Jonah Hill to star in 'The Ballad of Richard Jewell'

Actor Jonah Hill has been roped in to star in 'The Ballad of Richard Jewell' to be directed by Ezra Edelman. Hill is attached to play Jewell and is producing the project with his 'Wolf of Wall Street' co-star Leonardo DiCaprio, according to a daily.


The movie is Twentieth Century Fox's take on the security guard who went from hero to suspect at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

Jewell was working as a security guard at the '96 Summer Games when he discovered a backpack containing pipe bombs, subsequently sounding the alarm and helping to clear the area. However, the bomb did detonate, killing one person and injuring dozens of others.

FBI

searched Jewell's home twice. He was vilified but ultimately cleared. Despite apologies from the FBI and other agencies, he couldn't get over the sad nature his life spiraled into and died in 2007 at the age of 44 due to health issues linked to his weight.