The Playlist

Happy 50th Birthday, 'Cleopatra': 5 Famously Expensive Movies

By Jessica Kiang
|
June 12, 2013 3:44 PM
|
3 Comments

Features

This very day, (counting from the original U.S. release date) Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s infamous “Cleopatra” turns 50, thereby outliving by over a decade the last pharaoh of Ancient Egypt herself. As a film, “Cleopatra” has many claims to fame -- the first teaming of subsequent real-life spitfire couple Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor; a multi-Oscar-winning epic of dubious historical accuracy; a film whose slimmest cut runs a whopping 192 minutes. But mainly it’s still known for being very, very expensive to make.

More:

Ang Lee Now Reading Script For 'Cleopatra' With Angelina Jolie, Says "It Just Feels Right To Me"

By Kevin Jagernauth
|
January 9, 2013 2:41 PM
|
11 Comments

News

One could make the case that Ang Lee is a somewhat underappreciated director, simply because his film choices make him a bit of a chameleon. Where other filmmakers tend to stake their claim to a particular milieu, and don't deviate from it too much, Lee has tried it all. From a gay romance, a Civil War-era western, a Woodstock-set comedy, a churning '70s-set domestic drama, an erotic espionage tale and more, to an epic open-sea adventure in this year's Oscar-contending "Life Of Pi," Lee's career has been marked by variety, and a willingness to challenge himself. And that's not about to change.

More:

David Fincher Exits 'Cleopatra' With Angelina Jolie; Sony Searches For New Director With Eye On Ang Lee

By Kevin Jagernauth
|
August 23, 2012 6:19 PM
|
14 Comments

News

So, is David Fincher's relationship with Sony in trouble, or does Scott Rudin simply want to get moving on "Cleopatra" starring Angelina Jolie? It remains to be seen where the truth lies, but one thing is certain: David Fincher won't be involved with the film.

More:

Steven Soderbergh Eyes Taking 'Cleo' To Broadway, Catherine Zeta-Jones Reveals She Would Love To Star

By Charlie Schmidlin
|
June 18, 2012 10:39 AM
|
0 Comments

News

With a $30 million budget, a high-profile cast including Hugh Jackman and Ray Winstone, and music written by Guided By Voices' frontman Robert Pollard, Steven Soderbergh's 3D musical “Cleo” never faced an easy road to the big screen. The film was scheduled to shoot in spring of '09, but following Jackman's speedy departure, and then Soderbergh's own directorial issues with “Moneyball,” the project fall apart with faint hope of it being revived. The role of Cleopatra was always Catherine Zeta-Jones' though, and following our interview with Soderbergh about his musical's possible future onstage, the actress has recently echoed that intriguing possibility.

More:

Sony Officially Plans To Make 'Dragon Tattoo' Sequels, But David Fincher Is Looking To Direct '20,000 Leagues' Instead

By Edward Davis
|
January 9, 2012 10:49 AM
|
25 Comments

News

While the quiet opening last month of Sony's big budget "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" had many speculating that the studio would quietly kibosh the planned the sequels in the face of underwhelming box office, David Fincher's film has shown some remarkable legs. The film is still in the top five at the domestic box office, and looks like when all is said and done, it will crack $100 million domestically -- not bad for a very adult, R-rated thriller that runs more than two-and-a-half hours long. Morever, with recent PGA and WGA nominations, 'Dragon Tattoo' is looking poised to be a bigger Oscar player than expected as well. And while Sony has already said they're continuing to pursue the planned sequels "The Girl Who Played With Fire" and "The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest," it became even more real over the weekend.

More:

David Fincher Says His 'Cleopatra' With Angelina Jolie Wouldn't Be A "Giant Sword And Sandal Epic"

By Drew Taylor
|
December 19, 2011 6:30 PM
|
4 Comments

News

More:

David Fincher Circles 'Cleopatra' With Angelina Jolie, 'Benjamin Button' Writer Eric Roth To Pen Script

By Kevin Jagernauth
|
November 15, 2011 5:30 PM
|
12 Comments

News

More:

Angelina Jolie Confirms That She Wants David Fincher To Helm 'Cleopatra'

By Oliver Lyttelton
|
May 17, 2011 5:46 AM
|
4 Comments

Also Producing, But Not Yet Directing, Churchill/Roosevelt Film With Anthony Hopkins Angelina Jolie's a funny one. She's a good actress and a giant movie star, but at least for this writer, she's barely made any good movies. Michael Winterbottom's "A Mighty Heart," which features the actress' best performance, is great (and underrated), and "Girl, Interrupted," "Changeling" and "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" all have their defenders, but personally we can't find much to like in any of them. But, if the actress gets her way, there's one project on her dance card which certainly has our attention.

More:

David Fincher Eyed To Direct 'Cleopatra' With Angelina Jolie

By Kevin Jagernauth
|
March 22, 2011 4:50 AM
|
12 Comments

There is no doubt that Sony and producer Scott Rudin want big things out of the gestating "Cleopatra." With James Cameron previously sought and Paul Greengrass recently sniffing around (before opting for "Memphis"), the filmmakers have now taken the project to another very high profile name.

More:

Paul Greengrass To Direct 3D 'Cleopatra' With Angelina Jolie?

By Kevin Jagernauth
|
January 5, 2011 4:11 AM
|
8 Comments

Producer Scott Rudin Always Figured Fox Would Lock In James Cameron For 'Avatar' SequelsEarly last fall, talk began heating up around a potential, mega-blockbuster "Cleopatra" with preliminary word putting James Cameron in the director's chair and Angelina Jolie in the titular role (she has long been eyed for it). Of course, as we all know, while Cameron thought the idea of directing Jolie would be "hot," he's since signed on for "Avatar 2" and "Avatar 3." But to hear it from producer Scott Rudin, he always sort of figured that might happen. Speaking to Deadline about "Cleopatra" he says, "I’ve been a good friend of Jim Cameron’s since I was the executive on 'Aliens.' I got promoted because of my relationship with Jim Cameron and the guy’s been a seminal figure in my career. I never for one second thought we were being leveraged. I fully expected Fox to make the play they did, to make sure he didn’t do Cleopatra. I wasn’t surprised when they did." But it looks like another very exciting name is circling the project.

More: