Leonardo DiCaprio to Star in Sam Phillips Biopic for Paramount

Phillips is the musical pioneer who singlehandedly steered the revolutionary path of Sun Records in the 1950s

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October 21, 2016 @ 11:24 AM

Paramount Pictures has acquired the book “Sam Phillips: The Man Who Invented Rock ‘N’ Roll” for an adaptation to star Leonardo DiCaprio, TheWrap has learned.

The film will be developed by Appian Way’s DiCaprio and Jennifer Davisson.

The book, written by Peter Guralnick (“Last Train to Memphis”), tells the story of Phillips and the music that he shaped in his tiny Memphis studio with artists as diverse as Elvis Presley, Ike Turner, Howlin’ Wolf, Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Cash, introducing a sound that had never been heard before.

DiCaprio and Davisson will produce along with Guralnick, Mick Jagger, Victoria Pearman, Steve Bing, Ian Montone, Rick Yorn.

The actor’s production company currently has four projects in development with the studio, including “The Devil in the White City,” based on the book by Erik Larson, “Sandcastle Empire,” a yet untitled film and a limited television series.

The Appian deal adds prestige to the Paramount lot — in the form of newly-minted Oscar winner DiCaprio — as Paramount continues to seek a minority shareholder to infuse the studio with cash.

Appian Way has produced films like “The Revenant,” “The Wolf of Wall Street,” “The Ides of March,” “Public Enemies” and “The Aviator.”

The company is currently in post-production on Ben Affleck‘s “Live By Night” (2017) and is in pre-production on “Robin Hood: Origins” (2017).

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