SANTA BARBARA, CA - JANUARY 30: Actor Leonardo DiCaprio on stage at the Modern Master Award Tribute to Christopher Nolan at the Arlington Theater on January 30, 2011 in Santa Barbara, California. (Photo by C Flanigan/FilmMagic)
Photo: C Flanigan/2011 C Flanigan
Everyone loves a good medical drama, and HBO thrives on all things mafia, so presumably it would be hard to go wrong if you combined those two things and put a Leo on top. That seems to be the logic behind HBO buying Beat the Reaper, a series based on physician/novelist Josh Bazell’s 2009 book about an ER doctor who’s forced to confront his past in organized crime. Brian Koppelman and David Levien (Ocean’s Thirteen) will write, direct, and join Mr. DiCaprio as executive producers. Since it’s not TV (with a regular development schedule), it’s HBO, it’s not clear when and if the show will go forward, but hopefully it will be before Leo’s old enough to remake J. Edgar without the makeup.