ROTTEN TOMATOES: DiCaprio Is Ridley's Low Dweller

DiCaprio Is Ridley's Low Dweller

Guess they had fun making Body of Lies, huh?

by Jeff Giles | March 25, 2008

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Ridley Scott and Leonardo DiCaprio are teaming up again -- and making a rookie screenwriter very wealthy in the process.

Variety reports that Relativity Media has purchased The Low Dweller, described as "a dark drama set in 1986 Indiana," from writer Brad Ingelsby, "paying $650,000 against $1.1 million." According to Variety, Ingelsby -- a 27-year-old AFI grad -- was living with his parents last week and working at his dad's insurance company. From the article:

Plan is for DiCaprio to play Slim, a man released after serving years in prison for murder who wants only to follow through on his promise to marry his long-suffering girlfriend. But when he discovers his brother has been murdered after getting involved in a gambling racket, he feels obliged to avenge the murder.

As Variety notes, both DiCaprio and Scott have other projects lined up, but since the producers don't expect The Low Dweller to take more than 35 days to shoot, it seems likely that the director and star -- who just finished working together on the Iraq war drama Body of Lies -- will be able to squeeze it in.

Source: Variety

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(1-20 of 22 posts) | Reply

ffamilyguy writes:
on Mar 25 2008 06:36 AM

Leo and Ridley! As a movie nerd.....I am loving this!

(Reply to this)

arendr writes:
on Mar 25 2008 07:23 AM

Ingelsby, you bastard!

Seriously, though. Good for him!

(Reply to this)

dahluzz writes:
on Mar 25 2008 09:34 AM

good lord, dicaprio can't miss right now. not complaining, he's one of the top actors around. he's got the new sam mendes flick with kate winslett, then 'body of lies' marty's 'ashcliffe' and 'theadore roosevelt' and then he's rumored for 'akira' (by the by, watch director Ruairi Robinson's 'silent city' short for a look at why he's qualified to lead the project).

leo's on point and he's also turned down countless excellent roles. they were gonna pay him $20 Mil to do 'american psycho' and he passed. talk about options.

(Reply to this)

fresh25 writes:
on Mar 25 2008 09:45 AM

should be sick, and that screen writer is lucky as f***

(Reply to this)

arendr writes:
on Mar 25 2008 10:22 AM

Hey Jeff, the Body of Lies page claims the theatrical release is Nov. 30, 1999.

I guess I need a Delorian with Mr. Fusion to watch that movie?

(Reply to this)

maremagnum writes:
on Mar 25 2008 10:55 AM

Can anybody explain how the payment arrangement described in the article works? You know, "paying $650,000 against $1.1 million." Thanks.

(Reply to this)

arendr writes:
on Mar 25 2008 11:42 AM

In reply to this comment (#1652431)
I 2nd this question. I have a script I'm thinking about putting out there for sale and I'd like to know this stuff in advance. (not that I expect an offer like that)

(Reply to this)

donwillymo writes:
on Mar 25 2008 12:12 PM

Leo should be blowing not only James Cameron but James Camerons parents for giving birth to Cameron. Lucky fu'k

(Reply to this)

Ashron writes:
on Mar 25 2008 02:02 PM

In reply to this comment (#1652431)
I could be wrong on this, but I believe the $650,000 is the option price, and $1.1 million is what he will get if the film actually goes into production. So either way, he's just made a $650,000 paycheck and if they actually make the movie, he'll get another $550,000. Not a bad deal.

(Reply to this)

~*Admiral Snowstorm*~ writes:
on Mar 25 2008 02:43 PM

That is one amazingly lucky screenwriter.

Leonardo DiCaprio is a pretty lucky guy as well. He's had nothing but success since Titanic, and I'd say he's earned it fully. He's an excellent actor, and it seems like all sorts of directors and studios are picking up on that.

(Reply to this)

unbreakable_samurai writes:
on Mar 25 2008 03:06 PM

Yeah way to go Ingelsby, good stuff. I really like DiCaprio and Scott and this sounds really good, my day is slightly brightend.

