Cleopatra - The Musical - in 3D

[MacGuffin]

Soderbergh to make 3-D 'Cleopatra'
Live-action musical may star Zeta-Jones
Source: Variety

For his next directing effort, Steven Soderbergh is plotting a 3-D live-action rock 'n' roll musical about Cleopatra.

He is courting Catherine Zeta-Jones to play the Egyptian queen and Hugh Jackman to play her lover, Marc Antony.

The $30 million "Cleo" will be shopped for financing and distribution within the next two weeks. Greg Jacobs is producing with Casey Silver.

The music has been written by the indie rock band Guided by Voices, and the script is by James Greer, a former bass player for the band and an author.

While Soderbergh has recently done a spate of wildly different projects, this one will be his first full-blown musical.

Soderbergh, who's about to release the Benicio Del Toro starrer "Che" and wrapped Matt Damon starrer "The Informant," is also prepping a Richard LaGravanese-scripted Liberace film at Warner Bros., with Michael Douglas attached to play the entertainer and Damon to play his companion, who sued him for palimony.

Before "Cleo," Soderbergh's directing "The Girlfriend Experience," setting porn star Sasha Grey to play a $10,000-a-night call girl in a film that will be simultaneously distributed in theaters, on DVD and on the HDNet movie channel by Mark Cuban and Todd Wagner's HDNet label.

Calls to Soderbergh's reps went unreturned.

[MacGuffin]

EXCLUSIVE: Ray Winstone Cast As Ceaser In Cleopatra Musical, Soderbergh Calls It 'Viva Las Vegas Meets Tommy'
Source: MTV

I just get giddy at the very thought of this film because it's so insane on so many levels. And if it were virtually anyone besides Steven Soderbergh behind it, that giddiniess would probably be replaced by repulsion, but really how can you be turned off by the notion of "Cleo"?

It is: (A) A retelling of the Cleopatra story, (B) A rock musical with music courtesy of members of Guided by Voices, (C) Shooting in 3D or (D) All of the above.

All of the above, baby! I spoke at length with Soderbergh this afternoon and he revealed quite a bit about his next film, including who will round out the leading trio of performers in the film. We knew about Catherine Zeta-Jones playing Cleopatra and Hugh Jackman as Mark Antony (Soderbergh said he's waiting by the phone for the official yes from the sexiest man alive). So who is the singing Julius Ceaser? It's Beowulf himself, Ray Winstone, MTV can report straight from Soderbergh's lips.

The director also refured reports that the film is set in the 1920s, saying it's a period story all the way. So does that mean a trip to Egypt is in order? Nope, it's all going to be done on backlots, he told me.

Soderbergh explained at length how this bizarre sounding project ended up on his plate: "I've always wanted to do a musical. All the ones that were coming along just weren't for me. I wanted to do a real rock n roll musical like 'Tommy.' During my research it appeared that most were female driven. So I started thinking about female protagonists. I was thinking about Catherine. It doesn't take too long to think about Catherine and famous female historical figures to get to get to Cleopatra."

That's all well and good, but how does the influential indie band Guided by Voices figure into all of this? Soderbergh said he'd been thinking about using frontman Robert Pollard's music for his long-gestating musical, when a conversation with former GBV member James Greer led to Greer writing the script in just six weeks. "He went away for like six weeks and wrote this great script! It's like an Elvis musical in a way. It's not serious. I mean it's historically pretty accurate but its sort of like 'Viva Las Vegas' meets 'Tommy.'"

Soderbergh added that it's the very next film on his docket. He's set to begin shooting in APril, he said. "I'm totally psyched," he gushed.

[MacGuffin]

Hugh Jackman off 'Cleo' wishlist
Exit may be attributed to scheduling conflicts
Source: Variety

Hugh Jackman has removed himself from discussions to star with Catherine Zeta-Jones in "Cleo," a 3-D live action musical which Steven Soderbergh will direct as his next project.

No deal had been signed as the ambitious $30 million project is completing its financing, but Soderbergh asked his "Traffic" star Zeta-Jones to play Cleopatra and wanted new Oscar host Jackman to play her lover, the Roman general Marc Antony.

Discussions are reportedly in the works for the role of Julius Caesar to be played by Ray Winstone, the "Beowulf" star who just completed shooting the Martin Campbell-directed "Edge of Darkness" with Mel Gibson.

Soderbergh has said he wants to inject the famous historical love story with rock n' roll songs and a style akin to an Elvis musical. The music was written by the indie rock band Guided by Voices, and the script is by the group's former bass player, James Greer, who is also an author.

Jackman's exit is attributed by insiders to scheduling conflicts, though it is not clear what other project is on his plate.

