In 1969, Walt Disney released the blockbuster movie "The Love Bug," which helped boost sales of Volkswagen's Beetle model. Herbie, the name of the Beetle, started a series of comedy films that revolved around the beetle-shaped iconic vehicle that represented the era's Hippie generation.
Another Volkswagen-centric movie appears to be on the horizon, but apparently it no longer is as fun as "The Love Bug" because it would tackle the ongoing diesel car scandal that is threatening the financial viability of the German car giant, reports USA Today.
According to Deadline Hollywood, Paramount Studios and actor Leonardo DiCaprio, with executive Jennifer Davisson, have acquired the rights to the book to be written about the software that cheated the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The daily said that DiCaprio is perfect to be involved in the project because he is known for his environment advocacy.
Publisher Norton bought the book proposal for mid-six figures, reports Deadline Hollywood. It adds that Liz Raposo brought the book into the studio, while Shari Smiley of Gotham Group was the representative of Ewing on the feature rights sale on behalf of Marly Rusoff Literary Agency.
The Volkswagen scandal involves 11 million diesel vehicles fitted with the software that beat the emission tests. But after the test, Volkswagen-made cars spew carbon up to 40 times beyond the legal limit.
Volkswagen could be fined by the U.S. government up to $18 billion. The scandal caused Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn to resign from his position.