A man who seemingly never found a book he didn't want to adapt, Leonardo DiCaprio is attached to star in yet another movie drawn from a tome. And, as is his (Appian) way these days, he'll also produce crime thriller The Black Hand.
Stephan Talty's book chronicles the real-life story of Joe Petrosino, a driven NYPD cop who made it his life's mission to go after the dangerous gang spreading a kidnapping ring from Italy to America in the late 1890s.
The Black Hand (for such a mark was their calling card) were ruthless and inspired fear among the local Italian immigrant population, but Petrosino won the citizens' trust and created a network of informers. He sent many of the gang back to Italy or locked them up, but was finally lured to his death, leaving behind a wife and children.
DiCaprio is working with The Gotham Group and Paramount to bring the story to the screen, and he's on the hunt for a writer to do Petrosino's life justice.