Hollywood gossips and media heavyweights alike have been passing on the word that actor Leonardo DiCaprio’s next film will be an action-thriller set in the bowels of Costa Rica’s virtual casinos.
The untitled project is supposedly being produced by DiCaprio’s own company, Appian Way, and will be distributed by Paramount Pictures, which owns rights to the script, the film industry publication Variety reported. It is unclear when production will begin on the project or where it will be filmed.
The script is said to have been written by gambler thriller genre veterans Brian Koppelman and David Levien. The two are responsible for “Rounders” (1998), an adrenaline-pumped look into the underground poker scene in New York City starring Matt Damon and Edward Norton, and “Ocean’s Thirteen” (2007), the wild heist comedy with an all-star cast too long to list.
While illegal in the United States, online gambling sites are extremely popular worldwide, with many of the parent companies set up in Central America and the Caribbean. In recent years, they have been all over the news, as accusations of fraud have led to international lawsuits that are still pending.
The Oscar-nominated DiCaprio, 34, is known for blockbusters such as “Titanic” and “The Departed.” His latest movie, ShutterIsland,” a collaboration with director Martin Scorsese, is set for release in the United States in the coming weeks.
–Daniel Shea
