Jodie Foster to Direct Film About 1911 Theft of Mona Lisa

Jodie Foster will direct a film about the 1911 theft of Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa from the Louvre. The movie is based on Seymour Reit's 1989 novel The Day They Stole the Mona Lisa. The screenplay was initially written by Joaquin Phoenix and will be completed by Bill Wheeler. The heist was carried out by Vincenzo Peruggia, an Italian housepainter who worked at the Louvre. On August 21, 1911, he simply hid the painting under his coat and walked out. Peruggia kept the Mona Lisa in his Paris apartment for two years. He claimed his motive was patriotic, believing Napoleon had looted the painting from Italy. In 1913, he tried to sell it to a Tuscan art dealer, was arrested, and later deemed mentally impaired, receiving a reduced sentence due to his alleged patriotism. After recovery, the Mona Lisa was exhibited at the Uffizi in Florence and in Rome before returning to the Louvre. The film will blend reality and fiction, produced by Los Angeles Media Found, led by Jeffrey Soros and Simon Horsman. No title or release date has been announced.