Leonardo DiCaprio to Produce and Star in JFK Assassination Pic, LEGACY OF SECRECY

Leonardo DiCaprio is set to produce and star in an adaptation Lamar Waldron and Thom Hartmann’s Legacy of Secrecy.   Per Variety, “The book — whose full title is Legacy of Secrecy: The Long Shadow of the JFK Assassination — asserts that Mafia godfather Carlos Marcello confessed to FBI informant Jack Van Laningham (expected to be played by DiCaprio) to having ordered JFK’s assassination. As part of a dangerous and long-secret undercover operation, the FBI positioned Van Laningham to become confidant to Marcello, who ruled organized crime in Louisiana and most of Texas for decades.”  While the JFK assassination sounds like a catalyst for the plot, the plot sounds more like Donnie Brasco than JFK.

Hit the jump for more on Legacy of Secrecy as well as a refresher on DiCaprio’s other projects.

Warner Bros. is looking at a possible 2013 release for the picture, which would coincide with the 50th anniversary of President Kennedy’s assassination.  As part of his deal, Waldron “is retaining documentary film and TV rights to the book, which also says the Mafia played a role in the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. and in Watergate.”  Boy, conspiracy theories sure are fun (just watch last night’s Community).

As for DiCaprio, he’s got plenty else on his plate including an adaptation of The Devil in the White City, Clint Eastwood’s J. Edgar Hoover biopic, Ridley Scott’s The Wolf of Wall Street, Oliver Stone’s Travis McGee,  and Baz Luhrmann’s adaptation The Great Gatsby.  If Warner Bros. isn’t looking to get Legacy of Secrecy out until 2013, then the project is probably on the backburner of DiCaprio’s busy schedule.