This is believed to be a bust of Cleopatra. Is Ang Lee up to directing Angelina Jolie as the queen?
Ang Lee might be offered a trip down the Nile by Columbia Pictures. According to Vulture, David Fincher is no longer attached to the planned adaptation of Stacey Schiff’s 2010 bestseller “Cleopatra: A Life” (which is fantastic and a must read for history fans, I will tell you). The studio is looking for a replacement and word is that Lee is at the top of their list. Angelina Jolie is supposed to star as the Egyptian legend.
Lee won a best director Oscar for “Brokeback Mountain” in 2005. “Life of Pi,” his adaptation of the bestselling novel, is due to open in December. Response to the early footage has been very good and it’s an early awards contender. Yes, no one’s really seen much of it beyond a few clips, but it’s a contender. Welcome to the world of awards prognostication.
The project has cycled through a number of potential directors–first James Cameron was interested, then he got too busy with multiple “Avatars.” Supposedly Paul Greengrass was supposed to do it, then that evaporated. Now Fincher is out for unknown reasons–it’s not clear whether he dropped out or Sony decided not to proceed with him.
No offer has been made to Lee yet. Is he a good choice? He’s been genre hopping pretty easily for almost two decades, with only a few missteps. I’d feel comfortable trusting him with just about anything.
