Jim Sheridan Directing 'I, Claudius'
Filed under: Classics, Drama, Independent, Deals, Scripts, Newsstand
I love when Hollywood remembers to adapt (or re-adapt, in this case) a classic. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Relativity Media has picked up the rights to Robert Graves' brilliant novel I, Claudius for Jim Sheridan to direct. He'll also be writing the adaption, along with his usual collaborator Nye Heron. I, Claudius purports to be the secret autobiography of Claudius, the fourth emperor of Rome, who used his wits and intelligence to survive his murderous family and become one of Rome's greatest emperors. Fans of HBO's Rome will love it, as it features four strong and manipulative women who manipulate their men in and out of power, peace, and war. Seriously, read it. It's the perfect read for fall.
A new adaptation has been kicking around Hollywood for a year or more -- last year, producer Scott Rudin won the rights, and attached Leonardo DiCaprio and William Monahan to the project, but the deal ultimately fell through. Given that DiCaprio has the busiest pre-production schedule in the world, it's just as well, and it's fallen into good hands now.
I'm quite attached to Graves' work, and the literature nerd in me hopes that Claudius could spur a revival of interest in his works. I would love to see a biopic of the man himself, as he was -- as one of my favorite professors delicately put it -- "a very, um, interesting man." I, Claudius came about because Graves dreamed the emperor himself came to him in a dream and told him to write it -- and then he later decried them as just a moneymaker. And that's not including his White Goddess, and the lover who believed she was a witch. Pick up Goodbye to All That or Miranda Seymour's biography along with I, Claudius -- you'll thank me. I'm going to dig them out of my basement myself.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
9-13-2008 @ 3:41PM
Kaitlin said...
As a huge fan of the miniseries, I'm really curious but also kind of skeptical. it feels like a lot will get lost when it gets compressed down to movie-length. I *do* really want to see who gets cast in it, though.
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9-13-2008 @ 4:44PM
Kaeli said...
I wholeheartedly agree. The BBC miniseries is absolutely wonderful, and I don't know if it can be compressed.
I'm also curious if this is an adaptation of "I, Claudius" alone... because the BBC series also included the second novel "Claudius the God".
Still, it's music to my ears to hear DiCaprio's no longer attached ;) I'm not sure who could fill Derek Jacobi's shoes in the title role... but I'd love some James Marsters as Caligula :D
And I'm sure there's room in the huge cast for familiar faces like Patrick Stewart, John Hurt, and Brian Blessed as well.
9-13-2008 @ 7:16PM
J Massie said...
Yeah, Graves' biography is pretty nuts! One scene I always remember: Laura Riding jumps out of the 4th storey building, to commit suicide after some vicious argument with Graves, and then Graves runs down to the third storey, looks out, and jumps himself. Both survive.
I have read I, Claudius and Claudius the God, but have not watched the mini-series. Does the mini-series go into Claudius the God? will this new film go there too?
BTW, the web should really read Graves' The Reader Over Your Shoulder (the first edition). As one reviewer said in 1980, in the journal College Composition and Communication, "The Reader over Your Shoulder is flawed" but "as a serious defense of readers, it is inspirational."
Graves is a great man. I could go on... The Golden Fleece. Amazing. Count Belisarius. Just as good. The Greek Myths? His Twelve Caesars translation? The White Goddess (that is weird, but grows on you).
Problem with Graves' works is that sometimes they were rewritten in a fucked up way--by Graves himself. I have yet to read the original 1929 text of Good-bye to All That which is supposedly much better and actually mentions Laura Riding. I think his grandson did an edition that compares original Good-bye to All That and revised Good-bye to All That, with the original text included.
Anyhow, it would be great if renewed interest in Graves' works occurred.
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9-14-2008 @ 12:35PM
Aggripanilla said...
I have my doubts as well that I,Claudius can be compressed into a two-hour movie. I recently purchased the BBC miniseries and watched in for the first time since it originally aired on PBS in the States. I thought that it would look old and dated, but I was highly impressed with the acting and sets. It was a magnificent series and I would be disappointed with anything less in a movie.
I hope that some of the actors from HBO Rome can be recruited for the I,Claudius movie. I felt that they too were magnificent, but different from the original I,Claudius cast.
I await the new movie in both excitement and trepidation!
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