Star Al Pacino and director Michael Radford will team up on a big screen version of King Lear. HitFix Staff <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Al Pacino is ready to play one of Shakespeare's pinnacle roles.</p> <p>According to <em><a href="http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117999542.html?categoryid=13&amp;cs=1">Variety</a></em>, Pacino will play the title king in "King Lear," Michael Radford's adaptation of the William Shakespeare classic.&nbsp;</p> <p>This will be Pacino and Radford's second time tackling Shakespeare together. Pacino played Shylock in Radford's "Merchant of Venice," which made less than $4 million at the domestic box office in 2004.</p> <p>Barry Navidi, who produced the upcoming Pacino-directed "Salomaybe?" will produce.</p> <p>For the illiterate amongst you, "King Lear" focuses on an aging ruler who decides to divide his kingdom amongst his three daughters. It seems like a good idea at the time, but when Lear's faithful daughter Cordelia opts not to go through with the plan, tragedy ensues. Lots and lots of tragedy.</p> <p>Filmed versions of "King Lear" have starred Laurence Olivier, Orson Welles and Paul Schofield. Recent filmed stage productions have featured Ian Holm and Ian McKellen in the title roles.</p> <p>Radford, who adapted the script, hopes to secure financing and begin production on "King Lear" later this year, shooting entirely in Europe.</p> <p>Pacino was most recently seen in "88 Minutes," "Ocean's Thirteen" and "Righteous Kill."</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> movies 2009-02-04T04:30:38Z 402 Will reunite with his 'Merchant of Venice' director Michael Radford 2038-01-01T00:00:00Z false 283 false false false false false false false false false false 2009-2-3-al-pacino-crowned-king-lear 2009-02-03T23:29:00Z Al Pacino crowned 'King Lear' published Eastern Time (US & Canada) http://tinyurl.com/lmxjot Al Pacino crowned 'King Lear' 2009-09-01T03:38:42Z false 12 9