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Following his Oscar win for Dallas Buyers Club and his all-too-brief turn as the Joker in Suicide Squad, Jared Leto has signed on to make his feature directorial debut with Paramount’s crime movie 77, the studio announced Wednesday.
David Matthews (Narcos) wrote the script, which is based on an original screenplay by famed crime author James Ellroy (L.A. Confidential).
The film will be produced by award Law & Order maestro Dick Wolf and Tony Ganz of Wolf Films. Leto is also producing under his company Paradox, whose Emma Ludbrook will serve as an executive producer.
Set in 1974 in a politically charged Los Angeles, the story follows two police officers who team up to recover kidnapped heiress Patty Hearst while simultaneously investigating the brutal murder of a fellow officer. They uncover not only relentless corruption and crime, but a dark and violent conspiracy as well.
Thought it’s unclear why a film set in 1974 is titled 77, the project will nonetheless mark Leto’s feature-length scripted directorial debut. He previously directed the 2012 documentary feature Artifact and the documentary series Great Wide Open, Into The Wild and Beyond the Horizon.
Leto has also directed numerous music videos and commercials under the pseudonym Bartholomew Cubbins, winning more than a dozen awards worldwide.
Leto, who will next be seen in Blade Runner 2049 and the crime thriller The Outsider, is represented by CAA and Untitled Entertainment.
Jeff Sneider | Editor in Chief
