Jared Leto is ready to transform yet again, and following on his twisted turn as the Joker in Suicide Squad this role will seem relatively tame but just as idiosyncratic. THR reports Leto will play artist and pop culture icon Andy Warhol in Warhol, a new biopic from Terence Winter, writing of Boardwalk Empire and The Wolf of Wall Street.
The rights to Victor Bockris' novel "Warhol: The Biography" were acquired by Leto in hopes of playing the openly gay artist who became famous for blending art and commerce through his work at The Factory, an underground community of like-minded individuals. Here's a synopsis for the novel:
Artist, filmmaker, magazine publisher, instigator of Pop Art, Andy
Warhol used his canvasses of dollar bills, soup cans, and celebrities to
subvert distinctions between high and popular culture. His spectacular
career encompassed the underground scene as well as the equally deviant
worlds of politics, show business, and high society. Warhol is the
definitive chronicle of Warhol’s storied life.Warhol has been portrayed numerous times on film and everybody chooses to emphasize a different aspect of his eccentric look and personality. Bill Hader went comical with his cameo as Warhol in Men in Black 3, but my favorite is David Bowie's portrayal in the excellent biopic Basquiat. Guy Pearce's turn in the underrated Factory Girl shouldn't be overlooked, either. Clearly Leto sees something in Warhol that he wants to capture on the screen, so you know this performance is going to be out there. Hopefully a director can be found for this one soon.
