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Big Things: Robert Pattinson to Join QUEEN OF THE DESERT for Herzog to Play Lawrence of Arabia

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As David Cronenberg’s new film COSMOPOLIS is about to open,
and as he puts the nail in the coffin for any hope of EASTERN PROMISES 2, the
star of the psychological thriller opening this weekend has been cast in a new
film with Naomi Watts called QUEEN OF THE DESERT, which will be directed by
noneother than Werner Herzog, reports The
Film Stage.

The biopic chronicles the life of Gertrude Bell, British
explorer played by Watts, in the desert. Who will Pattinson be playing? A
certain cinematic icon named T.E. Lawrence. You know, the one OF ARABIA.

It isn’t that that I’m scoffing at Pattinson for no
particular reason. I’m sure that he will be fine in COSMOPOLIS. Cronenberg has
even said that Pattinson is one of his new favorite actors to work with. No, I
am scoffing at Herzog’s decision to cast Pattinson for the obvious reason of
overlooking another actor. Another actor who practically played T.E. Lawrence
recently. Well, sort of. I’m talking about Michael Fassbender, people, who in
Ridley Scott’s PROMETHEUS, in Fassbender’s words, “is a dude playing an android
playing Peter O’Toole playing Lawrence of Arabia.” Seriously, how could Herzog
miss such a great opportunity like this? I’m disappointed. Production of QUEEN
OF THE DESERT is aiming to begin this fall.

What do you think of the casting decision? Do you think
Pattinson can effectively say things like, “Big things come from small ideas”?
Or do you think he’ll avoid trying to emulate Peter O’Toole?

Picture Credit: Variety

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— Kyle Turner

Kyle often describes his love for cinema and personality as, “I was conceived in 1938, but my mother just decided not to give birth to me until 1994.” His Facebook status is listed as “in a relationship with cinema”. Ideally, he wants his kids to have a “cultural elitist” gene. He has aspired to be a professional film critic since he was in second grade, a fact that garnered eyerolls from his classmates. When he is not writing, watching movies, doing homework, or eating, he is sleeping. Always snarky, he lives in suburban Connecticut.

2 Comments

  1. jo says:
    August 14, 2012 at 1:25 PM

    i read that it’s supposed to be a young lawrence of arabia. fassenbender isn’t old, but he just might not be what herzog was looking for. i’m a huge herzog fan, so i trust his judgement.

    Reply
  2. Green Miller says:
    August 18, 2012 at 10:25 AM

    I disagree w/ your assessment that Fassbender was playing O’Toole as T.E. Lawrence in ‘Prometheus’. You may just have that idea in your head because Fassbender’s character actually does the impersonation of O’Toole in the film. I didn’t find Fassbender’s restrained performance in ‘Prometheus’ at all resemblant of O’Toole otherwise. His performance in ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ was far more regal and proud.

    Reply

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