It’s a rotating director’s chair of sorts for the long-gestating “The Wolf of Street” project; Jordan Belfort‘s tell-all autobiography of 1990s stockbroker decadence.
Way back in 2007, the project was first announced with Martin Scorsese at the helm, “The Sopranos” scribe Terence Winter on board to write and Marty’s perennial muse Leonard DiCaprio in the starring slot. Studio tug-of-war for the project between Warner Bros. and Paramount eventually stalled the project, but it came back to life last fall when it was revealed Ridley Scott was circling the director’s chair. Well now it appears it has come full circle again.
According to a Vulture report, “The Wolf of Wall Street” has apparently left its Warner Bros. home with Scott bailing on the pic as well. It is now reportedly back in the hands of Martin Scorsese. Perhaps more importantly, apparently DiCaprio’s manager Rick Yorn has apparently secured financing for the pic and there is talk that it could shoot as early as this June. Hmm.
We’d hold on that thought for a moment as that news sort of smells like its a little premature. Last we heard, “Hugo Cabret” was running waaay over schedule, and while it’s not a “troubled production,” we can only imagine that with a December release date looming, the film being a major tentpole and Scorsese’s first 3D film, a lengthy post-production schedule has probably been penciled in and we’d be surprised if the helmer has it locked by summer. And yes, the man can multitask but unlike a documentary, this doesn’t seem like something he can take his eye off of to go shoot another film.
Then there’s also “The Irishman” written by Steve Zaillian (formerly titled after the book, “I Heard You Paint Houses”) and set to star the stellar cast of Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Joe Pesci and Harvey Keitel which Scorsese already said himself could shoot this year. That one’s a matter of aligning tricky schedules, but you can bet if that A-list cast is ready, the umpteenth collaboration with Leonard DiCaprio can probably wait. Don’t count your chickens with that one just yet.
‘The Wolf of Wall Street’ centers on a drug/sex/alcohol addicted New York stockbroker who refuses to cooperate in a large securities fraud case involving corruption on Wall Street, corporate banking world and mob infiltration.
Here’s more of Belfort’s crazy story in his own words on CNBC’s Originals program.