James Cameron
briefly flirted with the idea of directing
Cleopatra, a 3D epic with Angelina linked to the title role. That hypothetical sounds like the biggest production ever, but it was not meant to be. Later in the month, it was announced Cameron will be
tied up for the forseeable future by two
Avatar sequels.
That leaves a high profile directing gig open for the rest of Hollywood’s elite. Producer Scott Rudin (True Grit) revealed that he and Sony Pictures are “pretty close” to landing a director. He didn’t specify, but sources suggest that Paul Greengrass (Green Zone) is under consideration. More after the jump:
It sounds like we’re due for an announcement soon, but I don’t recommend you bet on Greengrass.
Deadline even notes that those who are talking about Greengrass have not mentioned his name to Jolie. Although, the director would have the schedule for it. Over the past year, Greengrass decided not to direct
The Bourne Legacy or the Cameron-produced
Fantastic Voyage. He was linked to
a Treasure Island adaptation, though it’s not clear if that has progressed since May.
Of course, with a project of this scope, the studio must have a shortlist of contenders. Rudin believes their fresh take on the material has been a big draw:
“It is a completely revisionist Cleopatra, a much more grown-up sophisticated version. She’s not a sex kitten; she’s a politician, strategist, warrior. In the Joseph Mankiewicz movie [1963's Cleopatra], Elizabeth Taylor is a seductress, but the histories of Cleopatra have been written by men. This is the first to be written by a woman. It felt like such a blow-the-doors-off-the-hinges idea of how to tell it, impossible to resist. We’re pretty close. A lot of directors want to do it, but there is only a handful we’ll make it with.”
Brian Helgeland (Robin Hood) based his script on Cleopatra: A Life, a biography by Stacy Schiff. Here’s the synopsis:
Her palace shimmered with onyx and gold, but was richer still in political and sexual intrigue. Above all else, Cleopatra was a shrewd strategist and an ingenious negotiator. Though her life spanned fewer than forty years, it reshaped the contours of the ancient world.
She was married twice, each time to a brother. She waged a brutal civil war against the first when both were teenagers. She poisoned the second. Ultimately she dispensed with an ambitious sister as well; incest and assassination were family specialties. Cleopatra appears to have had sex with only two men. They happen, however, to have been Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, two of the most prominent Romans of the day. Both were married to other women. Cleopatra had a son with Caesar and–after his murder–three more with his protégé. Already she was the wealthiest ruler in the Mediterranean; the relationship with Antony confirmed her status as the most influential woman of the age. The two would together attempt to forge a new empire, in an alliance that spelled their ends. Cleopatra has lodged herself in our imaginations ever since. [
Amazon]
http://collider.com/paul-greengrass-cleopatra/68191/George Clooney is attached to star in Fox 2000’s adaptation of The Monster of Florence, the best-selling book by Douglas Preston and Mario Spezi. Following a move to Italy, Preston his new home was near the site of two of the murders by the serial killer known as “The Monster of Florence.” Preston joined forces with Spezi to learn more about the decades-old case, but their investigation was unwelcomed by the local police — the force tapped Preston’s phone and threw Spezi in jail. Against the odds, Preston and Spezi eventually solved the crime.
Clooney will play Preston, and produce alongside Grant Heslov, Dan Jinks, and Bruce Cohen. Christopher McQuarrie is writing the screenplay with his Valkyrie co-writer Nathan Alexander. Hit the jump for a brief history on the path of The Monster of Florence from page to screen, plus a synopsis.
According to
THR, Tom Cruise acquired the film rights as producer and potential star shortly after the book was published in 2008. He brought McQuarrie on board as writer and producer at United Artists. The project stalled and eventually went into turnaround at United Artists, so McQuarrie, Jinks, and Cohen brought
Florence to Clooney and Heslov for their Smoke House Productions banner.
Deadline reports this package was pitched to Fox 2000 just before the holidays, who was eager enough to get the ink on the dotted line before Christmas.
I’m feeling shades of All the President’s Men, so I’m very curious to see who they get to play Spezi. Will they go for a native Italian? Collider readers from Italy: any suggestions?
Here’s the synopsis for The Monster of Florence:
In 2000, Douglas Preston fulfilled a dream to move his family to Italy. Then he discovered that the olive grove in front of their 14
th century farmhouse had been the scene of the most infamous double-murders in Italian history, committed by a serial killer known as the Monster of Florence. Preston, intrigued, meets Italian investigative journalist Mario Spezi to learn more. This is the true story of their search for–and identification of–the man they believe committed the crimes, and their chilling interview with him. And then, in a strange twist of fate, Preston and Spezi themselves become targets of the police investigation. Preston has his phone tapped, is interrogated, and told to leave the country. Spezi fares worse: he is thrown into Italy’s grim Capanne prison, accused of being the Monster of Florence himself. Like one of Preston’s thrillers,
The Monster Of Florence, tells a remarkable and harrowing story involving murder, mutilation, and suicide-and at the center of it, Preston and Spezi, caught in a bizarre prosecutorial vendetta. [
Amazon]
http://collider.com/george-clooney-the-monster-of-florence/68176/by Jason Barr Posted: January 4th, 2011
A few weeks ago, we
reported that McG (
Terminator Salvation) and Breck Eisner (
The Crazies) would duke it out for the
Ouija director’s chair. Tonight we can confirm that McG has emerged victorious and will helm Universal’s adaptation of the Hasbro board game. Per
Heat Vision, the studio is now in negotiations with the director who will helm a script by
Tron: Legacy scribes Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis.
While Universal and Michael Bay’s Platinum Dunes are keeping plot details for Ouija close to the vest, it is believed that the film will be akin to adventure films such as The Mummy and Indiana Jones. Maybe it’s just me, but this vague description keeps making me think that Ouija will come out looking a lot like a sequel to 1995’s Jumanji (a film that nine-year old me was none too fond of). Again, it’s probably just me. As for McG, his next directorial effort is the romantic comedy This Means War starring Reese Witherspoon, Chris Pine, and Tom Hardy. Ouija currently has a release date of November 9, 2012.
http://collider.com/mcg-ouija/68173/by Jason Barr Posted: January 4th, 2011
Gareth Edwards will direct the latest iteration of
Godzilla for Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures. According to
Heat Vision, Edwards will work with a yet-to-be-named writer (Dave Callaham of
The Expendables was originally tapped to pen the script) in developing
Godzilla (a property that Legendary gathered the rights to back in March 2010).
The British filmmaker, known for his knack for creating stellar digital effects at rock-bottom prices, has gained a lot of steam of late with the release of his sci-fi film
Monsters which premiered at SXSW in 2010 before picking up distribution from Magnet Releasing in October. In addition to landing
Godzilla, Edwards was also recently tapped to work alongside
Wanted director Timur Bekmambetov in writing/directing a “
futuristic sci-fi project.“ If you’re looking for more from Edwards, you can click
here to check out an exclusive interview we conducted with the fast-rising filmmaker back in October.
