With Billy Ray boarding the upcoming "The Ballad of Richard Jewell," 20th Century Fox could be looking at an Oscar contender for 2016.
Variety is reporting that Ray will write the film, which is slated to reunite "The Wolf of Wall Street stars Jonah Hill and Leonardo DiCaprio.
The film tells the story of the the 1996 Atlanta Olympics bombing drama which is based on Marie Brenner's article in Vanity Fair. The Vanity Fair article follows a security guard who reported on the knapsack bomb at the 1996 summer Olympics and helped clear bystanders only to find himself vilified and suspected of being involved in the terrorism plot. Hill will play the title role of Jewell and DiCaprio will play the lawyer out to clear his name.
The film is slated to be produced by DiCaprio with Jennifer Davisson Killoran through his Appian Way banner while Hill will produce, along with Kevin Misher.
With Ray boarding the project the film is slated to be one of the most anticpated films of 2015. Ray received his first Oscar nomination for "Captain Phillips"; he won Best Adapted Screenplay at the Writers Guild of America awards. However, the writer has consistently written great scripts. His breakout work came in 2003 with "Shattered Glass" which he also directed. The film received rave reviews and even got a Golden Globe nomination for one of his actors. The writer also received nominations at the Indie Spirit Awards for Best Screenplay. He followed the film with "Flightplan," which was not a critical success. However, he would make a return to form in his second film as director and writer. "Breach," which was released in 2007, was a critical success and made $33 million at the Box office.
After that Ray wrote the screenplay to Kevin MacDonald's "State of Play." That film was also a critical success but did not perform well at the box office. In 2012 Ray wrote the first installment to "The Hunger Games." Like his previous films it would become a critical hit and would become one of the highest grossing films of 2012.
Ray is currently attached to write Martin Scorsese's recently announced "Sinatra" film as well as the reboot to "The Mummy." With little information released about those films, it is likely that the writer will work on "The Ballad of Richard Jewell" first.
Right now, the movie looks like a prestige film but things could change when the director is announced. After picking such a great cast and writer it is likely that Fox will attempt to get an A-list director on board.
It is also unknown when the project is being planned for production; both actors have many projects in development. DiCaprio is producing and starring in "Blood of Snow" while Hill is getting ready to promote "22 Jump Street" and "How to Train Your Dragon 2." The actor is also filming "Sausage Party" and is in pre-production for "Good Time Gang."
However, given how fast Fox is moving with the project, it is likely more news will come soon.
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