Nothing like a glass of cognac to get Marty talking, as a conversation with EW about his new deal with Hennessy brought out some new details on his upcoming projects.

So what’s up next for the ‘brows after his 3D award-grabbing period epic? It would appear The Wolf Of Wall Street — which began as a Scorsese/Dicaprio project years ago and moved for a while to Ridley Scott’s roster — has come back home to roost on Marty’s slate.

It looks like it’s time to do The Wolf of Wall Street, with Leo [DiCaprio]. We’re aiming to start later this summer. It’s such an exciting story.

You can tell the excitement is there because he can’t help himself but to immediately launch into the thematic qualities that attract him to the story.

Even though it’s set in the early 90s, the attitude is there. The actions are the same. Our values are the same. It’s not like we had solid values until 1998 – the issue is that we were founded on certain values, and tried to maintain them. The film has more to do more with human nature and not guiding or inhibiting some people when nature gets away with them. As if to say, “Hold it, this is morally wrong because look at all these people suffering!” It’s a riotous story because of the humor and the madness and how these characters just run wild.

So it looks like Scorsese will make both his own Catch Me If You Can and Wall Street all at the same time. I love the idea of the director getting into meaty, socially relevant territory right now- I think he’ll outclass ole Mr. Olly Stone in that regard without breaking a sweat. The film will adapt the memoirs of Jordan Bellfort, who spent some time being a crook on Wall Street in the 90s, got caught, and turned inspiration speaker/author afterwards.

In the same conversation with EW Scorsese also mentions that he’s still very actively engaged in the Sinatra biopic, and that he’s got a new writer that may break the story. He focuses on the challenges of biographical adaptation, clearly still at a loss of exactly where and how to start the story. When asked specifically about a possible HBO mini-series and a leading role for Leo, he says “maybe” to  both.

I love the idea of a miniseries – particularly working with HBO because as long as you stay reasonably on budget, you have freedom which is very difficult to find in the cinematic marketplace. It’s something I find challenging and love trying at.

Leo’s always talked about doing it, but what if the story takes you in a completely different way? We could go for an unknown. Maybe the person who plays him isn’t important. Maybe it’s distracting to have a star in that role. Yet, you can’t have someone else sing! It’s got to be Sinatra’s voice. It’s tricky. It’s filled with problems – and whatever you do, there’s always going to be people who don’t like it, so you have to find something special. And I think I’ve found it. Now’s the time to execute it on the page.

There’s some confidence there at the end that makes me feel like we will see this project coalesce. I’m glad he’ll be shooting as early as this summer on the banking con man flick though- the guy’s not getting any younger.

Source | EW