Knightley to Play Princess Di?

After 'The Queen' I guess this is the new fad

By: Brad Brevet
Published: Tuesday, May 29th 2007 at 6:09 AM

Cinematical pieced together some news out of the Cannes Film Festival as they report that a new book about Princess Diana was all the rage in Cannes last week, sparking an all-out bidding war with plenty of folks (including Paramount, who is said to be "desperate for the rights") itching for some of what got Helen Mirren that Oscar.

The book is "Diana and the Paparazzi" by Glenn Harvey and Mark Saunders (preorder here) and it is expected to hit book stores on September 28. A description of the book from Ipgbook.com says:

Princess Diana's beautiful face adorned everything from charity campaigns to style magazines, from royal family memorabilia to tabloid newspapers. Through their work, paparazzi photographers Glenn Harvey and Mark Saunders witnessed a side to her personality that the public did not. This collection brings together their most exclusive pictures with the extraordinary stories behind them. There are confrontations, elaborate games of cat and mouse, and hilarious anecdotes within these pages as well as a unique insight into the workings of the paparazzi and the pressures they place upon their subjects. The photographs discussed include Diana sneaking the married Oliver Hoare into Kensington Palace for a secret nightcap and Princess Diana with Will Carling during a secret visit to Twickenham. Mark and Glenn's exploits highlight the tenuous relationship they had with the Princess, often angering her, at other times being manipulated to protect her public image, but throughout, the photographers never lose sight of the respect and high esteem in which they held the Princess.

So, Harvey and Saunders are paparazzi themselves? That is a little interesting.

Anyhow, word is that Keira Knightley is the one being sought after for the lead role of Princess Di. Cinematical reports that producer Quentin Reynolds has been talking about the film and said, "Already the word in Hollywood is 'get Knightley!' It's a story that has everything; pathos, tragedy, comedy, adventure … and Princess Diana. For every pound The Queen makes, a film about Diana would make ten."

I am not sure if this movie automatically makes that much money, there needs to be a good script and director involved. Of course Knightley being involved might help, but I don't particularly see Di coming out of her. Who knows, what do you think?