Paul Greengrass to direct 3D Cleopatra?

There was some trepidation last year when we learned that Sony was looking to produce a massively budgeted 3D film based on the life of Cleopatra, with Angelina Jolie in the title role. And that was with James Cameron, the 3D king, possibly the man to helm the project. Well that fell through when Cameron agreed to set his flag squarely on the next two Avatar movies, but that didn't mean the Cleopatra flick just faded into the ether. Nope, in fact producer Scott Rudin has been working on it ever since and now tells Deadline that he's "pretty close" to nailing down a director. Right now it's looking like Paul Greengrass(United 93) could be at the top of the list.

Seems like an odd fit onpaper. Greengrass's realistic, no nonsense style doesn't feel like a match for what sounds like a huge Hollywood spectacle. But then again it sounds like that's exactly why  Rudin might be leaning Greengrass's way. Rudin's description of of the story's interpretation of Cleopatra fits right in with Greengrass's strengths...

"It is a completely revisionist Cleopatra, a much more grown-up sophisticated version. She’s not a sex kitten, she’s a politician, strategist, warrior. In the Joseph Mankiewicz movie, Elizabeth Taylor is a seductress, but the histories of Cleopatra have been written by men. This is the first to be written by a woman. It felt like such a blow-the-doors-off-the-hinges idea of how to tell it, impossible to resist. We’re pretty close. A lot of directors want to do it, but there is only a handful we’ll make it with."

For the record, screenwriter Brian Helgelund is a dude, but the biography the film will be based on was written by Stacy Schiff, who has lady parts.

I'll be interested to see how Greengrass's technique works with the use of 3D. I assume he'll shoot with that in mind. With Jolie's clear excitement for the project, combined with Rudin and Sony's massive backing, this is already looking like THE film to keep an eye on for the next couple of years. Rudin hopes for a potential start date later this year.