[/caption]Is the casting of Angelina Jolie as Queen Cleopatra life imitating art or verse versa? Surely, one could make a case that the succulent lips actress life so far can rival that of Cleopatra for drama.
Walk with me in time and investigate the drama of Queen Cleopatra’s short life. Cleopatra, apparently, was disgustingly beautiful… and knowing the customs then… probably had many a lover - we need not name all of Jolie’s lovers… some say that there are even women among her conquests and her beauty is a given.
Controversial, you say: Cleopatra and Caesar sired the only known heir... in her attempt to form an alliance between Egypt and the West. Of course, the House of Julii, or moreover, the Romans did not accept... what they considered the barbaric Queen and heir as equals.
No matter Cleopatra’s pedigree in Egypt, most Romans saw anyone outside of Rome… and especially conquered territories and their denizens as Plebeians and not as Patricians.
It didn’t help matters that Julius Caesar was assassinated, and in addition, the whole “smack-down” between Anthony and Augustus and the hooking-up between Anthony and Cleopatra and their untimely suicide when Augustus was seen as the victor in the battle of Actium… succeeding the Roman throne. We are not even going to rehash the Bill Bob Thornton episode… and the wearing of bottled blood.
Some would say that it was rather controversial and a theft of Brad Pitt from Jennifer Aniston – America’s sweet heart. We do not know if the famous Queen Cleopatra ever shared a controversial kiss like the one between Angie and her brother, but it is suspected that Cleopatra had her brother killed to succeed the throne.
I have one admonition for Jolie and the producers involved in the remake of Cleopatra: in the sixties, the then real life drama queen was the beautiful purple-eyed Dame Elizabeth Taylor - she too was cast as Queen Cleopatra... but the movie failed miserably. I hope Angelina Jolie’s version do not suffer such a fate.
Oh, one more thing… does anyone knows if Brad Pitt will be playing Mark Anthony? By the way, did Halle Berry audition for this role - isthere going to be any controversy because Cleopatra was considered African....?
I've been following this casting with some interest, particularly the 'race row' surrounding it, with many saying that a black woman should have been cast at Cleopatra.
ردحذفCleopatra was actually blonde haired and blue eyed, she was of Macedonian origin and a direct descendent of Alexander the Great, she was not African as some people were saying.
I find it strange that the film's producers have not researched this in more depth.