The story of Giancarlo Parretti, the flamboyant Italian waiter-turned-financier who bought MGM in 1990 and was ousted and indicted when his takeover deal for the Hollywood studio collapsed, is in early stages of getting the big screen treatment.

Independent Los-Angeles-based film producer Niels Juul has tracked down Parretti, now 82, and living in the lap of luxury in a palazzo in his native Orvieto. Juul is at the Venice Film Festival shopping a screenplay for the Parretti biopic titled “The Lion of Orvieto.”

The “Lion of Orvieto” is penned by TV comedy writer Michael O’Rourke, who has worked with Sacha Baron Cohen on “Da Ali G Show” but has also written several unproduced dramas. “Lion” is based on extensive research and an unpublished book containing in-depth interviews with Parretti.

Raised in an orphanage before being adopted at the age of 6, Parretti’s ascent into high-stakes financial wheeling and dealing started when he...