We spoke to Neil Jordan recently about his forthcoming Breakfast On Pluto, and asked him about his next film, Borgia, which we reported on _here**._He told us the basis for the plot, but also a little new information about the themes of the film.
"Films? Yeah, I’ve got this film about the Lucrezia Borgia and her family that I’m meant to be making next spring. It’s called Borgia, with Scarlett Johansson and Colin Farrell. He plays Cesare Borgia, who is the basis for Machiavelli’s The Prince. Machiavelli wrote a book called The Prince about politics as etymology, almost, and he regarded this character, Cesare Borgia, as the most perfect example of the amoral use of power. We’re filming in Italy and Romania."
"It’s a story about power and corruption. It’s basically the story of how Lucrezia Borgia's father bought the papacy and used the papacy to build an empire, which corrupted an entire family. It’s kind of an epic about greed and corruption."
And all this with two of the most talked about celebrities on the planet. Jordan previously produced Intermission, in which Farrell appeared, but has not previously worked with Johansson. When we suggested that the combination of rumoured man-eater Johansson and ladykiller Farrell in the same film was likely to drive the tabloids absolutely crazy, Jordan seemed surprised. "Will they? (Laughs) I’ll keep them away from each other, I promise! But they’re not doing it for large fees, you know?"