{"id":31805,"date":"2025-10-15T19:02:36","date_gmt":"2025-10-15T23:02:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/?p=31805"},"modified":"2025-10-23T23:38:31","modified_gmt":"2025-10-24T03:38:31","slug":"leonardo-dicaprio-developing-biopic-about-bela-lugosi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/?p=31805","title":{"rendered":"Leonardo DiCaprio Developing Biopic About Bela Lugosi"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n<p class=\"p1\">\u00a9Courtesy of Universal Pictures, &#8220;Dracula.&#8221;<\/p>\r\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/name\/nm0000509\/\">Bela Lugosi<\/a> will be rising from the crypt thanks to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/name\/nm0000138\/\">Leonardo DiCaprio<\/a>, who is planning a biopic about the legendary Hungarian actor who originated the role of Dracula in the classic 1931 film. The upcoming biopic is being developed by DiCaprio\u2019s Appian Way Productions in tandem with Universal Pictures, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/deadline.com\/2025\/10\/bela-lugosi-biopic-leonardo-dicaprio-in-works-universal-1236584697\/\"><em><strong>Deadline<\/strong><\/em>,<\/a> which broke the story this week.<br \/><br \/>DiCaprio\u2019s film will focus on the youthful Lugosi, who was born as B\u00e9la Ferenc Dezs\u0151 Blask\u00f3 in 1882 and died in 1956. Another theme in the film will examine his later decline due to alcoholism and morphine addiction. Lugosi began his acting career in 1902 and played the role of Count Dracula in a Broadway production in 1927, four years before the Universal Film that both immortalized and stereotyped him as a leading figure in the horror genre. During the 1930s, Lugosi also appeared in several films with Boris Karloff, including <em><strong>The Black Cat<\/strong><\/em>, <em><strong>The Raven<\/strong><\/em>, and <em><strong>Son of Frankenstein<\/strong><\/em>.<br \/><br \/>The script for DiCaprio\u2019s biopic will be written by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/name\/nm0018735\/\">Scott Alexander<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/name\/nm0438989\/\">Larry Karaszewski<\/a>, who penned the screenplay for Tim Burton\u2019s 1994 film <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0109707\/\"><em><strong>Ed Wood,<\/strong><\/em><\/a> in which Martin Landau won an Oscar for his role as the Lugosi character. Alexander and Karaszewski also wrote the scripts for other biopics that have included <em><strong>Big Eyes, Dolemite Is My Name, Man on the Moon,<\/strong><\/em> and <em><strong>The People vs. Larry Flynt<\/strong><\/em>. The duo most recently wrote the script for a biopic about The Grateful Dead, directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Jonah Hill as Jerry Garcia. The film is under development by Apple Studios, with no release date yet announced.<\/p>\r\n<p>Still in the very early development process, DiCaprio\u2019s biopic is being produced by Jennifer Davisson, Alex Cutler and Darryl Marshak. As of press time, representatives from Universal Pictures have declined to comment on the project, which was pitched to them two years ago.<br \/><br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/author\/edward-moran\/\">Check out other articles by Edward.<\/a><\/p>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1774669342741533\" data-ad-slot=\"1211148813\" data-ad-format=\"auto\" data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u00a9Courtesy of Universal Pictures, &#8220;Dracula.&#8221; Bela Lugosi will be rising from the crypt thanks to Leonardo DiCaprio, who is planning a biopic about the legendary Hungarian actor who originated the role of Dracula in the classic 1931 film. The upcoming biopic is being developed by DiCaprio\u2019s Appian Way Productions in tandem with Universal Pictures, according&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":31904,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[28631,28630,17215,5670,5465,2061,5464,27742],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Leonardo DiCaprio Developing Biopic About Bela Lugosi | Cinema Daily US<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Bela Lugosi will be rising from the crypt thanks to Leonardo DiCaprio, who is planning a biopic about the legendary Hungarian actor who originated the role of Dracula in the classic 1931 film.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/?p=31805\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Leonardo DiCaprio Developing Biopic About Bela Lugosi | Cinema Daily US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Bela Lugosi will be rising from the crypt thanks to Leonardo DiCaprio, who is planning a biopic about the legendary Hungarian actor who originated the role of Dracula in the classic 1931 film.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/?p=31805\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Cinema Daily US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-10-15T23:02:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-10-24T03:38:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Bela-Lugoshi.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1048\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"946\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Edward Moran\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Edward Moran\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/?p=31805\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/?p=31805\",\"name\":\"Leonardo DiCaprio Developing Biopic About Bela Lugosi | Cinema Daily US\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/?p=31805#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/?p=31805#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Bela-Lugoshi.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-10-15T23:02:36+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-10-24T03:38:31+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/#\/schema\/person\/8bf0a19223aa026749c276918426a5bc\"},\"description\":\"Bela Lugosi will be rising from the crypt thanks to Leonardo DiCaprio, who is planning a biopic about the legendary Hungarian actor who originated the role of Dracula in the classic 1931 film.