David Fincher is all the rage right now. It used to be only the blogger sect that confessed their undying love for Fincher’s films as Fight Club and Seven always seem to be the two films that inspired the original rash of online movie writers. Now, after The Social Network, and probably even more so after Fincher and his film lost at the Academy Awards, it seems like everyone is a David Fincher fanboy.
With all the heat on Fincher it’s no surprise massive pictures are being thrown his way and with him directing a remake of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo it’s only logical to expect his stock to rise even higher as he is tackling a worldwide bestseller assured to bring in big dollars no matter how good it is. Just look at the success of The Da Vinci Code for proof of that.
Now Deadline is reporting Steve Zaillian is already working on the script for The Girl Who Played with Fire, which Fincher is also expected to direct for Columbia Pictures. Up, up, up… that stock continues to rise, so it’s no big surprise when a white whale of a film splashes off Fincher’s starboard bow. That film… Cleopatra…
Deadline’s Mike Fleming says talks of finding a helmer for a new biopic of Cleopatra based on Stacy Schiff’s bestselling book “Cleopatra: A Life” (a book I’ve been slowly trudging through) have turned to David Fincher. The film is another Scott Rudin production as was The Social Network and as is The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.
Originally the picture was being looked at by James Cameron as a 3D epic but his involvement in Avatar 2 and 3 precludes him from doing so. Paul Greengrass (The Bourne Ultimatum) was also under consideration before he decided on doing his Martin Luther King Jr. picture Memphis for Rudin at Universal.
Fleming then adds the following, “The feeling is the role is a perfect fit for [Angelina] Jolie, who might be the only actress right now with the box office might to get such a large film financed.” Is it just me, or does anyone else out there agree that Jolie’s star has pretty much fallen? Sure, I like her as an action star. She’s a lot of fun in films such as Salt and Wanted, but are we talking about revisiting Alexander territory where she channeled Vlad the Impaler for her performance as Alexander’s mother? Sorry, I just don’t see it.
The report goes on to say the film is still looking for another writer, which isn’t much of a surprise as it would certainly take several passes to spice up Schiff’s overly descriptive text. It also says there is no word on whether the film will remain in 3D without Cameron’s involvement. No matter how you look at it, a combination of Jolie and Cleopatra just doesn’t interest me… in fact, it repels me.
