Martin Scorsese is reportedly prepping two long-developing biopics, including one about Frank Sinatra starring—who else—Leonardo DiCaprio.
According to a new report from Variety, Scorsese has renewed development of his biopic about Frank Sinatra. Leonardo DiCaprio is still attached to star as the late singer and actor who rose to fame in the 1940s before a 1950s career revival—and association with the Rat Pack—cemented his icon status. Scorsese is said to be eyeing Jennifer Lawrence to play Hollywood actress Ava Gardner, Sinatra’s second wife.
It’s unknown if the biopic will focus on a single chapter of Sinatra’s career or take a broader view of the performer’s life. Born to Italian immigrant parents in New York, Sinatra was a charismatic performer and talented singer with a dark side—he had heavily rumored ties to organized crime, and his struggles with alcoholism and insecurity exacerbated his violent temper. But who better to make a movie about a complicated male figure from a bygone era than Scorsese, a director whose prolific filmography is filled with excellent movies about very bad men doing very bad things?
Scorsese is also still on his Jesus kick, reportedly developing a movie based on Life of Jesus, the 1973 book written by Silence author Shūsaku Endō. As with his previous Endō adaptation, Scorsese may be financing Life of Jesus himself; unlike Silence—and most of Scorsese’s films—the Jesus movie will have a substantially reduced runtime of 80 minutes (allegedly). Per Variety, Andrew Garfield and Miles Teller have been considered for the Jesus pic in unspecified roles—it is hilariously difficult to imagine the latter being Christlike in even the broadest sense. Prove me wrong, Marty!
All of this is in addition to the recent announcement that Scorsese is producing and hosting a Biblical docuseries for Fox Nation, a piece of information I simply refuse to absorb.
(featured image: Steve Granitz, FilmMagic / Monica Schipper, Getty Images)
