A Good Year for ‘Gertrude Bell’ as Ridley Scott Looking to Direct Biopic

For a woman most people have never heard of, hers is a story that’s been getting some serious attention from a couple of cinematic heavyweights over the last few months. Her life plays out like an Indiana Jones script re-written by the team behind Lawrence of Arabia. Just last month it was reported that Werner Herzog had a Bell film in the works and hoped on casting Naomi Watts in the lead. However, the unconventional filmmaker isn’t the only one interested in getting this film off the ground. According to Deadline, Ridley Scott is developing a biopic about the British heroine and chances are his version will overshadow Herzog’s and maybe even eliminate it completely. Currently, Scott has many projects in the works so, but if The Constant Gardener scribe Jeffrey Caine gets cracking – you just never know what Scott Free will produce next.

Gist: Story follows the life of Gertrude Bell, an English writer, traveller, political officer, administrator, and archaeologist who explored, mapped, and became highly influential to British imperial policy-making due to her extensive travels in Greater Syria, Mesopotamia, Asia Minor, and Arabia. With a major role in establishing and helping administer the modern state of Iraq, she utilized her unique perspective from her travels and relations with tribal leaders throughout the Middle East. From the World War I period until her death, she was the only woman holding political power and influence in shaping British imperial policy in the Middle East.

Worth Noting: Currently producing over half a dozen films, Scott still manages to find the time to direct. He’s in middle of directing the much talked about Alien prequel turned original sci-fi film no longer associated with the franchise, Prometheus (written by Lost creator and aspiring prince of sci-fi Damon Lindelof) starring Michael Fassbender (Inglourious Basterds) and Charlize Theron. The sci-fi thriller should be ready to hit theatres next year.

Do We Care?: Although Watts might seem like the right choice for Herzog, we’d love to see chameleon Cate Blanchett take the lead in Scott’s version (she was of course in his last effort, Robin Hood). She’s already proven that she can conquer roles depicting real people like Katherine Hepburn and Elizabeth I, and we think she’s the go to woman for a role of this stature. Our runner-up choice for the role of Ms. Bell would have to be Kate Winslet. She’s ‘the other British powerhouse’ and when it comes to period pieces and dramas and she brings it every time. We’ll be sure to keep our ears to the ground for eventual casting news – perhaps same time next year.