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Today for #oldhollywoodmovieslist, we suggest Cleopatra (1963). Joseph L. Mankiewicz hoped that the film would be released as two separate pictures, "Caesar and Cleopatra" followed by "Antony and Cleopatra." Each was to run approximately three hours. 20th Century-Fox decided against this, and released the film we know today. It runs just over four hours. It is hoped that the missing two hours will be located and that one day a six-hour 'director's cut' will be available.
Filming of Cleopatra's entrance into Rome was delayed for months due to lighting problems. The American child actor who played her four-year-old son got taller during the delay. He was replaced by an Italian boy, complete with a thick, inappropriate accent.
Elizabeth Taylor's contract stipulated that her salary be paid out as follows: $125,000 for 16 weeks of work, $50,000 a week afterward, and 10% of the gross (with no break-even point). When filming restarted in Rome in 1961, she had earned well over $2 million. In 1963, 20th Century Fox sued Taylor and Richard Burton for $50 million. Taylor countersued, and the studio finally settled in 1966. Her ultimate take for the film was $7 million. #oldhollywood #elizabethtaylor #richardburton #rexharrison
“‘If you don’t do it as well as it was done on the stage,’ they said, ‘we’ll shoot you’.” - George Cukor on directing MY FAIR LADY (1964).⭐️
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Luckily it all worked out and the film won 8 Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director for Cukor. Here’s Audrey Hepburn as Eliza Doolittle in the classic ascot scene. ⭐️#happybirthdaygeorgecukor