According to Collider, "Paramount is finalizing an option deal to develop a feature based on Furious Love, an account of the public love affair of Hollywood royalty Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. According to Deadline, the studio is pursuing the project as a possible directing vehicle for Martin Scorsese. Paramount reportedly beat out several other suitors, including Natalie Portman and The King’s Speech writer David Seidler, to secure the rights to the book by Sam Kashner and Nancy Schoenberger."
Well, after The Aviator, I think that Martin Scorcese would be a wise choice! The man has prestige in his own name, but it seems that he already is a busy man, with some projects like Silence and The Irishman waiting for him. But it's the Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton's "love biopic", only a really bad script or too commercial producers would be able to make Scorcese say "NO"!
Now, let's talking about the casting... for Richard Burton, there are a few names:
Leonardo DiCaprio - he has 36 years old, almost the same age Burton had when he met Elizabeth Taylor. DiCaprio is the Scorcese's darling, a kind of male muse to him, and he's by far one of the best actors of his generation. He's a bankable star, the boy of the critics' eyes, he's very popular and he has THAT THING the stars of the Golden Era of Hollywood had. He's not a bad choice at all (it's a good one, actually!), but there are other contenders for the role who look more "Richard Burton"...
Clive Owen - he really looks like Richard Burton in my opinion and he already showed some dramatic acting in Closer, for wich he got an Oscar nod. He has the look of the charming "caveman" and he has a certain class, it's hard to explain... but women like him! He's far from being a well-known face, he's known, but he isn't a superstar in the true meaning of the word, which may benefit him in a certain way (Scorcese may not want to use a man loved by the media to play another man loved my the media).
Russell Crowe - one of the "bad boys" of Hollywood, Crowe is also one of the greatest actors working today. As a potential Richard Burton, he would be great, as he always is in all the roles he takes, but he may look too old to portray him in spite of having a lot of physical similarities with Taylor's husband. Burton was around 37/38 years old when he met Elizabeth Taylor and Crowe is 47... makeup might help him and he's an Academy Award winner that's eyeing a new Oscar nod and this role would be a great chance for him! He's a great contender for the role, but he already looks too old for the part...
For the role of Elizabeth Taylor there are some HUGE names who can got the part:
Catherine Zeta-Jones - She has the class of a star of the Hollywood Golden Era. She has the charisma of a star of the Hollywood Golden Era. She is beautiful. She is classy. She can act. But she looks too old to portray Elizabeth Taylor in the beginning of her 30's... Zeta-Jones is beautiful and she doesn't look 40's, but she owns a great maturity and she doesn't have that "fresh" look Taylor had when she was filming Cleopatra. Catherine has everything to portray Taylor if you exclude that freshness of a young woman.
Jennifer Connelly - Connelly has some of the most beautiful eyes in Hollywood, so it seems obvious to cast her as Taylor, but there's something missing... it's the charisma. In fact, Connelly is really low profile and she may not be able to pull a convincing performance as one of the biggest movie stars ever, but she's talented and she can surprise me. She has the same age problem of Zeta-Jones, but, unlike her, Connelly looks 40's...
Marion Cotillard - she has the look and she already prooved she's one of the greatest actresses alive, specially with that amazing portray of Édith Piaf. So, portraying Elizabeth Taylor would be another challenge for Marion, but she has the talent that's necessary to pull a great performance. Plus, she has the look of a Golden Era diva, she's really beautiful and captivating, she's classy, she is extremely charismatic in a very graceful way and she has the right age.
Charlize Theron - some people say she looks a lot like Elizabeth Taylor... well, they are right! Imagine her with dark hair and purple eyes. Yes, they are really similar. As a talented actress, who already showed a lot of dramatic acting and won an Oscar, the role of Taylor would put Theron's career back on track after some cinematic mistakes, some bad choices. She's really pretty and she's really classy, but there's something missing that I don't know what it is... But chosing her seems to be a smart choice!
Final choices?
Clive Owen and Marion Cotillard
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