Angelina Jolie Eyes Iraq Pioneer Biopic 'Gertrude Bell' for Ridley Scott (Exclusive)
12:59 PM PST 11/17/2011 by Borys Kit
The actress is attached to play the pioneering woman leader who helped lay the groundwork for the modern Middle East.
Angelina Jolie, who has made a career out of playing strong female characters, is taking steps toward tackling another iconic woman leader. The actress-filmmaker has attached herself to star in Gertrude Bell, a biopic of a pioneering figure in the Middle East in the early 20th Century. The project is being developed by Ridley Scott's Scott Free Productions.
Scott also is mulling directing the pic, one of three on his shortlist that insiders say he wants to tackle after his Alien prequel-of-sorts Prometheus, which hits theaters in June.
Bell has been described as the female Lawrence of Arabia for the impact the English woman had in the Middle East and her work in establishing what would become the modern framework for Jordan and Iraq. With a passion for archeology and languages, she wrote about her adventures in the Ottoman Empire and desert kingdoms, traveling in not only a predominantly male world but one whose culture and religion was very alien to the British Empire.
During World War I, Bell worked for British Intelligence and was a key asset to the English¹s dismantling of the Ottoman Empire and founding of Iraq, even winning the admiration many Arabs as she navigated tribes, diplomats and soldiers.
Jeffrey Caine is writing the screenplay, tooling it as a vehicle for Jolie. The project is not set up at a studio and is still in development.
Jolie, whose directorial debut In the Land of Blood and Honey hits theaters next month, has a number of acting projects in development. She's attached to play Kay Scarpetta in an adaptation of the popular Patricia Cornwell novels, as well as Disney's Maleficent. A sequel to her hit action pic Salt also is being written. She last starred in The Tourist opposite Johnny Depp.
On top of Bell, Scott is looking at Gucci as a possible directing vehicle. That project is a drama about the iconic fashion family in the 1970s and 80s. He's also considering Child 44, a serial killer mystery set in Stalinist Russia. His directing wishes could be altered by how well his sci-fi epic Prometheus, which stars Charlize Theron and Noomi Rapace and opens June 8, 2012, performs at the box office. Insiders at Fox say the studio is already exploring sequel options.
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Upcoming Biopic, Ridley Scott Eyes Director's Chair
Fox Already Talking Sequel To 'Prometheus'
Angelina Jolie is now attached to star in "Gertrude Bell," a biopic set up at Scott Free Productions with Ridley Scott eyeing taking it on himself. Gertrude Bell was a British woman who wore the hats of traveler, writer, archaeologist, explorer, cartographer, and political attaché all at once for the British Empire at the dawn of the twentieth century. While only a commoner herself, Bell was massive influential in the regioni, helping found the modern states of Iraq and Jordan and installing their first rulers, King Abdullah and King Faisal. She earned the nickname "The Queen Of The Desert."
Jeffrey Caine ("The Constant Gardner," "GoldenEye") will pen the script for the project that is still in very early stages, and isn't yet housed at a studio. So it could be a while off. And that's exactly why Scott isn't a sure thing just yet.
According to the trade, the director currently has a shortlist of projects he's considering to direct following "Prometheus" including: "Gucci" the long developing tale of the fashion icon that also had Angelina Jolie and Leonardo DiCaprio circling at one point; another long gestating movie, a Soviet-era thriller entitled "Child 44" and -- fanboy alert! -- possibly a "Prometheus" sequel. The studio is apparently already toying with the idea of a follow-up should the movie open like gangbusters next summer. Curiously not mentioned in all this is the new "Blade Runner" movie but there's the thing: somebody like Scott generally has a least a dozen options and projects all on the go at various times. So while this might be what he's looking at now, all that could change next month or six months down the road as each film continues to take shape.
Regardless, after getting behind the camera for her Oscar contender "In The Land Of Blood Of Honey," and following the disappointing trifle of "The Tourist," Jolie seems eager to remind all that she's An Actress And Star. And this kind of movie is definitely the right way to do it.
As for Werner Herzog's movie about the same subject that he's hoping to make with Naomi Watts, he better get on that. He recently told us he still needs financing to get it made, but you can bet if Jolie's project rolls, his will be killed dead. But what if they joined forces and it became a Jolie/Herzog pairing instead? Yeah, we'd pay to see that. C'mon Hollywood, make it happen. [THR]
