I’m not that superstitious but I believe in certain curses. I will never, ever, ever, say the name of The Scottish Play, and definitely not in a theater. (Somebody said it once in my acting class and the power went out instantaneously. Just saying.) And I believe that any movie project related to Cleopatra is totally cursed. I have good reason to believe that. The 1963 Elizabeth Taylor movie is legendary for nearly bankrupting 20th Century Fox, and it was plagued with production problems–they switched directors halfway through and had to do months of re-shoots. It also gave us the Romance of The Century in Liz and Richard Burton’s torrid affair, so I guess it wasn’t all bad.
Fast forward from the dying days of the old studio system, to 2014 and North Korea’s hacking of the Sony database. One of the things that came out in that data breach: Angelina Jolie was hoping to work with director David Fincher on another Cleopatra movie, with Angelina playing Cleopatra. She had already been attached to the project for years. She was facing push back from the top brass at Sony about the direction she wanted to take and the producer Scott Rudin said some juvenile, snotty things behind her back via email. In 2017, we learned that the project was going ahead with Denis Villeneuve as a director, but no one knew if Angelina was still involved. That Sony project is still languishing in development hell as far as I know.
Three years after *that* in 2020 Gal Gadot was cast as Cleopatra in a different project with a different director. Originally Patty Jenkins was in talks to direct but now someone else is attached, Kari Skogland, who is a TV director who worked on series like The Falcon and The Winter Soldier and The Americans. IMDB says it’s in pre-production but Gal Gadot was asked about it during an interview with Vogue Hong Kong to promote her Netflix movie Heart of Stone. She was asked what she did to prepare for playing the character and if she approached Cleopatra differently from other roles. It sounds like she wants to downplay what Cleopatra is best known for, and bring the focus to her political power–which is interesting because that’s what Angelina Jolie wanted to do, too.
How she prepared for the role: Israel borders Egypt, and I grew up with so many stories about Cleopatra, and she’s like a household name. You know, if Wonder Woman is the imaginary strong female leader, Cleopatra’s actually the real one. That’s a perfect example of a story that I wanted to tell because I started reading different books about Cleopatra, and I said, Wow, that’s fascinating. All I ever saw in regards to Cleopatra from film, was that she was this seductive woman who had an affair with Julius Caesar and Marc Anthony. But the truth is, there’s so much more to her. This woman was so ahead of her time. Egypt and what Egypt was back then, was still futuristic to where we are today. I can’t say much. But to me, I’m so passionate to tell her story and to bring justice to this character, and her legacy and celebrate her and her legacy. We have a beautiful script, and I cannot wait to share this story with the world and change the narrative of Cleopatra simply being a seductor.
I’m glad that Gal is serious about making Cleopatra a multifaceted character. She was more than a seductress–she was a political strategist, But I’m not sure she has the acting chops. I liked her as Wonder Woman but her job in Wonder Woman was to play someone uncomplicated and one-dimensional. That’s what Wonder Woman and Superman are, in my view. They’re good, pure in heart, and courageous, and that’s basically it. There’s not a lot of nuance to them. They exist to be an antidote to an increasingly anxious, complicated, and violent world. (There’s probably some WWII/Cold War stuff in there too based on when the characters were created but I know very little about comic books, Marvel, or DC). So all that Gal had to do was play someone with a child’s uncomplicated and unyielding sense of right and wrong and I think she did that well. But a queen who is employing numerous strategies and tactics, including seduction, to maintain her hold on power? Gathering political allies and then kind of ghosting them when they ask for military aid, fighting wars with her brother, poisoning her other brother, executing her half-sister…Miss Woman was chaotic and morally complicated. I don’t think Gal can carry that off, she just isn’t that strong of an actress. I actually think Angelina would have been better, purely on an acting level, at playing Cleopatra: Politician and Ruler Who Is Charming But Also Kills Her Family.
Photos credit: Jeffrey Mayer/Avalon, Leo Franco/Backgrid, Avalon
Haven’t read the article yet, but I’m already rolling my eyes. Here we go again.
Ok, I’ve read it now and am back. Why are people still playing up this seductress shit? We’ve known Cleopatra was a political mastermind for decades at this point. Stop using her life for Oscar bait and point to the stories already out there. The documentaries not the scripted shit. I’m also sick of hearing white people falling over backwards to be part of African history. Cleopatra isn’t the only dynamic woman Pharaoh. Good forbid we get the stories of the ones who can’t be played by white women.
Exactly what Steph said.
Another white woman playing Cleopatra is not the flex they thing it is. Event if it’s Gadot.
Cleopatra wasn’t of Nubian descent so… while she might not have been Celtic white, she wasn’t a PoC either.
