While it would have been better to see a Martin Scorsese movie with Elizabeth Taylor in it, sadly that’s no longer feasible, but it is possible the Taxi Driver helmer will be making a movie about her and her tempestuous love-hate relationship with Richard Burton.
Deadline reports that Paramount is busy finalising a deal to put together a movie about Burton and Taylor, with Scorsese loosely attached as director. They’ve optioned Furious Love, the book by Sam Kashner and Nancy Schoenberger that was published last year, to base it on, which chronicles how the two stars passions ignited controversy in the 60s, when they started an affair on the set of Cleopatra, while both being married to other people. They became the first real paparazzi couple, with photographers following them everywhere in order to feed the scandal sheets. It really was a big storm, even drawing condemnation from the Vatican.
They later famous married twice, enduring a passion of extreme highs and lows. Although they finally parted in 1976, it’s believed that neither ever really got over the other, seeing them as their ultimate love, even though their tempestuousness meant they could never stay together. It’s a classic Hollywood romance, of the sort that would seem a bit OTT and soapy if it weren’t true.
It’s little suprise this news is coming so soon after Taylor’s death. It’s a Tinsel Town story studios have been itching to get their hands on, but it would have been a potential legal minefield to tell on the big screen without buying Taylor’s life rights, which she wasn’t going to give up. However you can’t slander a dead person, which makes things a lot easier. Even so, Paramount has gotten a pledge of co-operation from Burton’s widow, to make his library available as a resource, and have also reached out to Taylor’s estate in the hopes they’ll come onboard too.
With Scorsese at the helm, it could be one hell of a movie, as it’s one hell of a story. So let’s hope it all comes together.