A Bela Lugosi biopic starring Leonardo DiCaprio is in the works at Universal
Exclusive: Appian Way Productions, the production company of Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Davison, has teamed with producers Alex Cutler and Darryl Marshak to develop a Universal Pictures biopic of Bela Lugosi, the Hungarian star of stage and screen who created the iconic role of Dracula on both Broadway and in Universal Horror Film The 1931 classic, multiple sources tell Deadline.
Universal representatives declined to comment. While insiders have stressed that these are very early days for this project, the backstory is interesting, as it came to Universal as a pitch about two years ago and has been quietly maturing ever since. The screenplay is written by Tim Burton’s writers, Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski Ed Woodfor which Martin Landau won an Academy Award and other major awards for his portrayal of Lugosi at the end of his life.
Unlike the 1994 classic, the new film will focus on a younger Lugosi, charting his meteoric rise to become one of cinema’s most enduring and recognizable figures. The film chronicles his emigration from Hungary and his rise to stardom, both of which he stars in Dracula On Broadway in the late 1920s and its Hollywood adaptation in 1931, in addition to its steep downfall after turning down the role of Frankenstein, which went to his future rival Boris Karloff.
Although Lugosi was never able to escape the role of Dracula, he cemented his place in history as the cornerstone of Universal’s pantheon of legendary monsters, which he is still celebrated today. With Halloween just around the corner, there’s no better time to revisit the works that made Lugosi a star.
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Davison, Michael Hampton and DiCaprio will produce Lugosi’s new project for Appian Way.
A pair of the city’s most celebrated screenwriters, widely known for their “anti-biographical” novels, Alexander and Karaszewski have written some of Hollywood’s most award-winning roles for actors, with projects such as The People vs. Larry Flynt, Man on the moon, Big eyes, Dolomite is my name and American Crime Storyfor which they received numerous Emmys and PGA Awards, as well as a WGA Award. Most recently, they wrote the script for a biopic about the Grateful Dead, which is being made at Apple.
Cutler and Marshak, industry veterans, are a pair of cousins who worked on Lugosi’s film production for many years, starting when they were teenagers. Marshak, who became a talent agent, worked with DiCaprio early in their career.
Most recently, Appian Way produced Martin Scorsese’s Oscar-nominated picture of Apple Flower killersstarring DiCaprio, plus titles including featherweight and Queen of Bones. As an actor, DiCaprio plays the lead role Battle after battlethe critically acclaimed film directed by Paul Thomas Anderso that has grossed more than $138 million worldwide since its debut last month. It is said to be about Michael Mann Heat 2which had just moved from Warner Bros. to Amazon MGM’s United Artists, and also recently entered talks to star opposite Jennifer Lawrence in What happens at nighta new Scorsese picture of Apple inspired by Peter Cameron’s novel.
Alexander and Karaszewski are repped by CAA and Entertainment 360. Appian Way is repped by LBI and Hansen Jacobson Teller. Cutler & Marshak is repped by Michael Sherman at Eisner Law.