In terms of race, Gal Gadot is more spot on than others. Unfortunately her acting skills lack nuance for the role.
Right?! Hatshepsut or Nefertiti movies please… Or hell one on Mark Antony’s first wife fulvia l!
Was she a political mastermind? The Egyptian empire ended during her rule. I’m tired of Cleopatra. Why doesn’t hollywood ever do a movie about Hatshepsut? Her story is just as interesting, if not more. She ruled successfully for 21 years. She had to dress like a man in order for men to take her seriously.
From the internet: Hatshepsut is regarded as one of the most successful pharaohs as she oversaw a period of peace and prosperity; re-established trade relations; and oversaw the completion of some of the finest construction projects in the history of ancient Egypt. Due to her achievements, she has been called “the first great woman in history of whom we are informed.”
Cleopatra absolutely was a political mastermind. Yes, the Egyptian autonomy ended under her rule, but it would have ended two decades earlier had she not been such a competent and shrewd political leader. Egypt was one of the last states standing in the face of Rome’s rapid expansion. I recently finished Cleopatra by Stacy Schiff and it was a very interesting read! I highly recommend it, it was written from a very compelling feminist perspective as well.
That said, I would LOVE to hear more about Nefertiti, who reigned alongside her husband during one of the richest periods in Egypt’s history–which is saying a lot, given how rich Egypt was. Nefertiti also radically overhauled the religious system in Egypt at the time. She was also reknown for her political acumen (and astonishing beauty).
Cleopatra wasn’t white.
The geo-politics of Gal playing a legendary Egyptian rule is … a choice.
She was Macedonian/Greek.
Drunk.
Exactly. The Nubian dynasties were extinguished in Egypt by the time Cleopatra was born.
Correct
The Kingdom of Kush had some badass Queens by the way.
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/ancient-africa-queens-nubia
She was also Persian
THANK YOU! It’s astonishing that these projects go forward with so little pushback. Maybe in Elizabeth Taylor’s day it could be argued they didn’t know any better (they should have known better) and it was common practice back then to Whitewash history. But it’s 2023 FFS! She looked nothing like Gal, nothing like Angelina, nothing like Elizabeth. Someone make a Cleopatra movie and cast it properly.
She was Macedonian.
I’d love to see more movies about African queens. Cleopatra was likely white though as the Macedonians had conquered Egypt a few centuries before and she descended from a royal line that did a lot of intermarrying within their own family.
She was Greek/Macedonian with some Iranian heritage. Most likely, her skin tone would have ranged from olive skinned to light brown – some Egyptologists believe she was brown skinned but there’s a whole range there and it’s all speculative because as you pointed out there was a lot of intermarrying in her lineage and we have little information on her mother’s side. Also racial classifications didn’t exist like they do today. Even today in 2023, if you asked an Egyptian or a Moroccan if they are African most will tell you no. They may be darker than me and clearly have African features and they say that. They identify as Moroccan, Egyptian, or North African, not African. Anti-Blackness is a real thing, it’s global, and it’s existed forever.
Did Cleopatra look like Gal Gadot? Most likely not. The features would have been completely different from an Israeli person. What bothers me is there is never an attempt to even find someone close to her background – we just want to Jim Cavaziel everything and err on the side let’s find someone as White passing as possible to play her. It’s the tendency to try to Americanize things that aren’t even American that bothers me.
Don’t get me started on Gal Gadot is girl next door nice girl in my yoga class vibe – there is no gravitas or earth shattering anything there ala Angelina Jolie – who was also wrong to play her but at least had the presence to do so. The casting is wrong. it’s let’s put Zoe Saldana in Black face to play Nina Simone, while Lauryn Hill is right there and she can act and sing.
Sorry Jim Caviezel
Cleopatra was Macedonian/Greek. Gal is good choice looks wise
I mean, yes, she was.
Convenient.
Sigh, I am Black and I am sick of hearing this…she was Macedonian…Jada Pinkett’s dumb ass is irritating as hell.
She was also of Iranian descent, a fact that is always overlooked. And racial classifications didn’t really exist / were completely different in those times – I’m not saying she was Makeba’s complexion but no, she wasn’t Hillary Baldwin White. She was not. We don’t have enough information about her mother’s lineage to have a complete picture of her racial heritage, but enough with the she looked like Christie Brinkley already.
Interesting.
Who was her Iranian ancestor?
I looked through her line before but can’t remember seeing any Persian people.
Persia was also conquered by the Macedonians under Alexander the Great and another of his general’s descendents ruled it until it was annexed by the Romans.
Was her Iranian ancestor a descendant from the Achaemenids?
