Sony’s gearing up to bring the thinking man’s version of Cleopatra to the screen and it looks like they’re circling director Paul Greengrass of Bourne series fame. Now that he’s out of the running for the upcoming Bourne film, he’s got time to lend his expertise to the historical endeavor, besides, thanks to the prospect of two Avatar (yup, T-W-O) sequels, former frontrunner James Cameron is out of the picture.
The film’s producer Scott Rudin also told Deadline that they’re “pretty close” to their decision on who’ll take the director’s chair for the upcoming 3D film; he also said they “like the idea” of bringing Greengrass onboard. The film already has Angelina Jolie attached as the Egyptian Queen (who else, really?) and Rudin has said that the film will focus less on the sexy Cleopatra that pop culture loves so well and more on the political role she played. The film is based off a Pulitzer Prize winning biography by Stacy Schiff that offers the rare woman’s perspective on Cleopatra’s life.
Seeing that political intrigue and the accompanying action have been Greengrass’ bread and butter for the Bourne movies and Green Zone, I can’t see any reason the studio wouldn’t want to snatch him up for the project. Besides, Rudin’s being admittedly very picky; he told Deadline, “A lot of directors want to do it, but there is only a handful we’ll make it with.” I hope Greengrass is as excited about this prospect as I am; then we can look forward to him putting ink to paper and sealing the deal.
Source: Deadline
