Coincidence? We think not!
With a plan to execute a biopic of Walter Isaacson’s book on Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci, it has recently been reported by Variety that Paramount pictures won the bid over Universal for the rights for seven figures. 42-year-old American actor Leonardo DiCaprio was able to snag the lead role – he will be portraying Da Vinci himself. Not only that – he will produce the movie with Jennifer Davisson under his Appian Way banner.
According to an interview with NPR last 2014, he shares that he was named after Da Vinci. The artist is known for his paintings “Mona Lisa” and “The Last Supper”.
‘My father tells me that they were on their honeymoon at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, I believe. They were looking at a da Vinci painting, and allegedly I started kicking furiously while my mother was pregnant. And my father took that as a sign, and I suppose DiCaprio wasn’t that far from da Vinci. And so, my dad, being the artist that he is, said, “That’s our boy’s name.”‘
“Leonardo da Vinci” book cover
DiCaprio is actually part Italian himself – his father George is a half Italian comic book artist and distributor.
Isaacson’s biography of Leonardo Da Vinci attempts to “connect his art to his science” and will show “shows how Leonardo’s genius was based on skills we can improve in ourselves, such as passionate curiosity, careful observation, and an imagination so playful that it flirted with fantasy”, according to Simon & Schuster.
No date has been announced when production will begin, but we’re looking forward to seeing Leo portray his name sake!
What do you think of this story? Let us know in the comments below!
Disclaimer: WheninManila.com does not own the photos above. Photo credits go to IBTimes UK, TOTPI and Simon and Schuster.
