TheTimesMay13

THE TIMES MAY 13 2004

Pacino forgoes pound of flesh to play Shylock

Actor cuts his fee to take major Shakespeare role he has always wanted, reports Dalya Alberge from Cannes

AL PACINO has waived his multimillion pound fee to star as Shylock in an ambitious British production of The Merchant of Venice.

The Hollywood star has wanted to play the role for years. When he heard that Michael Radford, the British director whose films include the Oscar-winning Il Postino and 1984, with Richard Burton, was planning an adaptation, he agreed to take a fraction of the $17 million (£8.6 million) fee that he can command today.

"I feel I've always been destined to play Shylock", he said.

Those who have seen early footage are tipping him for Oscar recognition.

The production, which is being promoted at the Cannes Film Festival, also boasts an A-list cast of British stars, including Joseph Fiennes and Jeremy Irons. Lynn Collins, an American actress tipped to be a star, plays Portia.

It was filmed across Venice, on the Rialto Bridge, in the synagogue and in the Doge's Palace. The authorities closed off the Grand Canal, venice's main waterway, for the production.

The film, which is believed to have cost $27 million, is co-produced by Movision Entertainment, a British company that has produced seven films in the past year with a combined budget of $100 million. Peter James, its joint managing director, said that if the big studios had made this film it could have cost up to $100 million. He said: "They are locked into big overheads. The stars get full whack and, at $100 million, the picture has got to be a blockbuster to make serious money."

Pacino is best known for film classics such as the Godfather trilogy and Scarface, but Shakespeare has been his lifelong passion. He portrays Shylock as a character who is neither good nor bad, but is put in a certain situation and behaves badly.

In telling the story of the animosity between Christian noblemen and the Jewish merchant and moneylender, the film will present a story of human conflict, one that is not dissimilar to the conflict between Christians and Muslims today, Mr Radford said - "Two groups of people who don't understand each other."

Once Pacino's name was attached to the production, the rest fell into place. Mr Bradford said: "It needed a star to get the movie rolling."

Casting was difficult. "Pacino is one of those people who's been rained in Shakespeare and knows how to do it. "I've seen some brilliant actors who, when it comes to this stuff, haven't got the technique. I don't have time to train them."

The film is set in 1596, but with a contemporary feel. Mr Bradford does not believe that updated versions of Shakespeare work on screen. "Cinema has brutal realism. You have to be careful with metaphors. It bangs you over the head. It's usually there to illustrate what's in the director's head." The royal premiere is set for November.