Remember back in December when I reported on Damien Chazelle directing an Evel Knievel biopic with Leonardo DiCaprio attached to star? Well, not only is it now happening, but it’s coming much sooner than expected.
Puck’s Matt Belloni is saying a deal is basically sealed for DiCaprio to star, and that the film is supposed to shoot this summer. William Monahan (“The Departed”) wrote the original draft, but the latest version has a draft by Terence Winter (“The Wolf of Wall Street,” “The Sopranos”) with Chazelle revising.
This will also not be a straightforward rise and fall biopic. Instead, the story is set in a single year, 1974, and tackles Knievel’s ambitious planning to jump across Idaho’s Snake River on his motorcycle.
Knievel was an American stunt performer and entertainer, known for his motorcycle jumps (and bad temper). During his stunt career, Knievel suffered more than 433 bone fractures, earning an entry in the Guinness Book of World Records as the survivor of "most bones broken in a lifetime.”
Knievel ruined his career when he attacked a man with a baseball bat due to an unflattering book written about him. The victim was knocked unconscious and needed major surgery to repair his arm. Knievel served 6 months in jail, but lost all his endorsements and contracts.
Chazelle’s last film, “Babylon,” tanked at the box-office, making $63M against a production budget of a little under $100M. “Babylon” ultimately lost Paramount an estimated $87 million. Oddly enough, it was a huge hit in France, with both critics and audiences.
Earlier this year, Chazelle had mentioned almost being done writing a new script and that, although he was about to pitch it to a studio, an uncertainty lingered in his head as to how Hollywood would welcome him back into fold after “Babylon.” However, with someone like DiCaprio attached to star, it’s not that surprising to see that Paramount is greenlighting the project. If you remember, DiCaprio was originally supposed to star in Chazelle’s “Babylon” before having to drop out due scheduling issues. He was later replaced by Brad Pitt.
DiCaprio recently wrapped shooting Paul Thomas Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another” which is set for 2025 release.