Angelina Jolie "Out of Her Mind" Over Cleopatra Film, Scott Rudin Wrote Amy Pascal: Latest Round of Leaked Sony Emails

"You are a treasure/I love you TONS," Pascal had written to Jolie in November 2013, per emails obtained by Gawker

By Natalie Finn Dec 19, 2014 2:12 AMTags
Angelina JolieJosiahW/AKM-GSI

The chatter about Angelina Jolie's ways of doing business didn't begin and end with the hanging-in-the-balance Steve Jobs movie.

In a new batch of leaked emails obtained and excerpted by Gawker, producer Scott Rudin and Sony exec Amy Pascal's back-and-forth continues, this time with regard to Jolie's passion project about Cleopatra—the role she has publicly said could be her swan song if playing the Egyptian queen is satisfying enough. 

Before Rudin went on to call her a "spoiled brat" for insisting on director David Fincher for her own film while he was trying to secure the filmmaker for the Jobs movie, Pascal had written to Jolie in November 2013, "You are a treasure/I love you Tons," after screenwriter Eric Roth turned in a first draft of Cleopatra that the ladies and Rudin all loved.

"Love you Amy xxx," Jolie replied at the time, per Gawker.

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And so it continued:

Rudin asked Jolie via email if she could be ready to begin production by Jan. 5 (of this year).

Jolie then wrote Pascal in early January: "I think we have to clean up the script and then enhance. I have crossed out many things and made adjustments. I would like to strip the things that lead it off track first. We need to be clear and efficient in order to get this done in a decent time. I started to re read the book and I am talking to philosophy teachers ect [sic]"

As they tried to set up meetings during that month and schedules kept shifting, Rudin at one point wrote Pascal, referring to Jolie: "She knows it's off. Calm down. She's an actress for hire, not Cleopatra."

After Roth turned in a new draft in February, Pascal wrote Rudin, referring to Jolie: "She will like it CUZ there is barely any vulnerability left in her character and she now seems responsible for everything that ever happened."

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By March, per the emails, Rudin was talking about the Jobs movie with Fincher and had made an unhappy Jolie feel better by suggesting Martin Scorsese as a director for Cleopatra.

In an email dated March 12, Jolie was singing the praises of the project and calling the latest development "very exciting."

"Let me know if there is anything I should be doing. Like getting on a plane and begging Marty xxx," she reportedly wrote.

The conversation continues between Rudin and Pascal, with the latter expressing concern over how a bald Cleopatra—a historically accurate representation written into the script—would go over with the director. Rudin replied that he thought the idea was "provocative" but that Jolie agreed with him that a "shaved head" would be better than completely bald—but he continued to waver as well.

"Well she was amazing with a perm in that Jewish movie about Daniel pearl [A Mighty Heart]," Pascal wrote. "So I'm tempted to throw that look in somewhere but I don't think I can beat you can beat that kid n play look possibly with lots of pearls."

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Happy, or at least fascinated, with how well Rudin and Jolie were getting along, Pascal at one point forwarded an exchange involving the producer and the actress to a couple of staffers with the subject line "Scott and Angie BFF."

By May, Scorsese proved unavailable and Fincher was still not attached to the project—and Jolie wrote to Rudin on May 15 about the possibility of another chat with the Social Network helmer.

Also on Jolie's short list was Tomas Alfredson, who was unavailable. Rudin then suggested Ridley Scott and Jolie said she'd do some research.

Rudin then wrote to Pascal, "Beyond belief. She's studying films. Kill me please. Immediately."

In July, Pascal and Rudin get into a discussion about trying to convince Jolie to abandon the Roth script and film a version of Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra, but when they added her to their exchange in a carefully orchestrated fashion, she defended what Roth had offered up so far.

Miikka Skaffari/FilmMagic

Jolie wrote: "I have just joined the email exchange. Above all I'm thrilled to hear the passion you both continue to have for this. I would say however that I don't think it's as off as you both do. I think making it a love story could undermined the female leadership and epic that we have built...I think we need a good script editor to work with Eric. He's open or will do with me. He knows we need to make it shorter to not be as intimidating. And I think we continue to discuss with great directors. My point is that we have done something special and I don't think we should adjust course but streamline and clarify and hold strong. But of course, I'm open to all discussions."

"She's seriously out of her mind," Rudin wrote privately to Pascal. She replied, to both of them, "I think we need an in person long conversation the three of us."

Rudin replied again just to Pascal: "Nooooooo noooooo noooooo please! Not a meeting!"