Theresa Edeline: Angelina Jolie Confirms Talks With David Fincher To Direct 'Cleopatra'

'Fincher's been an old friend, so we've always been looking for something to do,' she tells MTV News.
By Eric Ditzian, with reporting by Josh Horowitz

Angelina Jolie
Photo: MTV News

Last time we caught up with Angelina Jolie, we ran through a slew of potential projects for the A-list star, pumping for details about her rumored onscreen collaboration with beau Brad Pitt, a potential project with Darren Aronofsky and the possibility (now squashed, thanks to Anne Hathaway) of playing Catwoman in "The Dark Knight Rises."

Meeting back up with Jolie at the Cannes Film Festival this week while she was promoting "Kung Fu Panda 2," we again touched on a few of her upcoming projects. First, there's "Cleopatra," a 3-D retelling of the ancient Egyptian queen's life. For a while, it seemed James Cameron might take on directorial duties, and then Paul Greengrass' name entered the conversation. Then in March, David Fincher — who's been consumed with production in Sweden on an adaptation of "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" — reportedly became the latest helmer to set his sights on the film.

So will Jolie and Fincher be teaming up for "Cleopatra"? It seems that way. "Yes, we just don't know," she told us, "It's all very early. Fincher's been an old friend, so we've always been looking for something to do."

From there, we hit on another cinematic retelling of historical figures, this one focusing on the political and personal relationship between Winston Churchill and Theodore Roosevelt. Earlier this month, Anthony Hopkins exclusively revealed to MTV News that he was looking to play Churchill for a project Jolie is producing. But after directing her first feature — a love story set during the Bosnian War — we wondered if she might also helm that project.

"Right now, I'm just producing it," Jolie said. "Just want to see it get done."

When asked if she'd found a Roosevelt to go head-to-head with Hopkins' Churchill, she answered simply, "No."

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