Napoleon and Betsy, Together Again?
Reports are widely circulating that Al Pacino will star as Napoleon in exile on the island of St. Helena. The movie, based on Staton Rabin’s children’s book, Betsy and the Emperor, (New York, Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2004) will focus on the relationship of Napoleon with Betsy Balcombe, the 14-year-old daughter of Napoleon’s hosts William and Jane Balcombe at the Briars in the beginning of his exile. Their friendly relationship is, of course, well documented by, among other things, Betsy’s own memoires (Abell, Lucia Elizabeth (Balcombe), To Befriend an Emperor: Betsy Balcombe’s Memoirs of Napoleon on St Helena. Introduction by J. David Markham. Welwyn Garden City, Ravenhall Books, 2005). While there is no significant evidence that their relationship was ever romantic, the movie will apparently explore that possibility, as well as the possibility that they hatched up a plot that threatened their lives and the stability of Europe. |
 Al Pacino |
Reports have often told of Pacino’s interest in playing Napoleon. One of the best actors of his day, Pacino has won two Tony Awards and was nominated eight times for an Oscar, winning one for ‘Scent of a Woman.’ He is perhaps best known for the three Godfather movies, and is also said to be staring in a new version of ‘King Lear.’ According to reports, the screen play will be by Brian Edgar, the director will be John Curran, and the film will be produced by Killer Films.