HOLLYWOOD, June 7 (UPI) -- U.S. actor Leonardo DiCaprio has signed on to play video game pioneer Nolan Bushnell in the movie "Atari," an entertainment industry publication says.
The Hollywood Reporter said Friday the "Titanic" actor will star in the Paramount Pictures production as Bushnell, who revolutionized the video game industry by founding the Atari Corp. in the 1970s.
Atari was responsible for the popular video game "Pong" during that decade and went on to produce several other games before being sold to Warner Communications.
Writers Brian Hecker and Craig Sherman have been tabbed to create a script for "Atari," which Paramount purchased Friday.
The Reporter said portraying Bushnell will represent DiCaprio's most recent attempt at bringing a real-life person to the big screen.
Previously DiCaprio has played poets Jim Carroll and Arthur Rembaud in films, along with counterfeiter Frank Abagnale Jr., author Tobias Wolff and famed aviator Howard Hughes.
