Martin Scorsese casts Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence in the Frank Sinatra biopic he's been trying to make since 2009

Martin Scorsese wants to make a Frank Sinatra biopic starring Leonardo DiCaprio as the famous crooner.

According to Variety, Scorsese has already cast DiCaprio as Sinatara and Jennifer Lawrence as his second wife actor Ava Gardner. However, Scorsese has yet to receive the go-ahead from Sinatra's estate, which is controlled by his daughter Tina. Apple reportedly wants to finance the project, having worked with the filmmaker on the highly successful Killers of the Flower Moon, but Sony is at the top of the list in terms of studios fighting for the potential rights. 

The film was first announced back in 2009 with Phil Alden Robinson (Field of Dreams) set to pen the screenplay. Deadline reported again in 2012 that Billy Ray (Color of Night) would write the script with Universal Pictures set to produce the pic and Tina serving as executive producer.

Tina executive-produced a CBS biopic miniseries called Sinatra, which aired back in 1992. The series starred Philip Casnoff as Frank Sinatra and Marcia Gay Harden as Ava Gardner. Additionally, Sinatra has been portrayed by Ray Liotta in The Rat Pack, James Russo in Stealing Sinatra, Dennis Hopper in The Night We Called It a Day, and the late great Phil Hartman on Saturday Night Live. Scorsese's project wouldn't be the first Sinatra and Gardner-centered film, with Michael Oblowitz's Frank and Ava hitting the festival circuit in 2018.

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