Here’s some script notes a script doctor sent Amy Pascal from the Angelina Jolie movie:
Page 1.
· Ptolemy killing Pompey is the incident that sends Cleopatra into motion. She seizes the opportunity to get into the palace and to Caesar. And, she should make Caesar aware of this. He¹s part of her plan.
· Cleopatra knows she has serious enemies in Egypt and part of her reasoning for going to Rome is to solidify her position. When she returns, rather than managing a plague, she must immediately deal with the threat to her power in a series of strategic assassinations.
· Cleopatra and Octavian need to be equally matched as they vie for their positions with Caesar. Octavian must recognize her as a dangerous adversary and not be so dismissive.
· Going to Fulvia should be Cleopatra¹s idea. After Caesar¹s death, Cleopatra needs to figure out how to get what she wants from Marc Antony, who is now her new boss. She appreciates Fulvia¹s loyalty, brains and ambition. Together, they should engineer the Tarses meeting and make it appear to be Marc Antony¹s idea.
· Cleopatra should suggest that Marc Antony marry Octavia in a move to protect them from Octavian. But, although it is her idea, she is heartbroken nonetheless. It¹s her sacrifice for the greater good, which is Egypt.
· Because this is a love story, Marc Antony should return to Cleopatra finding it impossible to be away from her. After they marry, they both know they¹re doomed.
· At Actium, Marc Antony needs to force her to leave for her own safety. She doesn¹t want to leave but he sends her, knowing it¹s unlikely they will ever see each other again.
· Turn up the boil at the end of the movie. Punctuate how badly Octavian desires her total humiliation and underscore the triumph of her suicide and the brandishing of her myth, and that of ancient Egypt, for all time.