Constantin signs Potente for 'Pope Joan'
Potente for 'Pope'
Oct 6, 2006
MUNICH -- Franka Potente will star in Constantin Film's big-screen version of Donna Cross' best-selling novel about a female pope, "Pope Joan," the company announced Thursday.
Potente will play Johanna von Ingelheim, a 9th century woman of English extraction born in the German city of Mainz who disguises herself as a man and rises through the Vatican ranks.
The film, originally delayed by legal wrangles and the bankruptcy of former co-producer Senator Film, is scheduled to begin shooting in May.
Constantin Films, the production house, will make both a film for theatrical release as well as a two-part television version for broadcast later on. Volker Schloendorff ("The Tin Drum") is set to direct.
The novel "Pope Joan," first published in 1996 and translated into German as "Die Paepstin" or "The Papess," has sold more than four million copies in the territory -- making it one of Germany's biggest-selling books ever.
Potente will play Johanna von Ingelheim, a 9th century woman of English extraction born in the German city of Mainz who disguises herself as a man and rises through the Vatican ranks.
The film, originally delayed by legal wrangles and the bankruptcy of former co-producer Senator Film, is scheduled to begin shooting in May.
Constantin Films, the production house, will make both a film for theatrical release as well as a two-part television version for broadcast later on. Volker Schloendorff ("The Tin Drum") is set to direct.
The novel "Pope Joan," first published in 1996 and translated into German as "Die Paepstin" or "The Papess," has sold more than four million copies in the territory -- making it one of Germany's biggest-selling books ever.
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