Scorsese Says Sony Hack Derailed Jolie’s Cleopatra Film

Martin Scorsese says the fallout from the 2014 Sony Pictures hack derailed his planned Cleopatra film starring Angelina Jolie, though his account does not establish that the cyberattack alone ended the project. In an interview with his daughter, Francesca Scorsese, for Tribeca’s Crafty series, the director recalled that the film was ready to move forward. He said screenwriter Eric Roth had prepared a script and Jolie was set to play Cleopatra VII. Scorsese joked that Seth Rogen should be blamed because the controversy surrounding his film The Interview had led to the Sony hack and ruined the Cleopatra project. The Sony cyberattack in November 2014 exposed company emails and other data. It followed threats connected to The Interview, a comedy starring Rogen and James Franco that depicted a fictional plot to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Sony had planned a wide theatrical release, but canceled it after threats against theaters; the film was later made available through other platforms. Scorsese’s comments offer a retrospective explanation for why his version did not proceed, but the project’s development had faced other difficulties. Reporting on the leaked...