Martin Scorsese has signed on to direct The Wolf of Wall Street with his go-to leading man of late, Leonardo DiCaprio. The project, which was initially set up at Warner Bros., has had a long and winding history in Hollywood, with directors jumping in and dropping out. Originally Ridley Scott was attached to direct. But then, in 2007, shortly after Scorsese won the Best Picture Oscar for The Departed, he and DiCaprio became attached. Scorsese eventually dropped out and went on to other projects, but apparently the material proved too tantalizing. Based on Jordan Belfort’s memoir, Wolf chronicles the author’s debauched, hard-partying rampage in the world of high finance during the go-go ’90s. Belfort’s law-breaking bender eventually landed him in federal prison. “After almost four years in development, I can’t begin to tell you how thrilled I am to finally be working with Leo and Marty on this,” said Belfort. “They’re the ultimate dream team, and it was definitely worth the wait.” The Wolf script was adapted by Terry Winter, who recently worked with Scorsese on the HBO series Boardwalk Empire.