Jackman, who's coming off the Baz Luhrmann-directed "Australia," next hosts the Academy Awards in February, and then reprises the lead in the Gavin Hood-directed "X-Men Origins: Wolverine."

[Stefen]

haha, Robert Pollard/GBV are doing the music for a $30 million movie?

This should be interesting. Bee Thousand and Alien Lanes are two of my favorite albums, but their charm lies in their shitty production and sound.

Potential for awesomeness.

[modage]

Steven Soderbergh's 'Cleo' 3D Musical Is At Least Two Pictures Away? Reveals More About 'Liberace' Biopic & Spalding Gray Doc
Source: The Playlist

Steven Soderbergh having a flotilla of projects on the go is nothing new. In the last year and a half he shot, "Che," the upcoming black comedy "Informant" with Matt Damon and "The Girlfriend Experience" with real-life porn star Sasha Grey, back to back to back.

However, the one most people want to see (well at least we do) is the most audacious-sounding one, "Cleo," which is supposed to be a a 3D live action musical version of the "Cleopatra" story featuring the music of booze-soddled indie rockers Guided By Voices and starring Catherine Zeta Jones (Jim Greer, the bassist of GBV and one-time SPIN writer penned the script; Soderbergh once used a GBV song in "Full Frontal" and frontman Robert Pollard wrote some of the score to "Bubble").

However, we may have to wait longer than expected. After 'GfE,' "Cleo" was to be his next picture, but Hugh Jackman — who we all know is a good song and dance man from this year's Oscars — who was supposed to co-star, had to drop-out because of scheduling issues. Though financing was set, because of Jackman's absence, Soderbergh quickly switched gears and instead took on the baseball film, "Moneyball" with Brad Pitt and Demetri Martin and the last we heard, "Cleo" was pushed to 2010, presumably he hoped the Australian actor's schedule would open up by then.

But according to a recent interview with Salon, "Cleo" is at least two projects away. "We're going to [shoot] 'Moneyball' this summer, which I'm really excited about," Soderbergh said. " 'Liberace' [the biopic starring Michael Douglas] is gonna follow that. So I feel like I'm in one of those periods where I'm seeing the ball well, and so I'm amped."

He also talked about the "Liberace" project a bit more to Screencrave and how it would differ from fast-and-loose works like, "The Girlfriend Experience."

"We're trying to get this 'Liberace' movie off the ground, and we've got Michael Douglas playing Liberace and Matt Damon playing this young man that he gets involved with. And, Richard LaGravenese ["The Fisher King," "The Ref"] wrote the script. That's not a situation where I'm going to be sitting around improvising. It's already there. But, the goal of that movie is very different because of what it's about and the period that it's set in. It's set in the entertainment business and it needs to have a different vibe. And so, a more obvious construct is fine, in that world, but in the world of 'Bubble' or 'GFE,' I felt like it has to feel more organic."

However, there is still hope for "Cleo" to be shot in 2010. In a separate interview with SLT Today, the intensely-prolific director says he hopes to shoot both "Liberace" and the musical next year. "The Cleopatra project will shoot next year, and so will the movie about Liberace," he said and since Soderbergh is his own cinematographer (under the pseudonym Peter Andrews) he works lighting fast and has already proven that shooting 2-3 movies a year is not impossible.

Finally, Soderbergh also reminds us that he has a documentary about deceased playwright/monologist Spalding Gray basically in the can that just needs to be edited. "I've got a movie about Spalding Gray that I hope we'll finish editing by the fall," he tells SLT.

Jesus, do not stand in this filmmakers way.

[©brad]

I feel exhausted just reading about all those projects. More power to him though.

[MacGuffin]

David Fincher Eyed To Direct 'Cleopatra' With Angelina Jolie
Source: The Playlist

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. Deadline reports that conversations have started between Sony, Scott Rudin and David Fincher for the director to take the helm of pic that has Angelina Jolie attached to star. Based on Stacy Schiff's "Cleopatra: A Life," the script by Brian Helgeland is said to be solid, and unlike the infamous 1963 film with Elizabeth Taylor, this film will be from a distinctly female perspective, delving into the many facets of the historical figure as warrior, strategist, politician and yes, seductress. But there are a lot of question marks to be answered before Fincher signs on the dotted line. He's going to be tied up for the rest of the year finishing up the highly anticipated "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" and unless something has gone terribly wrong, all signs point to it being a hit. The question now is—will Fincher return to helm the sequel "The Girl Who Played With Fire" and how soon will Sony want that film in front of cameras? Will Fincher want to return this world again or take on a new project? And will he be comfortable handing off the franchise to someone else to do "Cleopatra"? And both "Cleopatra" and "The Girl Who Played With Fire," are Scott Rudin and Sony films, so all parties will have essentially decide together what they want to make first. "The Social Network" slayed at the box office and bowled over critics making the Fincher relationship with Rudin and Sony very, very good. "Cleopatra" will undoubtedly be a very expensive picture to mount, but with the tremendous faith they already have in the helmer he should be able to command pretty much anything he wants for the pic. However, he is also attached to make "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" for Disney. Will they offer the same kind of blank check, hands-off approach Sony would give him? Again, it's unclear and Fincher is certainly not a director who does well with studio interference. Finally, Jolie is a picky actress when it comes to directors. Will she gel well with Fincher who is known for being demanding with this actors and for his endless takes? Lots and lots of little questions pepper this story and as Deadline notes, it's a big project knocking around with more than a few directors wanting to throw their hat in the ring. So consider this very early at this point and don't be surprised if more names crop up in the coming weeks.

