The Topkapi Affair

:For The 1999 film, see

The Topkapi Affair (aka The Thomas Crown Affair 2) is the sequel to the 1999 film, The Thomas Crown Affair, which was a remake of the original 1968 film of the same name. Pierce Brosnan will reprise his role as a self-made billionaire Thomas Crown who now embarks on a new endeavor: to steal the Kasikci Diamond out of the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul.

The sequel will draw upon material from 1964's Topkapi, an MGM film, starring Melina Mercouri, Maximilian Schell, and Peter Ustinov. Both films are based on the Eric Ambler 1962 novel, The Light of Day, though the follow-up is stated to not closely follow the 1964 version.

As it stands Rene Russo, who co-starred in the 1999 film, will not be involved in the sequel.

Acclaimed director Paul Verhoeven will helm the sequel.

The film is currently in pre-production expected to begin filming later this year.

Though speculated for some time now a recent news feature posted on IMDB suggest Angelina Jolie is cast as the female lead opposite Pierce Brosnan in the sequel.

Cast
*Pierce Brosnan as Thomas Crown
*Angelina Jolie (Rumored)

Plot
Thomas Crown (Pierce Brosnan), the adventageous billionaire returns, now finding himself in Istanbul, unable to resist the thrill of crime, this time his penchant for art is replaced by one of jewels as he begins his newest challenge; to steal the Kasikci Diamond out of the Topkapi Palace. He will be forced to employ all his cunning and skill to twhart those who would seek to put an end to his latest "game" as the movie sweeps across Europe and the Middle East as Crown becomes entangled in a centuries old feud and must decide how much he's truly willing to risk for love.

Production
To be produced by Pierce Brosnan and his Irish DreamTeam Films, his producing partner Beau St. Clair will share producers credit as with the 1999 film. Regarding the remake in a 2005 interview to FilmFocus the pair commented: "It's not so much a sequel," St. Clair told us, "maybe a new instalment. We're really going to go out there again and we're kind-of on the tightrope with this." As Brosnan explained to FilmFocus, "MGM wanted us and pushed us - they were saying 'Give us Thomas Crown.' We were reluctant initially, but they told us to have a look at Topkapi." "We looked at Topkapi and found an angle in there for Thomas Crown," Brosnan told us, "We're using the diamond dagger, and we're using that as a key into the story, really. That's the Trojan horse again, but it'll be much more Thomas Crown-oriented in structure."

Regarding Rene Russo's involvement as art insurer Catherine Banning from the 1999 movie Brosnan stated "It's a different woman this time," he said, "and a different affair."

On Nov. 11 2007 a press release was issued from MGM announcing Basic Instinct director Paul Verhoeven as the man who will tackle the sequel.

Continuing to place high priority on building out its own tent pole franchises, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. has signed Paul Verhoeven to direct the highly anticipated romantic thriller THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR 2, the second installment in MGM's highly successful THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR franchise.
Producing partner Beau St. Clair commented, "MGM came to us after the first film with the idea that Thomas Crown was an intriguing, modern character worthy of a franchise. So Pierce and I talked a lot about how to continue his story in a different and surprising way. Given our ambitions, to put Crown in an international setting with a bigger set of challenges, we couldn't have found a more ideal director than Paul Verhoeven."

Added Brosnan, "Paul is on board to make a sexy, intelligent film and we're very pleased to be working with him and also pleased to be continuing our partnership with MGM."

"I love to tease the audience, to challenge their expectations for characters and storylines," said Verhoeven. "This movie provides an incredible opportunity to push and pull the audience, whether through intense action and suspense or light-handed humor. I'm very much looking forward to working with Pierce, his Irish DreamTime team and MGM/UA."

MGM set a February 2008 start date for the film pre writers strike. It is unknown whether the curerent actors strike will affect production.

It was reported Paul Verhoeven and producer Mario Kassar visited Turkey in May 2008 though it is unclear if this was for official location scotuing for the film.

On July 24th 2008 IMDB posted a news article stating Angelina Jolie as being cast in the sequel.

Angelina Jolie has reportedly been ordered to put on weight for a role in the forthcoming sequel to The Thomas Crown Affair. The actress is set to star in the follow-up to the 1999 remake alongside Pierce Brosnan - but film bosses are said to have ordered her to pile on the pounds in preparation for the role. Jolie sparked fears for her health last year when she became extremely thin - blaming the weight loss on the emotional distress she suffered following the death of her mother Marcheline Bertrand in January 2007. But producers of the new Thomas Crown Affair movie are hoping Jolie - who gave birth to twins earlier this month - will be back to full health before filming starts. A source tells British newspaper the Daily Mirror, "Ideally they want Angelina to put on two stone (12.7 kilograms) for the role. It is going to be very physically demanding, which is why they want her to carry the extra weight. They don't want a reprise of what happened with Wanted, where she was fainting and they had to take her costumes in."

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