Cleopatra in the News: James Cameron is Out & Paul Greengrass is In To Direct Cleopatra

James Cameron is out and Paul Greengrass is said to be in to direct the 3D blockbuster, Cleopatra, starring Angelina Jolie and based on Stacy Schiff's Cleopatra: A Life. While producer Scott Rudin has said "we're pretty close" to choosing a director, Jolie, who is not only starring in the film but also helping in its development, has not yet given her seal of approval to the nominee for director; so in other words, it's not official yet! Greengrass's recent films have included The Bourne Ultimatum, The Bourne Supremacy, Green Zone, and United 93. It is expected that Greengrass will provide audiences with a stronger story, as opposed to Cameron's focus on 3D effects.

Rudin explains that this film will be completely different than the 1963 Cleopatra
starring Elizabeth Taylor, "It is a completely revisionist Cleopatra, a much more grown-up sophisticated version...She's not a sex kitten, she's a politician, strategist, warrior..." One of the reasons he says this film will be different is because "...the histories of Cleopatra have been written by men. This is the first to by written by a woman." While yes, the female author Stacy Schiff wrote the biography the film will be based on, but all the other developers of the film are men. Brian Helgeland is developing the script, Scott Rudin is producing, and Paul Greengrass is (supposedly) directing. In addition, with Angelina Jolie as Cleopatra, something tells me this film film will still be very sex driven.