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/?p=31805#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/?p=31805\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/?p=31805#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Bela-Lugoshi.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Bela-Lugoshi.png\",\"width\":1048,\"height\":946,\"caption\":\"Bela Lugosi\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/?p=31805#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Leonardo DiCaprio Developing Biopic About Bela Lugosi\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/\",\"name\":\"Cinema Daily US\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/#\/schema\/person\/8bf0a19223aa026749c276918426a5bc\",\"name\":\"Edward Moran\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Edward-Moran-150x150.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Edward-Moran-150x150.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Edward Moran\"},\"description\":\"Edward Moran began his journalistic career many decades ago as a theater and cinema reviewer for Show Business and the New York Theater Review. More recently he contributed film reviews to hosokinema.com and Movie Sleuth. His writings have appeared in publications as diverse as the Times Literary Supplement, Publishers Weekly, the Paris Review, and the Massachusetts Review. Moran also edited a memoir by Oscar-nominated documentary filmmaker Christine Choy. He served as literary advisor to her film Hyam Plutzik: American Poet, which was the keynote film in the American Perspectives series at the 2007 Zebra Poetry Film Festival in Berlin.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.cinemadailyus.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/?author=3\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Leonardo DiCaprio Developing Biopic About Bela Lugosi | Cinema Daily US","description":"Bela Lugosi will be rising from the crypt thanks to Leonardo DiCaprio, who is planning a biopic about the legendary Hungarian actor who originated the role of Dracula in the classic 1931 film.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/?p=31805","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Leonardo DiCaprio Developing Biopic About Bela Lugosi | Cinema Daily US","og_description":"Bela Lugosi will be rising from the crypt thanks to Leonardo DiCaprio, who is planning a biopic about the legendary Hungarian actor who originated the role of Dracula in the classic 1931 film.","og_url":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/?p=31805","og_site_name":"Cinema Daily US","article_published_time":"2025-10-15T23:02:36+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-10-24T03:38:31+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1048,"height":946,"url":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Bela-Lugoshi.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Edward Moran","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Edward Moran","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/?p=31805","url":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/?p=31805","name":"Leonardo DiCaprio Developing Biopic About Bela Lugosi | Cinema Daily US","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/?p=31805#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/?p=31805#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Bela-Lugoshi.png","datePublished":"2025-10-15T23:02:36+00:00","dateModified":"2025-10-24T03:38:31+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/#\/schema\/person\/8bf0a19223aa026749c276918426a5bc"},"description":"Bela Lugosi will be rising from the crypt thanks to Leonardo DiCaprio, who is planning a biopic about the legendary Hungarian actor who originated the role of Dracula in the classic 1931 film.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/?p=31805#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/?p=31805"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/?p=31805#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Bela-Lugoshi.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Bela-Lugoshi.png","width":1048,"height":946,"caption":"Bela Lugosi"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/?p=31805#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Leonardo DiCaprio Developing Biopic About Bela Lugosi"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/","name":"Cinema Daily US","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/#\/schema\/person\/8bf0a19223aa026749c276918426a5bc","name":"Edward Moran","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Edward-Moran-150x150.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Edward-Moran-150x150.jpg","caption":"Edward Moran"},"description":"Edward Moran began his journalistic career many decades ago as a theater and cinema reviewer for Show Business and the New York Theater Review. More recently he contributed film reviews to hosokinema.com and Movie Sleuth. His writings have appeared in publications as diverse as the Times Literary Supplement, Publishers Weekly, the Paris Review, and the Massachusetts Review. Moran also edited a memoir by Oscar-nominated documentary filmmaker Christine Choy. He served as literary advisor to her film Hyam Plutzik: American Poet, which was the keynote film in the American Perspectives series at the 2007 Zebra Poetry Film Festival in Berlin.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.cinemadailyus.com"],"url":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/?author=3"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31805"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=31805"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31805\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/31904"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=31805"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=31805"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=31805"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}