Following their critically-acclaimed performances opposite one another in Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street, Leonardo DiCaprio and Jonah Hill are re-teaming for a new true story: that of security guard Richard Jewell who, in 1996, became both a national hero and, immediately thereafter, a suspect in the Olympic Park bombing. Deadline reports that the Vanity Fair article “American Nightmare: The Ballad of Richard Jewell” by Marie Brenner will serve as the primary basis for the film.
Hill will play Jewell, whose life is thrown into turmoil following allegations of his involvement in the disaster. DiCaprio, meanwhile, will play his lawyer. Jewell was eventually exonerated, but not at the expense of an investigation that, for months, had the American public believing him a potential terrorist.
DiCaprio will produce through his Appian Way alongside Hill, Jennifer Davisson Killoran and Kevin Misher. Andy Berman will also produce through Misher Films with the project set for distribution through 20th Century Fox.
Brenner’s work was previously adapted for the screen with Michael Mann’s The Insider, based on her article “The Man Who Knew Too Much.” You can read the full text of “American Nightmare” by clicking here.
(Photo Credit: Brian To / WENN.com)
