Leto to Make His Feature-Length Scripted Directorial Debut with Paramount Pictures’ “77”

Jared Leto is about to accomplish a new career first…

The 45-year-old part-Spanish American actor/singer is set to direct Wolf Films’ period thriller 77 for Paramount Pictures. The film marks his feature-length scripted directorial debut.

Jared Leto

Set in politically charged 1974 Los Angeles, the story centers on two police officers who team up to recover kidnapped heiress Patty Hearst, while simultaneously investigating the brutal murder of a fellow officer. They uncover not only relentless corruption and crime, but a dark and violent conspiracy as well.

David Matthews penned the script from an original screenplay by L.A. Confidential author James Ellroy.

The film will be produced by writer/producer Dick Wolf and Tony Ganz of Wolf Films. Leto also is producing.

Leto’s directing credits include the documentary Artifact, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2012; the documentary short Great Wide Open; and the documentary series Into the Wild and Beyond the Horizon

As an actor, he won a Supporting Oscar for 2013’s Dallas Buyers Club, played the Joker in last year’s Suicide Squad and next appears in Blade Runner 2049.

Leto’s Thirty Seconds to Mars Releasing New Album Next Year Via Interscope Records

It looks like Jared Leto’s ready to rock…

The 44-year-old part-Spanish actor/singer’s rock band Thirty Seconds to Mars has announced plans to release new music.

Thirty Seconds to Mars

The rockers dropped a dramatic, albeit brief, video hinting at what they’ve got in store. Leto recently discussed Thirty Seconds to Mars’ progress on its new studio album in his Rolling Stone cover story, and it appears we can expect it next year, via Interscope Records.

Thirty Seconds to Mars’ last album, 2013’s Love, Lust, Faith and Dreams (and the three studio efforts before it), arrived through Virgin Records.

Leto also recently launched a short-film series called Great Wide Open, focused on “America’s National Parks and the incredible adventurers who explore them.”

The avid mountain climber in Leto is on display in the new clip, the recent cover story, and the series, which you can view here.