My Life with Cleopatra Read Free

for only a moment.
    When I telephoned Liz today, she said she would be at the PoloLounge of the Beverly Hills Hotel, having a drink with Arthur Loew, Jr. I dropped by for a brief moment, chatted with her and Arthur, who is the son of an old friend of mine, and left the book for Elizabeth to read. Evidently Mike had never given it to her.
    Then I returned to my office and called her agent, Kurt Frings, and her lawyer, Martin Gang, to tell them I wanted her for the picture and had given her the book.
    N OVEMBER 1958
    Told Lew Schreiber I had given the book to Elizabeth Taylor. He was upset.
    I think Schreiber feels that my independence is somehow a threat to the studio—maybe he thinks it might influence other producers to get out of line. He said I had no right to go over his head and approach a star directly. The studio wouldn’t have Elizabeth Taylor in a picture.
    D ECEMBER 1958
    First steps.
    David Brown approved my request to start someone writing a script of
Cleopatra
. Ludi Claire, an actress turned writer, is going to assemble material and do a rough script, the least expensive way to start a project.
    I have asked John DeCuir, an excellent art director, to do some sketches and models of the Forum and the palace, in the hope that the studio executives will see some of the possibilities in size and scope of the picture.
    F EBRUARY 1959
    Although Skouras thinks Joanne Woodward is the biggest female attraction in the movies, thanks to
Three Faces of Eve
, Adler is insistent we use Joan Collins, who is physically right for the role and is dying to play it. Dance director Hermes Pan is workingwith Joan, trying to improve her posture and walk so she will have the grace and dignity of Cleopatra.
    F EBRUARY 14, 1959
    John DeCuir’s sketches and models were finished, and I had a display set up on one of the test stages behind the art department. All the executives were invited over after lunch to look them over.
    The plaster model of the Forum took up almost an entire table top, the sketches and models were beautiful. I’m continually amazed at the great skills of the artisans on the Hollywood back lots.
    For the first time, I think Adler and Schreiber see what I really have in mind for
Cleopatra
.
    It can be the last word in opulence, beauty, and art—a picture women will love for its beauty and story. After all, it is the story of a woman who almost ruled the world but was destroyed by love. With the right cast and production values, the right director and script, this can be a sensation. The material is fantastic. The more of it I read, the better I like it.
    F EBRUARY 16, 1959
    Still testing.
    The casting department has compiled a list of possibilities for each role. Submitting these names is their job. The function of a producer is to argue out and prove to the casting department why some individuals don’t fit the picture and why certain combinations aren’t good. My first team is Liz Taylor as Cleopatra, Sir Laurence Olivier as Caesar, and Richard Burton as Mark Antony. The ideal box-office team, according to them, would be Cary Grant as Caesar, Elizabeth Taylor as Cleopatra, and Burt Lancaster as Mark Antony.
    Other actors submitted by casting for Caesar are Sir John Gielgud, Yul Brynner, and Curt Jurgens.
    For Cleopatra, they have listed Brigitte Bardot, Marilyn Monroe, Jennifer Jones, Kim Novak, Audrey Hepburn, Sophia Loren, Gina Lollobrigida, and Susan Hayward. Some contract actresses being recommended seriously are Joan Collins, Dolores Michaels, Millie Perkins, Barbara Steele, and Suzy Parker.
    The group being suggested for Antony includes Anthony Franciosa, Kirk Douglas, Marlon Brando, Stephen Boyd, Jason Robards, Jr., Richard Basehart, and Richard Burton.
    F EBRUARY 24, 1959
    On my own I had lunch with Carlo Ponti, Sophia Loren’s husband, at Perino’s Restaurant.
    Since my Italian is not too good and his English is poor, I took Rosemary Mathews along as interpreter. She was assistant to Johnny Johnston,