
With Scorsese busy with “The Invention of Hugo Cabret,” it sounds like he’s willing to let it go, but Scott is in early discussions and it’s not sure if he can shoot the picture before the “Alien” prequel which is a priority for Fox. Surely fanboys would rather see the later project. Scheduling sounds difficult for all involved, so don’t be surprised if this one doesn’t actually work out.
DiCaprio is in an enviable position though. He won’t make a film unless he’s working with who he perceives to be the best directors in the world and he’s basically got the pick of the project litter as his involvement will get any film greenlit. Next for him is likely Clint Eastwood’s J. Edgar Hoover biopic, scripted by Dustin Lance Black (“Milk”) and simply titled, “Hoover” which will probably shoot later this year.