Dicaprio Spills (A Few) Details On J Edgar Hoover Biopic

Give it up to Slashfilm for givin' me the scoop. If you read this silly attempt aty being a pro film news reporter/critic/analyst, you'd know that i reported a while back about Dicaprio and Eastwood getting together for a J Edgar Hoover biopic. Oscar winner Dustin Lance Black of Milk fame is writing the script and Warner Bros. is behind the whole thing, Eastwood's home away from home really.

Well, at a press conference for the upcoming summer saver, Inception, Leo was asked about the details for the collab between him, Dustin Lawrence Black and Eastwood on the Hoover biopic. He confirmed he's in talks to star saying this:

"Yeah, I’m talking to Clint Eastwood about playing J. Edgar Hoover, who had his hand in some of the most scandelous events in American history — everything from the Vietnam war to [John] Dillinger to Martin Luther King and JFK. It’s about the secret life of J Edgar Hoover.”

Then some one asked him about the dress, because supposedly Hoover was a cross dresser. A reference to a claim made in Hoover’s 1993 biography Official and Confidential: The Secret Life of J Edgar Hoover, which quoted a witness, Susan Rosenstiel, (who later served time at Rikers Island for perjuring herself in a 1971 case) who claimed to have seen Hoover engaging in cross-dressing in the 1950s at homosexual orgies.

"Not as of yet. We haven’t done the fittings for those… so I don’t think so.”

Let's see if they explore that area of his life. This all sounds pretty good though. I'm excited to see what comes of this project. I'll be keeping you posted.

Munki out.

Update: Dicaprio To Join Eastwood's Hoover Biopic?

Just last night, I reported about Clint Eastwood gearing up a biopic about J. Edgar Hoover (actually, it's right below this post). Now it looks as if Leo The Great Master of Disguise would be taking on this role and providing us a view into the man's mind who secretly controlled the whole country.

 Milk writer Dustin Lawrence Black penned the script for Brian Grazer (who produced The Changeling for Clint and now, they're good buddies) and it was originally set up to be a Universal picture. But they tossed it aside, in fear of it's dated... uh, date. So Brian called up Clint and got him the script and then Eastwood reportedly got real excited about it. That's fuckin' Hollywood pull son, calling Clint Eastwood and telling the other studio to screw off.  Plus, years back, Clint directed a real nice little film, The Eiger Sanction, which initially got panned by critics, Eastwood blamed Universal Studios for the films poor promotion and turned his back on them, forming a long-lasting agreement with Warner Bros. through Frank Wells that would transcend over 35 years of cinema and remain intact to this day. Which is where the biopic is right now.  They now have it set up at Warner Bros., who reportedly give Clint enough money to do whatever the hell he wants and leave him be; then he turns a nice profit and nicer award wins for them and everybody goes home happy.

Like I previously said, I'm all about and behind this project. Clint is one of my favorites and most respected directors and actors especially. And Leonardo is proving that he is a very nice choice for giving way to himself, in search of a whole other person entirely. And this man, Hoover, was rich with a person to bring out and show people. Because there's just too much out there that we don't really know, that we always wanted to about the most secretive man in the country.

Much more substantiated is the fact that Hoover would wield elements of the FBI and other federal energy to control and subvert the civil rights of those he considered enemies and dangers to democracy. He would compile information about the sexual preferences of some subjects, and reportedly used it to discredit them. Regardless of the truth behind the gay/cross-dressing rumor (an image that may have bloomed simply as a way to use Hoover’s own smear campaigns against him) there’s a lot of material in Hoover’s story that would make it of interest to Dustin Lance Black. I love the idea of him drafting this script.

I'll keep you posted on any new details, but it looks like this film is locked down and ready to go. 

Munki Out.

Eastwood Directing J. Edgar Hoover Film?

Let;s give it up to CineFOOLS for giving me the scoop, albeit, a very limited one. And yes, I stole their juxtaposed pic too.

The skinny is, that Clint (such a cool name huh? So fitting) is gearing up to direct a biopic about the legendary man who ushered in the F.B.I. and rose to ghost-run the entire country some say, with files and documents on everyone and anyone so he could always get his way on whatever he needed. This man, birthed intelligence and started a whole new ear in the country's security. In office and runnin' shit for 50 years playa! Then he died. This guy was serious. Hoover is credited with building the FBI into a large and efficient crime-fighting agency, and with instituting a number of modern innovations to police technology, such as a centralized fingerprint file and forensic laboratories.

Anyway, if anyone can put together a film that bleeds honesty, terrific fiction, and detail piling suspense, Eastwood can. I'm all about this project and everything he does with it.

The only question is now? Who's gonna win some awards for playing the gangster chasing, crime-stopper? Any thoughts?

Munki Out.