[MacGuffin]

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

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.

While promoting "Rock of Ages" on "The View" this past week, even amongst the inane babble surrounding her, Jones revealed her interest in Soderbergh's vision. "I just finished a movie with him ['The Bitter Pill' with Rooney Mara] and we have an idea -- actually it was for a movie -- to play Cleopatra," she said. "It's a rock and roll musical movie, but we think it would just be fantastic on Broadway." Jones would come to Broadway not as an amateur though, as she made her debut in 2009 with the revival of "A Little Night Music," for which she took home a Best Actress Tony award.

Soderbergh has been tossing this idea around for a while now, telling us last year, "You know I really loved that script [by Guided By Voices member Jim Greer] and I have thought about taking that to the stage. It could still live somewhere like that." And it seems the idea is one that is still appealing to the filmmaker. 

After "The Bitter Pill," Soderbergh will finally go into production on his other long-gestating biopic, "Behind the Candleabra," starring Michael Douglas as Liberace, along with Matt Damon, Rob Lowe, Cheyenne Jackson, Dan Aykroyd and Debbie Reynolds. After that, the direct will begin his self-imposed hiatus from filmmaking, but his involvement with "Cleo" seems invested enough to make some version happen, as difficult as it is. As time marches on, it seems more a sheer miracle than the 1963 Joseph Mankiewicz "Cleopatra" ever saw the light of day, since even with such power players as Angelina Jolie and James Cameron fronting a potential adaptation, nothing ever came of it.

The theatre represents a mostly untapped source for Soderbergh though (he did direct "Tot-Mom" on stage in Australia a few years back), so the idea of him bringing his sensibilities to the format -- such as Danny Boyle with "Frankenstein" -- sounds like a suitable second life for his delayed musical, and a unique role for its talented lead. [Digital Spy]

[MacGuffin]

David Fincher No Longer Attached to Angelina Jolie's Cleopatra
Source: Vulture

Talks have broken off between Sony and director David Fincher for a planned remake of Cleopatra starring Angelina Jolie. The studio is now seeking other candidates (including, but not limited to, Brokeback Mountain director Ang Lee – though negotiations have not commenced with Lee, nor has an offer been made).

News of the project first surfaced in June 2010, when Hollywood Über-producer Scott Rudin announced that he'd optioned Stacy Schiff's book Cleopatra: A Life and was developing it for Jolie. In October 2010, it caught the eye of James Cameron, but then 20th Century Fox committed to filming two Avatar sequels. In January 2011, it seemed that The Bourne Ultimatum director Paul Greengrass would direct, but by March 2011, Greengrass was out and Sony began talks with David Fincher, who was just wrapping up The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo for the studio.

It's not clear why Fincher decamped from Cleopatra, or even when. As late as last December, Fincher was still expressing enthusiasm for the project to MTV News, albeit tempered by an unwillingness to make what he termed "a giant sword-and-sandal epic. We've seen scope; everyone knows we can fake that. That stuff doesn't impress in the way that it did even 10 years ago." Instead, Fincher said he wanted to focus on what still makes Cleopatra "relatable to today."

Fincher's future relationship with Sony is somewhat cloudy. On the one hand, he delivered the huge hit The Social Network in 2010, which wound up with a nearly identical global gross as Fincher's 2011 remake of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. But Social Network cost $40 million, while Tattoo cost a whopping $90 million, and barely grossed $100 million domestically. As EW recently noted, no Girl sequel is forthcoming in 2013.

A Sony spokesman declined to comment on the studio's hunt for a Cleopatra director, and calls placed to Fincher's attorney and Lee's agency were not returned at deadline.

In related news, just two weeks ago, NBC gave a "put pilot" commitment – that is, a promise to shoot and not just develop a pilot – for a fantastical update of the Cleopatra tale from Transformers producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura and North Country screenwriter Michael Seitzman. In their TV version, actual history – the queen's love triangle involving Julius Caesar and Mark Antony – collides with more fantastical elements involving Egyptian gods and monsters.