George Clooney to play Yasser Arafat in new 3D biopic

George Clooney to play Yasser Arafat in new 3D biopic


Yasser, to be produced by Spielberg’s DreamWorks Studios and The Doha Film Institute, is set chronicle the PLO leader’s life
LOS ANGELES: George Clooney has been signed up to play the lead in an upcoming biopic of Yasser Arafat, according to an article in The Hollywood Reporter.

Quoting insiders close to the project in Los Angeles, the publication claims that actor has agreed a deal that will see him play the title role in ‘Yasser’, a new multi-million dollar 3D feature being developed as a collaboration between Steven Spielberg’s DreamWorks Studios and the Doha Film Institute.

While nothing has yet been revealed, the film is believed to chronicle Arafat’s life, beginning with his involvement in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war as a young revolutionary, his founding of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation in 1964, the Lebanese Civil War, First Intifada, Oslo Accords and ending with the siege of his compound and eventual death in 2004. Executives have apparently acknowledged that “a fair amount of artistic license” will be employed in order to “spice up the romance and give stories such as the setting up of Fatah a more edge-of-the-seat, blockbuster edge”.

Anne Hathaway is widely expected to join the project as Arafat’s wife, Suha
Anne Hathaway is tipped to play Arafat’s wife Suha, while Chris Hemsworth is already on board as a younger Yasser Arafat. On the other side, Kevin Spacey is the bookie’s favourite to take the role of Yitzhak Rabin while Alan Rickman is reportedly in final contract negotiations stages that should see him become Arafat’s devious latter-day nemesis Benjamin Netanyahu.

Sources closes to Clooney say the A-lister is “over the moon” to be playing Arafat, and has “long dreamed of donning the iconic headdress and army fatigues”. No director has yet been lined up, but many in the industry expect the task to be handed to Peter Jackson, who has previously suggested any film about Arafat should be spread over three separate films.

“Biopics are huge business these days, with movies about the lives of Margaret Thatcher, Marilyn Monroe and Frankie Dettori having earned millions at the box office,” claimed film expert Jethro Goldstein, speaking to The Pan-Arabia Enquirer. “Yasser Arafat is a character with all the action, drama and emotion to take biopics into the lucrative 3D market, and Clooney – who looks the part as well as being politically minded – is the perfect choice as the lead.”
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Pan Arabian Enquirer?? Is it 1st April already?

There are some weird articles on that web site

tell me it's untrue

"Sources closes to Clooney say the A-lister is “over the moon” to be playing Arafat, and has “long dreamed of donning the iconic headdress and army fatigues”."

alrighty then...

As I said....some weird articles on this site which is
a satirical look at the news.


Lawrence of Arabia 2 shelved after Peter O’Toole announces retirement

Sony Pictures has apparently canned plans to produce a sequel to the 1962 classic Lawrence of Arabia following the revelation that its title star, Peter O’Toole, is retiring.

“It’s such a shame,” said an insider working on on Lawrence of Arabia: Resurrection, which was set to start shooting
in Jordan later this year.

“We had an amazing screenplay lined up that saw
Mr Of Arabia return having faked his own death on a motorbike and heading back to the Middle East to take on the German armies in World War II.
Omar Sharif was hugely excited about the reprising
his role as Sherif Ali.”


I can just see the two Silver Haired Seniors romping around
again on camels

Please tell me this is a very lame joke. Except for the casting of Alan Rickman, someone must be totally delusional. Can you just imagine the massive Arab protest for not casting an actor from the Middle East? Many compare Arafat to Martin Luther King at his height. Chris Hemsworth was totally hot in his last few pics, and showed great comedic timing. However he's as "white bread" as they come. Also isn't he supposed to be about 6'3"?

Davida, I think it's a spoof article.

Katiedot,
Then it's a lousy spoof. How about G staring in a boipic of George Wallace, who's the antithesis of everything G believes in? At least both are from the South. And make "white bread" hunk Chris Hemsworth, who actually was well cast as the son of a Greek God, play the true story of "The Roswell Aliens Whose Bodies Are Stored at Area-51?" LOL