Paramount has beaten out Universal in a seven-figure bidding war for the rights to Walter Isaacson’s book on Leonardo da Vinci, Variety can confirm. The biopic will star fellow Leo, Leonardo DiCaprio.
DiCaprio will also produce the film under his Appian Way banner alongside president of production Jennifer Davisson.
DiCaprio’s desire to portray da Vinci on film is no coincidence. The actor’s mother famously claims to have chosen the artist as her son’s namesake when she felt an in utero DiCaprio kick for the first time while examining a da Vinci piece at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy back in 1974.
“Leonardo da Vinci” will be released Oct. 17, 2017.
The news was first reported by Deadline Hollywood.
via Variety