At the moment, there is a new Cleopatra movie being made at Sony Pictures. For those who are curious, David Scarpa, Eric Roth and Brian Helgeland are the ones who have been mentioned as writing the script for the upcoming movie, which is interesting because Scarpa was involved with All the Money in the World as well. Furthermore, it should be mentioned that Denis Villeneuve was mentioned as being the choice for the director of the new Cleopatra movie back in September, though it remains to be seen what has come of that.
What Does the New Cleopatra Movie Promise to Be?
Curiously, the new Cleopatra movie is supposed to be based on a book called Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff, a nonfiction author who has written for The New York Times from time to time. The name of the book sounds rather formulaic, but it should be mentioned that the contents more than makes up for it. After all, Cleopatra VII lived a rather interesting life as the last ruler of Ptolemaic Egypt, which was the Macedonian kingdom founded by one of Alexander the Great’s generals after Alexander’s death at Babylon.
For those who are unfamiliar with Cleopatra, she tends to be remembered by most people as a seductress. This is perhaps unsurprising, seeing as how she did have affairs with both Julius Caesar and Marcus Antonius, though it should be noted that the first seems to have been much less besotted with her than the second, perhaps because Caesar was so well-known for being a philanderer that he has been accused of sleeping with all of the wives of both his political allies and political enemies at one point or another. Regardless, it should be mentioned that while personal emotions did play a part in Cleopatra’s affairs, they were also an important part of politics.
Towards the end of the Roman Republic, Ptolemaic Egypt was not in the strongest position. It possessed fabulous wealth, but that just meant that the Roman Republic refrained from invading because no Roman general could be trusted with the fruits from such a rich conquest. Even worse, Ptolemaic Egypt was rife with infighting, as shown by the fact that Cleopatra was fighting a civil war with her own brother-husband Ptolemy XIII when Caesar arrived on the scene. As a result, Cleopatra’s relationship with Caesar was meant to ensure not just her victory in the civil war but also the independent status of Ptolemaic Egypt in a Roman-dominated world.
Likewise, Cleopatra’s relationship with Marcus Antonius was meant to safeguard Ptolemaic Egypt in a Roman-dominated world torn by further civil wars of its own, while also spreading the influence of her family, as shown by Antonius’s donations of various territories to his children with Cleopatra. Summed up, while Cleopatra does seem to have been fond of both of her Roman lovers, every aspect of her life was thoroughly saturated with politics, which explains why Scarpa has described the new Cleopatra movie as a “lean, mean political thriller.”
Why Is This the Right Choice?
This seems like the right choice for a couple of reasons. First, the close integration of the political sides of Cleopatra’s life makes for a richer, more complicated narrative, as befitting one of the most interesting figures of classical history. Second, this could enable the new Cleopatra movie to stand out, which is rather important considering the number of times that her story has been adapted for the movie screen.
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