5) Cleopatra
What is it?
Sony’s remake of 1963’s Elizabeth Taylor-starring five-hour historical epic, which has taken a couple of wildly different forms over the years. First off, in 2008, it was revealed that Steven Soderbergh was pushing forward with a 3D musical version, starring Catherine Zeta-Jones as Cleopatra and Ray Winstone as Julius Caesar. The project ended up in turnaround, but Angelina Jolie eventually got hold of it and announced last year that she’d play the title role, with David Fincher directing. Then, Fincher dropped out.
Why it could escape development hell:
If you saw the Sony leaks emails, and in particular paid attention to the correspondence regarding Angelina Jolie, you’ll know the actress is very serious about getting this film made, and that the money people behind the scenes – as much as they aren’t fans of Brad Pitt’s other half – felt that Jolie had the power to do it.
The actress has said Cleopatra will be her last performance, so it’s set to be an event that the film industry won’t be likely to pass up. Fincher’s exit doesn’t mean all that much, either – he dropped out of Jobs, and that film ended up getting made just fine without him.