Los Angeles, June 21: Actress Angelina Jolie, who will next be seen reprising her role as gun-toting adventure queen Lara Croft, may soon be portraying one of history's most famous monarchs. Jolie is in talks with the Walt Disney Co. to star as the 18th-century Russian empress Catherine the Great in the upcoming feature project "Love and Honor," a Disney spokeswoman said on Friday. The spokeswoman declined to give any further details of the negotiations, which were first reported by the Hollywood trade paper Daily Variety. The part of Catherine has become one of the most sought-after roles among Hollywood's A-list actresses.
"Love and Honor," set mostly in Russia, centers on an envoy sent by Benjamin Franklin to persuade Catherine the Great to keep Russia from joining Britain's campaign to put down the American Revolution. The emissary gains a place at Russia's royal court by helping to crush a Cossack revolt and earns Catherine's personal favor by proving his prowess in the romance department.
There was no word about who would play Catherine's Yankee love interest.
The film is being written and directed by Randall Wallace, whose previous history-based screenplays include "Braveheart," "Pearl Harbor," "Man in the Iron Mask" and "We Were Soldiers," the latter two of which he also directed.
Jolie's next film, "Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life," opens July 25, with the Oscar-winning actress returning to the big screen as the weapons-savvy heroine based on a wildly popular video game. Bureau Report