Archive
Elizabeth Taylor Passes Away at 79
Over the last few decades, it feels as though Elizabeth Taylor had become more of a personality than anything else, a known alcoholic and bride extraordinaire (married eight times). Many forget that on top of being an fantastically talented actress, she was one of the most beautiful women to ever live. CNN has reported that Taylor died early this morning of heart failure, an ailment she’s suffered from for over half of a decade. It brings to end an illustrious career, but perhaps only begins a great legacy.
After taking on several great roles as a teenager (including Kay Banks from the original “Father of the Bride”), she broke into stardom at eighteen starring alongside Montgomery Clift in one of George Stevens’ finest films “A Place in the Sun.” Throughout the fifties, she offered up some fantastic performances, such as “Giant,” “Raintree County,” “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” and “Suddenly, Last Summer,” before winning her first Best Actress Oscar for “Butterfield 8.” This was all before she tore the cinematic world apart by giving one of the greatest performances ever by an actress in Mike Nichols’ “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” for which she won another Oscar.
Taylor has made a lasting impact on the world of cinema. Her beauty, charm and talent will surely trickle down the ages and she shall be missed.
Paul Greengrass to Direct “Cleopatra”?
When I read this news, I had to blink a few times….and then a few more times after that. This is both the best and worst piece of crazy Hollywood gossip that I’ve heard in a while. Angelina Jolie and Scott Rudin have been attempting to put together a “Cleopatra” reboot for a long time. The project is a very personal one for Jolie who has shepherded the film for years, with an intent to star in the title role.
There’s a lot of things that I don’t like about the project. One being that it is Angelina Jolie in the title role. If only it weren’t her project, I feel that they could find a much more qualified actress to take on the part. The other issue, of course, is it being in 3D, which automatically downgrades my anticipation for a film by about fifty percent.
However, the news that Paul Greengrass might be helming the project is music to my ears. Greengrass is probably my favorite director working today. While his smaller projects such as “Bloody Sunday” and “United 93” (the latter I consider one of the Top 5 best directorial achievements of all time) are far superior to his big budget fare, perhaps this could be the film to not only change that, but help him break into the group of household name directors where he belongs.
Here is an excerpt from Nikki Finke and Mike Fleming’s article:
Producer Scott Rudin reveals to Deadline that “we’re pretty close” to pinning down a director for his mega-high-profile Sony Pictures 3D movie Cleopatra starring Angelina Jolie and based on Pulitzer Prize-winner Stacy Schiff’s biographyCleopatra: A Life. Rudin isn’t spilling but we hear that the filmmakers “like the idea” of the much respected Paul Greengrass although his name hasn’t even been mentioned yet to Angie who’s attached. Greengrass, who helmed the most recent two Bourne franchise action thrillers as well as Green Zone andUnited 93. He also flirted with doing the 3D Fantastic Voyage for producer James Cameron, who himself flirted with directing the 3D Cleopatra for Rudin. Love it when these things come full circle. We’re obsessed with this project and think Greengrass would be an intriguing hire, perhaps less about spectacle and more about story. “Smart, tough, political, hard-nosed…,” an insider described the director to Deadline. “Sort of the idea of Cleopatra in the book.” Not a bad thing considering that the last time Hollywood tried that subject of Cleopatra on a grand scale, back in 1963, it nearly bankrupted 20th Century Fox.
One can read the full article of this interesting and potentially exciting news at Deadline Hollywood. It discusses box office and production concerns and how the first film nearly bankrupted the studio that made it.
The Edge of the Frame 