Martin Scorsese recently revealed that his long-anticipated film “Cleopatra,” starring Angelina Jolie, was ultimately shelved due to the fallout from the infamous Sony hack, which was triggered by the controversy surrounding the Seth Rogen film “The Interview.”
The Context of the Sony Hack
The Sony hack occurred in November 2014 when a group targeted the company in hopes of preventing the release of “The Interview,” a dark comedy involving a fictional assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The attack led to the exposure of numerous private emails and correspondence within Sony, many of which had significant repercussions for various projects in development.
Scorsese’s “Cleopatra” and Its Untimely End
In a recent episode of the Tribeca original series “Crafty,” Scorsese described how events unfolded regarding his own project. “We were gonna do Cleopatra at one point, and then they made fun of [Kim Jong Un], and he got mad and blew up everybody at Columbia,” Scorsese explained. He further attributed the film’s cancellation to the chain of reactions stemming from the hacked emails, specifically pointing out Seth Rogen’s involvement to the chaos that ensued.
Behind the Scenes Tension
While Seth Rogen’s “The Interview” did not directly cause the project’s downfall, the leaked emails exposed less-than-flattering comments about Angelina Jolie. Notable producer Scott Rudin described Jolie as “a minimally talented spoiled brat” in his correspondence with Sony executive Amy Pascal, which undoubtedly cast a shadow over the film’s prospects. Despite this discord, Scorsese was enthusiastic about the project, stating, “Angelina Jolie. We were going. She was gonna be Cleopatra VII. It was gonna be really wild.”
A Promising Collaboration
The screenplay for “Cleopatra” was set to be penned by Eric Roth, who also collaborated with Scorsese on his recent film, “Killers of the Flower Moon.” This collaboration was highly anticipated, and fans are left wondering what could have been had the project reached fruition.
To learn more about Scorsese’s insights and the project that never came to be, watch the episode of “Crafty” below.
