Los Angeles, Feb 21 Hollywood heavy-weights Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio are joining forces to produce a new film based on an original idea from Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt.
The film is set in Hawaii, and is currently being shopped to studios and streamers. The film is already drawing comparisons in the industry to 'The Departed' and 'Goodfellas', reports 'Variety'.
Even in spirit, there are no deals in place and the viability of the project depends on a distributor, according to multiple sources familiar with the package, but the untitled drama is set to be written by author and journalist Nick Bilton, who helmed the 2021 HBO documentary 'Fake Famous'.
Johnson and Blunt, who previously worked together on 'Jungle Cruise', brought the project to Scorsese and Leonardo, and once they expressed interest, they all went to Bilton to ask him about writing.
As per 'Variety', producers on the forthcoming film include Scorsese, Johnson, Blunt, Leo, Bilton, Dany Garcia, Lisa Frechette and Rick Yorn.
If the filmmakers seem ambitious, that's perhaps because they're emboldened by Johnson and Blunt's forthcoming collaboration on 'The Smashing Machine'. That A24 drama, directed by Benny Safdie, has been tipped as Johnson's most serious dramatic role yet. It goes without saying that Scorsese and Leo have cultivated a legendary partnership over the years, with highlights including 'The Departed', 'The Aviator', 'Gangs of New York', 'Shutter Island', 'The Wolf of Wall Street' and last year's best picture Oscar nominee 'Killers of the Flower Moon'.
Deadline was the first to report news of the film.
The pair are also developing a feature adaptation of 'The Devil in the White City', a long-gestating project which 20th Century Studios boarded last month.
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