The grandeur and glamour of Cleopatra is coming back to the silver screen – but this time as a three-dimensional rock musical, Hollywood media said Friday.
US director Steven Soderbergh is wooing British beauty Catherine Zeta-Jones for the role of the Egyptian queen and Australian star Hugh Jackman as her lover, Marc Antony, according to Variety and the Hollywood Reporter.
Cleo, expected to work with a budget of about $30 million, will be seeking financing and distribution deals in the next two weeks, they said.
The music is to be courtesy of indy rockers Guided by Voices, while the script is being penned by James Greer, an ex-bass player for the band and an author.
Soderbergh, known for hits such as Traffic and Ocean s Eleven, in November unveils a two-part homage to Che Guevara – two parts, four hours long and in Spanish with subtitles. The film, starring Benicio del Toro as the iconic Argentine-Cuban guerrilla, is expected in US theatres early next year. -AFP
