So Brett Ratner, Robert Evans and James Toback Walk Into a Biopic...

A little over a month ago, Tyson director James Toback told Movieline he'd be moving back into the dramatic realm with his next feature, The Director. That may yet turn out to be true, but at least one report suggests he's hedging his bets with an even busier pal to bring one of the '80s most scandalous anti-heroes to the screen.

Toback and Brett Ratner -- along with mutual friend and Rat Press subject Robert Evans -- are in the early stages of developing a biopic about the late John DeLorean, the automaker acquitted in 1984 of charges that he bankrolled his company via drug trafficking. A year later his low-rise, gullwinged vehicle was immortalized as a time machine in the blockbuster Back to the Future. A statement issued by the filmmakers said that the untitled project will be "a very timely parable of the extraordinary arrogance of a particular brand of American capitalism," partially mined from 7,000 pages of court documents currently being researched by Toback.

Toback himself argued that the story features more than one enemy, however, saying that both the press and federal prosecutors (who were later found in court to have entrapped DeLorean) did their part to devastate the defendant's reputation. Should be interesting -- and a long work in progress. Update your Brett Ratner In-Development Scorecard accordingly.

· James Toback Goes From Mike Tyson to John DeLorean [Carpetbagger]