Al Pacino Brings 'Lear' to the Silver Screen

Th U.K.'s Screen Daily is reporting that Al Pacino will portRay King Lear in a new film adaptation directed by Michael Radford.  The two have previously collaborated on the film version of The Merchant of Venice (Pacino will deliver a second rendition of his Shylock live in Merchant for Shakespeare in the Park this summer). The film will begin filming in the U.K. in 2011.

Says Redford to Screen Daily: "I am really excited that Al and I are going to do another Shakespeare film together, and I'm hoping the audience will be excited and moved by our take on this great work...Lear is tailor-made for Al Pacino. Who wouldn't want to see one of the world's greatest movie actors in one of the greatest roles ever written?"

The film is being produced by Barry Navidi and Archlight Films.

Al Pacino will return to The Public, where he played Marcus Antonius in Stuart Vaughan's production of Julius Caesar (1988) in Shakespeare in the Park's Merchant of Venice as Shylock this summer. On Broadway, he won Tony Awards for his performances in Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie? and The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel and appeared in Camino Real, Richard III, American Buffalo, Chinese Coffee, Hughie (which he also directed), and two productions of Salome (1992 and 2003). His additional New York stage appearances include The Resistable Rise of Arturo Ui, The Local Stigmatic and The Indian Wants The Bronx. He has appeared in more than 35 films, receiving Academy Award nominations for his performances in The Godfather, Serpico, The Godfather: Part II, Dog Day Afternoon, ...And Justice For All, Dick Tracy and Glengarry GLen Ross; he won an Oscar for Scent of a Woman and an Emmy for Mike Nichols' miniseries Angels in America.