Congratulations Josh Bazell!!

From http://www.empireonline.com/

Leonardo DiCaprio is set to produce and possibly star in a film based on hot-off-the-presses novel Beat The Reaper, by Josh Bazell. The story combines medicine, hitmen and the Witness Protection Program, which has shades of Catch Me If You Can if you ask us.

The story focuses on a Manhattan ER doctor, whose life becomes complicated* when a mobster recognises him from his former life as a hitman. This doctor, y'see, retrained to a slightly different line of work after giving up the killing and joining the Witness Protection Program.

Since author Bazell was an ER doctor himself, the medical stuff should be pretty solid (there's no information on whether he was also ever a hitman, but we like to think he was), but this is very, very early days. There's no word yet on a screenwriter or director, but this could be an interesting addition to DiCaprio's slate.