Lionsgate was planning to increase the production budget to $ 40 million in the hopes of securing DiCaprio 's $ 21 million asking price . At the 1997 Cannes Film Festival , a press release was issued that DiCaprio had taken the offer , which was quickly rebutted by DiCaprio 's manager , Rick Yorn , who claimed the actor had simply expressed interest in the part . Yorn also wanted to make clear that DiCaprio had no knowledge of the development history under Harron and Bale . DiCaprio drafted a shortlist of replacement directors , including Oliver Stone , Danny Boyle , and Martin Scorsese . Working from a new script written by Matthew Markwalder , Stone was brought aboard , whom Harron called " probably the single worst single person to do it " . The director wanted to eliminate the satire from Harron 's script , emphasizing the psychological character traits of Patrick Bateman . However , Stone could not agree on the film 's direction with DiCaprio , who decided to star in '' The Beach '' instead
1997 Cannes Film Festival
1997 Cannes Film Festival
American Psycho (film)