(Reply to this)

arendr writes:
on Mar 25 2008 03:08 PM

In reply to this comment (#1652621)
Thanks Ashron. That makes sense.

(Reply to this)

Heizer writes:
on Mar 25 2008 04:33 PM

In reply to this comment (#1652621)
Ashron--you're close, but an option is generally 10% or so of the final purchase price of the screenplay. (An option being a temporary agreement where the writer gives up rights to the screenplay for generally a year, while he/she lets the optioning party seek funding/packaging for the screenplay.)

More than likely, the $650,000 is the price paid to purchase the screenplay outright, and the 1.1 mill is the total the writer will receive once it goes into production. So yeah, he's got another $550,000 coming.

Either way, must be one hell of a screenplay.

(Reply to this)

maremagnum writes:
on Mar 25 2008 06:00 PM

Thanks to Ashron and Heinz for the info. Ingelsby's story is amazing. Could be good enough for a movie pitch. Hmm... JK ;)

(Reply to this)

arendr writes:
on Mar 25 2008 07:33 PM

Thanks to you too Heizer. I wrote my 2nd script recently and am starting to give up hope on finding funding for me to direct, so I'm pursuing a sale. It's a contemporary Western, which is very much in vogue right now (and I'm very happy with it).

(Reply to this)

maremagnum writes:
on Mar 25 2008 08:59 PM

Here's another explanation for the x against y formula from this site, http://artfulwriter.com/archives/2007/07/the_economics_o.html:

"A typical deal for a pitch or assignment works like this%u2026you%u2019re paid your %u201Cquote%u201D (your going rate) for a draft and a set of revisions (aka a second draft, often shortened to %u201Cset%u201D). In addition, the studio will typically detail optional steps they can trigger if they desire. So, if your deal is, say, $500,000 for an original, you%u2019ll get paid $500,000 for two drafts, but the studio might hold an option for another set for $150,000 and a polish for $75,000. If they want it, that%u2019s what they%u2019ll pay (and you have to write it, pending your availability). If they don%u2019t want those optional steps, they don%u2019t have to pay that money out.

Then there%u2019s the credit bonus. Most writing deals include a bonus for sole screenplay credit and a reduced bonus for shared screenplay credit (I%u2019ve never heard of anyone getting a bonus for story credit).

That%u2019s where all this %u201CX against Y%u201D stuff comes in.

If your quote is $500,000 against $1,000,000, that means you get paid $500,000 for those first two drafts. If you get sole screenplay credit on the movie, you%u2019ll get an additional $500,000 to get you to the $1,000,000.

Shared credit bonuses are typically half the sole credit bonus.

When working on deals, it%u2019s always important to know what%u2019s applicable against the bonus and what isn%u2019t. For instance, the optional steps are almost always considered applicable, meaning that if you%u2019re $500,000 against $1,000,000 and the studio pays you an additional $225,000 for optional steps, that optional money cuts into the rest of the money they owe you if you get sole credit. In this case, instead of getting $500,000 to get to the million, you%u2019d only get $275,000 in bonus money (because you%u2019ve been paid $500 $225 already, and 500 225 275=1M)."

Hope this info is of some use.

(Reply to this)

POJOFOSHO writes:
on Mar 25 2008 09:51 PM

Ingelsby lives down the street from me. I grew up with his younger brother. Things have been insane here. It's the most amazing story ever. Can't wait for this movie to be made.

(Reply to this)

Ashron writes:
on Mar 26 2008 01:11 PM

In reply to this comment (#1652828)
Thanks Heizer. I knew it was something like that and I knew option was typically 10%, but you never know with Hollywood if a bidding war gets going. I'm not producing with numbers quite this big yet and all our scripts have been in-house, so I haven't had to play with options.

(Reply to this)

Ashron writes:
on Mar 26 2008 01:14 PM

In reply to this comment (#1653321)
As you tell us Inglesby was a nice guy, it's all good. If he's one of those arrogant undeserving pricks, then there will be blood.

(Reply to this)

arendr writes:
on Mar 26 2008 02:00 PM

Ingelsby, I drink your milkshake!

(Reply to this)