Gal Gadot's Cleopatra movie is bringing back memories of a 60-year-old bomb that changed Hollywood. In 2020, Gadot was cast as Cleopatra in an epic film that would reunite her with Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins, who was eventually replaced by The Falcon and the Winter Soldier's Keri Skogland. Ever since, the project has been stuck in development hell, even switching studios from Universal to Paramount, though it remains controversial because Gadot, an Israeli actress, was cast as Cleopatra, an Egyptian queen, which has been met with accusations of whitewashing.Before the SAG-AFTRA strike, Gadot was on a press tour promoting her Netflix spy thriller, Heart of Stone, when she made some innocuous comments about her casting as Cleopatra and reinventing the role. However, the interview has reignited the casting controversy and given the current state of Hollywood, Gal Gadot's Cleopatra movie is giving people flashbacks to the 1963 Cleopatra film that was a massive bomb and changed the industry. Check out a few of the reactions below:
@PABastien says it's "Kinda funny that the film industry is facing the largest collapse its seen since the 60s and we're getting another Cleopatra."
@Darren_Mooney echoes his sentiment and argues that Gal Gadot's Cleopatra movie could be an example of Hollywood history repeating itself.
@egyptiannna says "I need more people to be mad at this," seemingly referring to Gal Gadot's casting as the Egyptian queen.
@SaraFangirl_Art says, "If you were mad about the Black Cleopatra but not this, just know you are a hypocrite," referring to the Netflix miniseries, Queen Cleopatra, which caused controversy for casting a Black actress, Adele James.
@flyffyannie claims the poster misuses the Greek alphabet. However, the poster is fan-made and not officially from Universal or Paramount.
@phatcussy claims Gal Gadot's casting as Cleopatra is equivalent to Ryan Gosling playing Barack Obama.
@flowersinfilm says "nobody is watching" Gal Gadot's Cleopatra movie.
How The 1963 Cleopatra Movie Changed Hollywood
While continuing the casting controversy, the latest reactions to Gal Gadot's Cleopatra movie also point out potential parallels to the 1963 version. Directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz and starring Elizabeth Taylor as Cleopatra, the 1963 film is infamous for its extravagant production, big budget, and behind-the-scenes drama which in turn, changed the industry's approach to filmmaking.
Production of 1963's Cleopatra was plagued with difficulties from the start, as its original director, Rouben Mamoulian, was fired and replaced by Mankiewicz. Because of this, the script went through several rewrites which resulted in numerous setbacks. Once filming actually began, the cast and crew suffered serious illness due to the extreme heat in Italy, including a near-fatal case of pneumonia for Elizabeth Taylor. Additionally, her on-set affair with co-star Richard Burton, who played Mark Antony, became a tabloid sensation that drew even more negative attention to the film.
These issues, in combination with the film's elaborate sets and costumes, ballooned the budget to around $44 million ($340 million when adjusted for inflation). Today, the industry is facing similar issues as many modern blockbusters, including Fast X and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, saw their budgets balloon mostly due to the COVID-19 pandemic as well as struggling to generate substantial profits. While Gal Gadot's Cleopatra movie probably won't end up having a significant effect on how Hollywood approaches filmmaking, it is bringing back bad memories of the 1963 version.
Source: Various (see links above)
