Will Evel Knievel be revving his engines this summer?
That is a question facing Paramount as it looks to close a deal with Leonardo DiCaprio to star as the motorcycle daredevil who became famous for jumping over cars, fountains and canyons in a biopic being made by Paramount Pictures. Damien Chazelle, who last directed Babylon and has a first-look deal with Paramount, is due to helm the feature.
The deal-making has been going on for months and while that process plays out, eyes are other roles. Adrien Brody, who just won a best actor Oscar for his work on The Brutalist, may be one of those waiting in the wings.
While there is no offer for a role, Brody is said to have met with Chazelle for the part of Shelly Saltman, the author and sports promoter who was viciously attacked by Knievel by an aluminum bat.
Chazelle has been working on a prison project earlier last year but switched mid-air when Knievel began fueling up and generating interest from DiCaprio. It helped that the project has a script by William Monahan, who penned DiCaprio’s Oscar-winning crime film, The Departed.
If a deal can be closed with DiCaprio, the biggest priority at this point, sources say a shoot could be underway this summer. Paramount had no comment.
Knievel was a massive pop culture figure in the 1970s for his motorcycle aerial stuntwork, no fear attitude, and willingness to put his bones and life on the line for his jumps. His name and image — stars and cape included — become synonymous with cool, death-defying tricks, which he parlayed into TV appearances and merchandizing.
Knievel lost his cool, both literally and figuratively, when he attacked Saltman, then an executive of 20th Century Fox and also an author of an unflattering biography of the stuntman. Saltman was severely injured and Knievel received jail time, lost his endorsements, and declared bankruptcy.
DiCaprio last starred in Killers of the Flower Moon for Martin Scorsese and will next headline Paul Thomas Anderson’s mystery movie. The actor has no shortage of projects he could do and is attached to several high-profile packages and projects around town, including a Hawaii-set mob thriller that would reteam him with Scorsese and pair him with Dwayne Johnson.