Yes. One of my classes at university was an anthropology class and a major assignment we had was trying to assess what Cleopatra looked like. I believe the Iranian ancestor was a descendant of the Achaemenids. I’ll have to go back some 30 years and find that paper, but this was one of the conclusions of our group. I remember our sketch looked a bit like Khloe Kardashian pre surgery lol
She wasn’t black either.
She was a Ptolemy, hence a Greek/Macedonian dynasty.
And the actress that played Cleopatra in the Jada Pinkett Produced Cleopatra on Netflix wasn’t black either she was Biracial with a whole white mother.
The Ptolemies practiced sibling marriage and other forms of consanguineous marriage for generation after generation in order to avoid diluting the royal blood. It’s amazing that she was healthy and functional considering how inbred she was.
Irregardless I want to see if the Arabs go ballistic over Gal’s casting the way they did over the Biracial British Actress on the last Cleopatra show on Netflix. Cause I know POC solidarity is BS and anti-blackness is the only contant globally but I want everyone to see it in real time.
That ‘documentary’ was presenting a falsity as truth, no wonder they were mad. Gal has also received a lot of backlash for accepting this part but at least it’s a movie and not a doco. If the Netflix show hadn’t presented itself as a documentary I don’t think nearly as many people would have cared. Egyptians care about their history and how it’s presented, I don’t think that should be a surprise to anyone. Americans shouldn’t shrug that off as it should matter to everyone.
Cleopatra came from a a long line of Ptolemaic rulers of Egypt; starting with Alexander the Great’s former general Ptolemy I from Macedonia (northern Greece/modern day). Her first language was Greek, although Cleopatra was the first Ptolemaic ruler in almost 300 years to speak Egyptian.
Sure, no actor ever says, “I want to trivialize my character and play a cliché.” But it’s not really up to her, is it? It has to be in the script.
While a Cleopatra movie more true to who she was would be welcome (but yes you’re right, probably cursed); I really REALLY wish it was going to star a stronger actress. I mean just….no. 😬
I don’t see Gal Gadot knocking this one out either. While Gadot can do the the soft lifting she doesn’t have the ability to the heavy lifting needed to fully expose the legacy of Cleopatra.
But will Egypt renounce or try to sue the studio for Cleopatra being portrayed by an Israeli actress?
I wonder too.
No love or even like lost there, & the Suez continues to be a huge strife in the region.
Personally, her version sounds interesting but with a completely different actress.
Nope ! And for all of you feigning ignorance Arabs and Egyptians were going ballistic over the biracial British actresses casting as Cleopatra long before the documentary came out. It’s not the first time Egypt has shown its hand either in 1984 their was a biopic done of former Egyptian president Amwar Sadat. Black American actor Lou Gossett Jr. was cast as Sadat. There were protests in Egypt and the movie was banned in Egypt and still is to this day. As I stated POC solidarity is a myth and anti-blackness is the only constant.
Can we stop with the “But Cleopatra wasn’t white!” and “Yes, she was!!” stuff? She was Macedonian/Greek on her father’s side; we don’t know who her mother was. So there’s no point in arguing over her skin color when we don’t have all the facts.
All I hear is Gal’s abysmal delivery of “Enough champagne… to fill da Nile!” and all my qualms about this movie instantly evaporate (after the giggles subside). It doesn’t matter if they get the history wrong or how eyeroll-inducing the discourse surrounding this movie will be – it’s going to be H O R R I B L E because she is a H O R R I B L E actress, and everyone involved in this ill-conceived project will be rewarded with the flop they deserve.
…..
“Enough champagne… to fill da Nile!” LOLOLOL
No, some things are definitely cursed. Diana’s engagement ring, for example.
I mean…she must have been somewhat seductive to do what she did. But she was more than a temptress. She was very well educated too.
I wish they’d just stop with this. Angelina is the only woman that I can see playing Cleopatra because despite them not wanting her to just be a seductress, she was in fact very seductive. La Liz did it well, because she has that vibe.
Gal Gadot, first of all, can’t act and second, is not sexy, not sultry, not someone that can pull this off.
I don’t think either Angelina (who’s now too old — Cleopatra died in her late 30s) or Gal Gadot are strong enough actors. Zendaya is maybe a little young? She’d be great though.
Angie’s still lookin plenty foxy. Sides, I bet they didn’t have sunblock and modern retinols back then. Maybe she’s a closer spitball re age related aspects than we think?
Plus, heaven only knows what all the inbreeding did to her as far as premature aging goes.
The Ptolemaic dynasty was one of the full-on Targaryen types, with ‘Incest is Best’ being just shy of their actual motto. Like, they blew straight past the Hapsburgs and into their own demented little pool of incest, ’cause the Hapsburgs never went closer than a dude marrying his own niece, they just kept marrying first cousins over and over.
Angelina is too old and Zendaya is too you and child like to play cleopatra