Hill will take on his latest serious role as a security guard who saved many lives from bomb but was subject to harsh media accusation.
- February 5, 2014
AceShowbiz -
The acting duo behind "The Wolf of Wall Street" are going to re-team for a new project. It has been reported that Leonardo DiCaprio and Jonah Hill are to share screen in a movie based on Marie Brenner's 1997 Vanity Fair article "The Ballad of Richard Jewell".
Richard Jewell is a security guard who found a backpack filled with three pipe bombs on the park ground of 1996 Atlanta Olympics. He called the police and helped evacuate the area before the bomb exploded. Initially hailed a hero, Jewell's life turned hellish within 24 hours as he was considered a suspect planting the bomb in the first place. It was an example of damage done to someone's personal life by unreliable reports from the media.
According to Deadline, Hill is to play Jewell while DiCaprio is to fill in the shoes of Jewell's lawyer. DiCaprio's character is a Southern attorney who specializes in real estate closings but managed to guide Jewell through the turmoil even after Jewell was exonerated. Jewell would later file lawsuits against news outlets such as CNN and NBC as well as FBI and government agencies.
For Hill, this would be his latest serious role after making successful transition from comic actor. He kicked it off with "Moneyball" and continued with "True Story".
DiCaprio will produce the film with Hill, Jennifer Davisson Killoran, and Kevin Misher. Fox has picked up the rights to the article, which was used as source material in Michael Mann's 1999 thriller "The Insider".
