Steven Soderbergh is executive-producing a movie based on the true story of an FBI undercover agent who nearly became a made man in the mob.

"Making Jack Falcone" is based on a memoir of the same name published last month. After a barrage of publicity that included a "60 Minutes" segment, it has landed on the New York Times extended best-seller list.

The Simon & Schuster/Touchstone tome tells the story of Joaquin "Jack" Garcia, also known as Jack Falcone, a Cuban-American FBI agent who successfully went undercover in the Gambino crime family.

Garcia, now retired, came close to becoming the first FBI agent to be officially inducted into the mob, but his handlers pulled him off the case when they feared he had been compromised.

Falcone assumed a host of aliases from New York to Miami, and his ability to shape-shift between Sicilian, Cuban and other ethnicities is expected to provide red meat to an actor adept at assuming different identities. Prospective stars might also need to approximate Falcone's six-foot-four, 300-pound frame.

The Paramount Pictures project will be written by Peter Buchman, who previously collaborated with Soderbergh on the ambitious revolutionary saga "Che," which will soon be released by IFC Films. Soderbergh is said to be on board to read drafts of the script and offer other guidance on the project.

Paramount has several mob and undercover projects in development, including an undercover prison tale to be penned by William Monahan, the Oscar-winning writer of "The Departed."

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

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