A Hollywood minute can last a long time. Just ask psychology professor Philip Zimbardo, who has watched patiently over the last few years as studio executives, big-name directors and movie stars nibbled at the story of his famous 1971 prison experiment.
The latest combination of players includes film studio Twentieth Century Fox and titan Leonardo DiCaprio, whose star power could, as they say, pump up the gross. DiCaprio would play one of the Stanford students who volunteered for an experiment simulating a prison environment. Zimbardo designed the study to find out what happens when you put good people in an evil place.
What he learned is still being taught in psychology classes. Zimbardo divided 24 young men into two groups -- "guards" and "prisoners." He turned the basement of the psychology department into a mock prison, gave the prisoners ID numbers and uniforms, and set the two-week study in motion. After only six days, Zimbardo called off the experiment because of the cruelty and sadism exhibited by the guards.
In February, Variety described the project as "close to a deal." If the picture is made, Zimbardo will be a consultant. But when spring quarter dawned, the movie was still up in the air. "As of now," Zimbardo says, "all talk, no action."
