A year and a day ago, I read the headline of an article about Leonardo DiCaprio’s Appian Way beginning preparations for an adaptation of Conspiracy of Fools, about the Enron scandal. I was intrigued.
I then read the article itself. Leo would star; sounds good to me. A fictional young whippersnapper would uncover the scandal; whatevs. Sheldon Turner (Amityville Horror, The Longest Yard, Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning) had pitched it and would be writing the screenplay; ugh.
The film now has a director: Robert Schwentke. That name actually gives me a tiny bit of hope. His last film was the ridiculous Flightplan, which ultimately failed because it had a retarded plot; Schwentke, in the meantime, was able to demonstrate some real chops. Meaning, if the movie sucks ass, it probably won’t be his fault. Side note: I’ve also been told Schwentke’s Eierdiebe is pretty good.
Back when the project was announced, DiCaprio was set to star. Since they’ve been taking their sweet-ass time, though, DiCaprio’s involvement in front of the camera is in doubt (he’s got a bunch of other obligations). As Devin might point out, DiCaprio’s absence would make the presence of that fictional young whippersnapper less necessary.
Conspiracy of Fools isn’t quite ready to get going yet. Schwentke still has to finish up post-production on the Eric Bana-starrer The Time Traveler’s Wife, which could best be described as Jumper with time travel.