Robert DeNiro to Develop HBO Pic on Bernie Madoff

[Brian Damage]

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.