Al Pacino to play Napoleon

Al Pacino, who has long been interested in tackling the character of Napoleon, is on tap to play the French emperor in a screen adaptation of Staton Rabin’s children’s book “Betsy and the Emperor.”

GC Corp., the venture capital fund headed by Adi Cohen and Joseph Grinkorn, has picked up rights to the project that had been held by the Bob Yari Co. GC, which will secure financing, has assigned “Betsy” to Killer Films, with plans to begin filming in late autumn.

John Curran (“The Painted Veil”) is attached to direct from a screenplay by Brian Edgar.

Producing are Killer Films’ Christine Vachon and Pamela Koffler as well as Zvi Howard Rosenman, Colleen Camp and Fonda Snyder. Cohen and John Wells will serve as exec produce.

Killer, Curran and Pacino are repped by CAA. Rosenman, Snyder and Rabin are repped by Lynn Pleshette for this project, and Camp is repped by Gersh.