Wed Oct 8, 2008 — by Josh Wigler

Scott, DiCaprio Explore 'Brave New World'

'Body of Lies' Pair to Adapt Huxley Novel

Ridley Scott and Leonardo DiCaprio are set to adapt Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. The novel, written in 1932, features a dystopian future where society is divided into castes, humans are genetically engineered and learn through sleep technology.

In an exclusive interview with io9, Scott confirms that he's hard at work on the project. He admits that the material is a "big challenge" because it's essentially translating the predictions of a visionary.

"They were predictions in a way," Scott says of Brave New World and George Orwell's 1984. "So the Aldous Huxley [novel], literally what is called Brave New World, that's a very hard adaptation."

As a result, Scott admits that he's "still struggling" with the script.

"Even with a good writer, he'll do it and screw up," says the director, reemphasizing just how hard it is to translate the novel onto the big screen.

According to Scott, it was DiCaprio's production company Appian Way that approached the director with the project. Scott calls the actor "perfect" for the film, and while he doesn't explicitly say that he'll appear on screen, it's incredibly likely. Brave New World is chalk full of interesting male characters, including John the Savage, an outcast from both modern civilization and the primitive society he was born into.

It'll probably be a while before any further movement occurs on this one, since Ridley Scott is prepping Nottingham and admittedly has "40 things on the go at once." Still, the project is "a very important one" to the director, so hopefully the show will get on the road before too long. In the mean time, pop a soma and relax, because a thoughtful, carefully planned Brave New World is definitely a movie worth waiting for.

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