If there was a Hollywood feel good story coming out of 2011, it was definitely the overwhelming success of silent-era tribute, The Artist. The unexpected hit was the darling of the Academy Awards, and everybody involved with it became instant stars. That included French actor, Jean Dujardin, who shined as the down 'n out silent movie star, showing a wide comic range and emotive physical style. Surprisingly, offers to lead American films have been few and far between, and the possibility existed that Dujardin would be a "blink and they're gone" blip on the radar on our shores.
Well, scratch that, because he's just come aboard Martin Scorsese's The Wolf of Wall Street, the long gestating thriller based on a script by Terrence Winter(Boardwalk Empire). Dujardin will get to hang out with Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, and Kyle Chandler in the wall street flick based on Jordan Belfort's memoir about his drug fueled days at the most corrupt brokerage firm in the country, Stratton Oakmont. How corrupt was it? It was the basis for the Vin Diesel/Giovanni Ribisi flick, Boiler Room. That's how corrupt it was. Dujardin will play a suave, Swiss banker who is laundering money for Stratton Oakmont.
This one's been developing for awhile, but the pieces are finally coming into place. Filming on The Wolf of Wall street begins this summer. Hopefully before that we'll start hearing more about Dujardin's upcoming remake of One Wild Moment, opposite Vincent Cassel. [Variety]
