This Man's Life

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Leonardo DiCaprio

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THE MOVIE The Good Shepherd
WHEN Shooting is scheduled to begin fall 2003
THE STORY DiCaprio plays James Wilson, a Yale graduate recruited to become one of the first officers of the CIA. The film follows Wilson's 40-year career and the toll it takes on his family. The character is reportedly modeled on former CIA counterintelligence chief and ''master spy hunter'' James Jesus Angleton.
THE BUZZ This one's a toss-up. Robert De Niro will costar and direct, but the fact that this project lingered in development for almost a decade suggests it could be a tough nut to crack for ''Ali'' screenwriter Eric Roth. But getting De Niro's vote of confidence may be more important for Leo than the finished product. ''That people like Spielberg and Scorsese and now De Niro want to work with someone as young as DiCaprio is a real testament to his abilities,'' says Bucksbaum.
IS IT A FIT? The sneaky charm DiCaprio shows off in ''Catch Me if You Can'' should serve him well as a master spy hunter.

THE MOVIE Bombshell
WHEN No set date, as director Lasse Hallstrom and DiCaprio each have other projects to finish first.
THE STORY Based on the book ''Bombshell: The Secret Story of America's Unknown Atomic Spy Conspiracy,'' this is the tale of Theodore Hall, a teen physics prodigy who was recruited to help create the atomic bomb in 1944. The twist? Hall, who later described himself as ''naive,'' allegedly fed information about the Manhattan Project to the Soviets, which, if true, may have been the spark that created the Cold War.
THE BUZZ So far, so good. DiCaprio will be reteaming with Hallstrom, with whom he last worked on 1993's ''What's Eating Gilbert Grape?'' Considering ''Grape'' earned the then-boy wonder his first and only Oscar nomination, it seems likely this project will blow up -- in a good way.
IS IT A FIT? DiCaprio's enthusiasm for good causes should come in handy for portraying Hall's do-gooder intentions run amok. DiCaprio has always shown a flair for characters grappling with morally compromising situations (''The Basketball Diaries,'' ''The Beach''), and this dilemma (Betray your country? Or potentially stop nuclear annihilation?) should be rich dramatic fodder for him.