The Hollywood rumor mills are whispering of Leonardo DiCaprio (pictured) starring in a script, written by noted author Graham Moore, recently purchased by Warner Brothers specifically for the award-winning actor. Moore’s first attempt at a screenplay, titled The Imitation Game, is a biopic of one of the most enigmatic geniuses of our time: Alan Turing.
The script is based on the Andrew Hodges–penned biography of the visionary, whose groundbreaking math and cryptology skills helped decipher German codes for the British government, consequently turning the tides of WWII. He also provided the foundation for artificial intelligence with the Turing Machine, which played a significant role in the creation of the modern computer.
Sadly, his story has a tragic ending. He was prosecuted by the very government he secretly served because of his known homosexuality in 1952, a time when homosexual acts were still illegal in the United Kingdom. To “combat the urges” he was fed female hormones as an alternative to prison. He died two years later, just two weeks shy of his 42nd birthday, from cyanide poisoning. His death was determined as a suicide, though his family believes it was accidental.
If done well, this script can send a strong message for the equality battle that we still fight today, including the one for the freedom to marry. This will be DiCaprio’s second role as a gay public figure (he stars in Clint Eastwood’s biopic of J. Edgar Hoover, which touches on his rumored long-term affair with his top deputy), and will hopefully show the significant impact that the gay community has had on history, even through the hardships they have had to endure.
Photo/Courtesy of Leonardo DiCaprio
