Fernando Meirelles Will Give Aristotle Onassis The Godfather Treatment
No one in Hollywood has come close to recreating the epic tapestry of power, politics and family (not to mention machine gun murders) onscreen that Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola established with The Godfather. That doesn't mean they aren't trying. Just today, director Fernando Meirelles (The Constant Gardener) and screenwriter Bráulio Mantovani (City of God) announced that they are developing a similarly ambitious project which will center on Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis, his sketchy business dealings and his sketchier involvement with the Kennedy family.
Introducing Onassis, a film that sounds genuinely interesting and a film that Movieline hopes will not spend a decade in development purgatory on IMDB. According to Vulture, Onassis will be based on Peter Evans's bestselling biography Nemesis: The True Story of Aristotle Onassis, Jackie O, and the Love Triangle That Brought Down the Kennedy. Although the shipping magnate is best known for marrying Jacqueline Kennedy, the biography focuses mostly on Aristotle's battle with the Kennedy family (specifically Robert, who prohibited the magnate from U.S. trade), his alleged involvement in Robert's assassination and his early relationship with Jacqueline -- who America hopes to God will not be played by Katie Holmes again.
· City of God's Fernando Meirelles Is Developing an Aristotle Onassis Biopic [Vulture]
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Last Fall I got on an onassis kick and bought every book written about him in English. Also bought two old VHS films. Which actor could play him today and do him justice? There is a goldmine out there of confidential information on him that will never see the light of day. Some of the books I read just came out and said he had Bobby Kennedy 'offed.' I think he had JFK 'offed' as well. Just my personal feelings. We will never know, will we? Surely his granddaughter will never allow a tell-all film be made. I think this is why no one has had the balls to undertake such a film. He was and continues to be an absolutely fascinating man. We'll see if the film ever sees the light of day.