We just got off the e-horn with Martin Scorsese‘s publicist. While Vulture is partly correct that Scorsese is once again attached to “The Wolf of Wall Street” with Leonardo DiCaprio, the New York blog only has half the picture down. That drama about the rise and fall of Wall Street stockbroker Jordan Belfort is not next, nor is it shooting this summer.
What is 100% locked in for Scorsese’s post-“Hugo Cabret” feature? According to Scorsese’s PR, none other than “Silence,” the long-gestating adaptation of Shusaku Endo‘s a drama about two 17th century Jesuit priests who face violence and persecution when they travel to Japan to locate their mentor and to spread the gospel of Christianity. A Scorsese passion project that’s been percolating since early 2006 is set to star Daniel Day-Lewis, Benicio Del Toro and Gael Garcia Bernal. Start dates are totally unknown and likely won’t come into focus until ‘Cabret’ is complete.
The script was adapted by Jay Cocks who also penned “The Age of Innocence” and the original version of “The Gangs of New York,” which he started working on in 1976 (Steven Zaillian and Kenneth Lonergan also had screenwriting credits on the picture by the time in hit the screen in 2002 with Zaillian doing the lion’s share of the rewriting and retooling). Cocks also did an uncredited rewrite of James Cameron‘s screenplay for “Titanic.”
Last year a legal battle was brewing over “Silence,” but that appears to have been resolved.
“Silence” is a Graham King project over at GK Films, but it’s unclear if Gianni Nunnari and Hollywood Gang Productions are still involved. What additionally remains ambiguous is if the principal cast of Day-Lewis, Del Toro and Bernal are attached, but if a difficult-sell picture like this one is next for Scorsese, there’s little doubt the A-list talent will come running when called. When asked what projects were coming next and in what order in early 2010, Scorsese did also say “Silence” would be next, so it appears the director is sticking to the plan.