According to Variety, producer Scott Rudin has just paid $2 million for the rights to Robert Graves’ novel I, Claudius.
Several studios fought for Graves’ famed book about the Roman Empire as told through the eyes of Claudius — a member of the imperial family who hid his brilliance behind a stutter and a limp but wound up outsmarting his rivals to become emperor in 41 A.D. Story ends with the crowning of Nero in 54 A.D. The book featured all the attendant backstabbing, violence and debauchery that was part and parcel of the Roman ruling class.
The BBC turned Graves’ novel into an Emmy-winning 13-part miniseries in 1976, with Derek Jacobi playing Claudius.
Neither DiCaprio nor Monahan have deals in place, but the actor just worked with Rudin on the DreamWorks drama “Revolutionary Road.”