Yesterday, it was announced that Martin Scorsese’s “Devil in the White City” was back in development, with Leonardo DiCaprio set to star. Sadly, no script has been submitted just yet.
However, what a coincidence that Eric Roth is telling the Final Draft podcast that he’s currently writing a screenplay for Scorsese. Is it “Devil in the White City”? What else can it be? Scorsese’s other projects in development (“Sinatra,” “Life of Jesus”) have already been written.
Scorsese’s other immediate and possible film, “Home,” is apparently a collaboration with Todd Field and Kent Jones, so I’d be surprised if Roth had any part or say in that particular creative process.
I’ll give you another reason why I believe Roth may be writing “Devil in the White City”; much like Scorsese, he’s been trying to bring Erik Larson’s book to the screen for a few decades now. Roth’s script has hopped on a few director’s laps.
In 2008, Roth wrote a script for “‘Devil’ that reportedly interested David Fincher, but the project eventually fizzled out. Scorsese and DiCaprio joined the project in 2015 with the intention of using a script written by Billy Ray (“Shattered Glass”).
Roth is one of the most sought-after screenwriters in the business, and has been showered with acclaim throughout his career. Some of his credits include “Forrest Gump,” “The Insider,” “Munich,” and “Dune.” His last “credit” was for Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon.”