Black List scribe Graham Moore to write 'Devil in the White City', starring Leonardo DiCaprio

I almost forgot about this one. Late last year, Leonardo DiCaprio and his Appian Way production house picked up the rights to Erik Larson's 2003 serial killer tome, The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic And Madness At The Fair That Changed America. The story told the parallel stories of Daniel Burnham, the designer and architect behind the 1893 Chicago World Fair, and H.H. Holmes, one of America's first official serial killers who used the fair as a backdrop to murder more than two dozen people. DiCaprio was set to play Holmes, in a role that would be a serious departure.


Deadline reports that Warner Brothers have now claimed the rights, with all of the principles still in place. Appian Way is still involved, and DiCaprio is still attached to star. There's been some difficulty getting the book adapted in the years since it was released, with Kathryn Bigelow once set to direct, but nothing came of it so the rights lapsed until last year. Warner Brothers seems intent on getting the ball rolling now, and have named 2011 Black List award winner Graham Moore to pen the script. Moore won the award, which honors the best unproduced screenplays in Hollywood, for The Imitation Game, a story on WWII cryptographer Alan Turing. If you recall, a few months ago Warner Brothers picked up the rights to that as well, again with DiCaprio being eyed for it.

So add another one to DiCaprio's list of potentials. I'll be curious to see who they get to direct it. Who does serial killer flicks really well? David Fincher? Eh, probably not. Martin Scorsese? Hmmmm....