‘Kill me now. Immediately’: Producer Scott Rudin In Agony Over Working With Angelina Jolie On ‘Cleopatra’
Dec. 18 2014, Published 9:04 a.m. ET
More derogatory comments about Angelina Jolie, from producer Scott Rudin, have surfaced as result of the Sony hacking scandal that caused the studio on Wednesday to shelve The Interview, the film that purportedly sparked the cyber-attack.
In the latest leak, Rudin — who was previously revealed to have called the A-lister a “a minimally talented spoiled brat” — was speaking in an email chain with Jolie and Sony co-chair Amy Pascal abut a Cleopatra remake casting Brad Pitt’s wife in the role once championed by Elizabeth Taylor.
At various points in the discussion, Rudin would privately email Pascal with jabs at the Oscar-winner.
As RadarOnline.com previously reported, Rudin, in earlier leaks, said he believed Cleopatra amounted little more than a vanity project for Jolie, and a potentially “career-defining debacle” for he and Pascal should they green-light the costly film.
In one instance, he wrote, “There is no movie of Cleopatra to be made” and that it was a byproduct of Jolie’s “rampaging spoiled ego.”
As the search for a director proved to be a tough task — Jolie’s primary choice, Martin Scorsese, was unavailable — an enthusiastic Jolie emailed Rudin and Pascal to tell them she was still weighing options as to who should direct the film.
Rudin then removed Jolie from the email chain and told Pascal, “Kill me now. Immediately.”
Later, the Hollywood executives decided a better path to take would be to revise the film from the Taylor remake to the Shakespearian-themed Antony and Cleopatra, with the idea of casting Benedict Cumberbatch, Michael Fassbender or Tom Hardy as a leading man to work with Jolie.
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When Jolie balked at the idea, saying she thought they should stick to the initial project, Rudin wrote privately to Pascal that Jolie was “seriously out of her mind.”
When the diplomatic Pascal suggested a meeting -- saying, "I think we need an in person long conversation the three of us” -- Rudin made clear it was the last thing in the world he’d want to do.
“Nooooooo noooooo noooooo please! Not a meeting!” he wrote.
Rudin last week issued a public apology, admitting some of his statements were “thoughtless,” “insensitive,” and “not funny at all."
Pascal, who has also apologized for the content of the leaked emails, ran into Jolie in a beyond-uncomfortable moment last week at an industry event. There has been rampant speculation her career is hanging on by a thread in the wake of the hacking scandal.