Israel Loyalist Harvey Weinstein Picks Up Julian Schnabel's Palestinean Drama Miral

Were it not for their previous, successful collaborations on the 1996 biopic Basquiat and 2008's Lou Reed's Berlin, I would pay top freaking dollar for a ringside seat to watch Julian Schnabel and Harvey Weinstein battle over Miral, the Schnabel drama acquired Monday by the Weinstein Company. Never mind the likely editing-suite drama or the marketing meltdowns sure to follow Harvey's modest entreaty, "Frieda Pinto. Wild Wild Girls. Think about it." This time it's allll about the Holy Land.

Based on a novel by Rula Jebreal, Schnabel's film stars Pinto as the Palestinean title character, a woman who spent her childhood in a Jerusalem orphanage opened by Hind Husseini (Hiam Abbass) shortly after the establishment of Israel in 1948. Years later, teaching in a refugee camp, Miral falls in love with an activist while reckoning with Husseini's message that "education is the the road to peace." Then Willem Dafoe and Vanessa Redgrave show up and an Oscar campaign commences forthwith.

At least that appears to be the rough idea. It's already a relatively congested awards season for the Weinsteins with The Tillman Story and Blue Valentine (and possibly The Company Men) on the way, but Schnabel and producer Jon Kilik no doubt expect a push of some sort. And even Harvey is doing his early best to position the film for the Academy's Israel-sensitive voter base, telling Variety:

"It is the first film I am involved in that shows the 'other side' of the Israel-Palestine conflict[.] As a staunch supporter of Israel, I thought this would be a movie I would have a hard time wrapping my head around. However, meeting Rula moved me to open my heart and mind and I hope we can do that same with audiences worldwide."

We'll see, I guess. Venice, here they come.

· TWC takes on Miral [Variety]