Infamy, Infamy, they've all got it infamy! (Film News - 16/10/10)

Yes, that's a quote from my favourite movie about the Queen of the Nile. He says, slightly spoiling the headline story for this weeks news. Maybe that in itself is a big surprise, after all I'm bypassing the biggest Hollywwod annoucement this week - you know the one about a certain red caped Krytonite. There's just something about the combination of Christopher Nolan and Zack Snyder that just makes me worry it's going to be incredibly po-faced. Anyway on to the news that really got me salivating:

Cleopatra

The news that Anjelina Jolie was interested in playing Ancient Egypt's most notorious and written about leader in the big screen adaptation of Stacy Schiff biography has been bouncing about for weeks. Frankly I can't imagine any modern star more suited to the suited to the coveted role.

That said filming her story has always been fraught with difficulties. Both of the most well known versions, the 1934 take with Claudette Colbert and Elizabeth Taylor (below) in 1963, ran over the shooting schedule and over budget nearly taking down the studios with them. So naturally Sony and uber-producer Scott Rudin have been wary about giving the final greenlight, putting the right production team and director in place will be vital to ensure this version doesn't suffer from the same curse.


This week it surfaced that they've called in James Cameron to helm the project. No stranger to massive budgets Cameron also has a unique track record of box office success. Avatar and Titanic both currently sit atop record breaking box office hauls. And as the first draft of the script is being written by Brian Helgeland this might be a Cameron movie that desn't suffer from horrendous dialogue. Result all round.

Read on for mysterious spacecraft, wayward parents and more casting rumours.



Rendezvous with Rama

For those of you who thought that Morgan Freeman's planned foray into sci-fi with Arthur C. Clarke's groundbreaking novel (left) about the ethical and spiritual possibilities following contact with another intergallactic civilisation might just have disappeared, fear not. Whilst pushing Red this week to MTV viewers Freeman let it slip that the big screen version set to be directed by David Fincher is still in the works and may come sooner than we think. It's an extremely amibitious project and if it does happen I'll be as pleased as anyone else, but they'd better get on with it otherwise Freeman will be forced to join his Red character in retirement and this is not a (space)boat he wants to miss.

Casting News

Natalie Portman is getting some serious ink about a possible role in Ridley Scott's Alien prequel, joining Noomi Rapace. I was rather hoping this film would focus on the space jockey and dispense of human characters so I can't say I'm stoked, especially given the sci-fi baggage Portman brings with her.

Alan Arkin will adjust badly to his wife's passing in Buttercup as neurotic Jennifer Aniston's widowed and irresponsible father learning to cope with a life on his own. Sounds like there could be tears and laughs in equal measure.