Move over Alexander the Great and Howard Hughes, another battle is brewing on the movie biopics in competition front - this time over a certain short French emperor with a taste for conquest according to Variety.
In the red corner is "The Monster of Longwood", an adaptation of a Staton Rabin novel about the French dictator's last days and his relationship with a young British girl who befriended him after he was exiled to the isle of St. Helena. Patrice Chereau ("Queen Margot") is on board to direct, and he is overseeing a polish of Michael Tolkin's last draft with scribe-author Paul Auste. Howard Rosenman is producing, whilst Al Pacino will play the man himself and shooting is aiming to begin this Fall on the Isle of Man and Fiji.
In the blue corner is "Napoleon and Betsy", a project that was just set up at Lions Gate as a star vehicle for Scarlett Johansson, with Rebecca B. Kennedy writing the script and Melanie Johansson, Alexandra Milchan and Gilles Arondeau producing.
The catch is the fighting has already begun with 'Longwood' producer Rosenman trying to halt 'Betsy'. You see not only did 'Betsy' writer Rebecca Kennedy write the first draft of 'Longwood', but two other cast members of the latter project were attached to the former (incl. Johansson's mother). Argumentative letters have been going back and forth between Rosenman and Johansson with he accusing her production of copyright infringement amongst other things. No word yet on how these projects will pan out.
Thanks to 'Small & Short'.
