The Wolf of Wall Street best friends Leonardo DiCaprio and Jonah Hill were already linked to co-produce a proposed TV series based on Q-Tip’s life, had a bromantic moment on SNL recently, and are now set to reunite on the big screen. Deadline is reporting that 20th Century Fox has acquired the rights to a Vanity Fair article about a security guard, Richard Jewell, who was hailed as a hero after finding a backpack filled with explosives at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, but was then quickly vilified when the media painted him as a potential suspect.
Hill is set to portray Jewell, while DiCaprio will play a lawyer that helped Jewell through the ordeal. The article, which you can read here, focuses not only on Jewell, but how the rise of 24-hour news media was quick to point the finger at him before evidence cleared his name. Depending on the creative team that takes on the film (no writers/directors have been announced), I could envision this film being just as much a comment on the overindulgence of 24-hour news networks and general audiences that lay blame before all of the facts are cleared as it would be highlighting Jewell’s personal journey. Furthermore, it appears that the film would be a vehicle for Hill to further display his dramatic chops, perhaps as a way for DiCaprio to groom him into the next great dramatic actor.
This sounds like a great film to keep track of over the next few months as more details are confirmed and announced.
[via Deadline]