A feature film on the life and career of Italian financier Giancarlo Parretti is in its early phase of development, reports Variety. Niels Juul, an independent film producer from Los Angeles, is shopping a script for the film, with the title The Lion of Orvieto. Michael O’Rourke, known for his collaboration with Sacha Baron Cohen on Da Ali G Show, wrote Lion of Orvieto. The film is made on the basis of not just extensive research but also a book with in-depth conversations with Parretti.

The man's journey to the top of the world of finance started as he became a chief waiter in Syracuse and acquired many hotels in the Italian city in the 1970s. Later, he partnered with a Tuscan businessperson named Florio Fiorini. The two bought a range of companies, including banks, travel entities, real estate companies, and insurance outfits, and built an empire with what the film's promotional materials describe as "very questionable and ‘creative’ accounting methods."

Parretti and Fiorini paid American financier Kirk Kerkorian $1.3 billion for MGM, with the support of French banking institution Credit Lyonnais. Subsequently, the French bank seized MGM, claiming that Parretti failed to pay back the loans. Parretti has since been of the opinion that Credit Lyonnais also played a part in the conspiracy all along.

“I did some research and realised this could be one of the biggest stories about Hollywood and Italy ever,” stated Juul, who called the film a blend of Get Shorty and The Wolf of Wall Street, tone-wise.

“Giancarlo Parretti’s story deserves to be told, not just because he is a larger-than-life character, but because it’s a really fun story about a side of Hollywood that doesn’t exist any more,” added Juul.