Leonardo DiCaprio, Abhay Deol to co-produce sports biopic of boxer Willie Pep

Oscar-winning star Leonardo DiCaprio is set to team up with Bollywood actor-producer Abhay Deol to produce an upcoming sports biopic Pep. The film will be the biopic of legendary featherweight boxer Willie Pep. Robert Kolodny will serve as the director of the film.

According to a recent report by Variety, the Inception actor will co-produce the sports biopic under his production banner Appian Way. The actor-producer is teaming up with Singapore's Golden Ratio Films and Abhay Deol's Canada based Blisspoint Entertainment. The upcoming sports biopic is expected to begin production in Hartford, Connecticut. Hartford also marks Pep's home state. While the film is being helmed by Rober Kolodny, Steve Loff has provided its screenplay. Steve James is executive producing the film while Rober Greene will be the editor. 

Pep's cast

Pep will cast James Madio in the titular role of Willie Pep. The actor had earlier starred in the 2001 miniseries Band Of Brothers.  The film will also see Keir Gilchrist playing Pep's son Billy Jr. and Ron Livingston essaying the role of Pep's business manager Bob Kaplan. Details about the female leads of the film are still under wraps.

More about the production companies

Appian Way Productions was founded by Leonardo DiCaprio in 2004. The production house has bankrolled several award-winning films, including The Revenant. It has also produced The Wolf Of Wall Street, Orphan, Shutter Island, The Aviator, TV's Live By Night and many more. On the other hand, Abhay Deol began his film and content creation company two years ago, along with producer Ratan Ginwalla. Golden Ratio is owned by content, entertainment and media investment holding company Vistas Media Capital. Golden Ratio and Blisspoint Entertainment have earlier produced the horror film, Son.

Who was Willie Pep?

Born in 1922, Guglielmo Papaleo, professionally known as Willie Pep, was an American professional boxer. He held the World Featherweight championship twice between 1942 and 1950. During a career of 26 years, Pep boxed a total of 1956 rounds in 241 bouts, which are termed as a considerable number of rounds and bouts for a fighter in the mid 20th century. He was best known for his finesse, speed and elusiveness and is considered to be one of the best fighters of the 20th century.

Image: AP & Instagram/@abhaydeol