Robert DeNiro to Develop HBO Pic on Bernie Madoff

Robert De Niro may be stepping into the stinky shoes worn by Bernie Madoff.

HBO has picked up the rights to The Wizard of Lies: Bernie Madoff and the Death of Trust — Diane Henrique’s non-fiction book which hit shelves last month — about the financial wunderkind who bilked millions from unsuspecting investors.

De Niro and his Tribeca Productions partner Jane Rosethal will produce what is expected to be a starring vehicle for De Niro.

HBO has been in a ripped-from-the-headlines mood of late. Its movie on the 2008 financial crisis, Too Big To Fail, airs this month, and it is shooting Game Change, a film about the 2008 presidential election (starring Julianne Moore as Sarah Palin), from the team behind its Emmy-winning Recount.