Polanski Picks Volcanic Challenge
Roman Polanski has confirmed that he has a new project in the pipeline. At 150 million dollars, it's being billed as the most expensive European film of all time.
Pompeii will bring to life the last days of the historic Roman town before it was engulfed by lava. The Polish director has some lively source material to work with, as inspiration came from Robert Harris's best-selling novel of the same name.
A trip back to the Roman Empire seems an unlikely departure for Polanski. That said, tragedies are familiar themes to the director, both in the private and artistic spheres.
Polanski grew up in Cracow, but his life was turned upside down by the Nazi invasion of 1939. A scion of an assimilated Jewish family, he survived the war through being hidden by local Catholic families. This was the beginning of a highly colourful life that has repeatedly been rocked by controversy. However, confounding the press, the director has now been happily married for some 18 years to French actress Emmanuelle Seigner. He has two young children by Mrs Seigneur, Morgane and Elvis - a future king perhaps?