Key Takeaways
- Project Status: Martin Scorsese’s biopic of Frank Sinatra has been in development for nearly 20 years.
- Current Updates: Leonardo DiCaprio confirmed that the film is still “in the works.”
- Production Challenges: The project has faced resistance from the Sinatra estate, causing delays.
- Future Collaborations: DiCaprio and Scorsese are set to work together on another film, What Happens at Night.
Martin Scorsese has been developing a biopic of Frank Sinatra for nearly 20 years, but the project has stalled again and again. You’d be forgiven for thinking it was finally dead, but Leonardo DiCaprio has revealed the film still has signs of life.
Sinatra Still On?
DiCaprio was a guest at the Santa Barbara Film Festival, where he was asked about the status of the Sinatra movie. According to WorldofReel, DiCaprio sighed deeply but said, “still in the works, still in the works.“
At one point, Scorsese was gearing up to shoot Sinatra in 2024 alongside The Life of Jesus, based on Shūsaku Endō’s 1973 novel, but plans fell through. There were rumblings that the production was facing resistance from the Sinatra estate.
This isn’t the first time the Sinatra movie has fallen apart. Almost ten years ago, Scorsese announced that he had abandoned the project. “We can’t do it! I think it is finally over,” he said. “They [remaining members of the Sinatra clan] won’t agree to it. Open it up again and I’m there! Certain things are very difficult for a family, and I totally understand. But, if they expect me to be doing it, they can’t hold back certain things. The problem is that the man was so complex. Everybody is so complex — but Sinatra in particular.“
Scorsese’s Next Project
Although it’s unclear when (or if) Sinatra will actually happen, DiCaprio and Scorsese will be reuniting on What Happens at Night, which the actor said will start shooting in Prague in “two weeks.“
The film is “a dream-like story of a married American couple who travel to a small, snowy European town to adopt a baby. They check into a cavernous, largely deserted hotel where they encounter an enigmatic cast of characters including a flamboyant chanteuse, a depraved businessman and a charismatic faith healer. Nothing is quite as it seems in this strange, frozen world. As the couple struggle to claim their baby, the less they seem to know about themselves and the life they’ve built together.” DiCaprio will star alongside Jennifer Lawrence, with Mads Mikkelsen and Patrica Clarkson said to be among the cast as well.
Apple Original Films will finance and produce What Happens At Night, which has been scripted by Patrick Marber (Notes On A Scandal), based on the novel of the same name by Peter Cameron.
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