Jury president Robert De Niro (L) talks with jury member Uma Thurman (R) during the opening ceremony of the 64th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes May 11, 2011.[Photo/Agencies]

LOS ANGELES - Robert De Niro may be stepping into the stinky shoes worn by Bernie Madoff.

U.S. cable network 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 Rosenthal 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."