VIN DIESEL is interviewed in the LA Times about his new movie Fast and Furious. At the end of the interview we get an update on his Hannibal movie project:

And for the last six years, Diesel has remained relentlessly dedicated to bringing a biopic about the Carthaginian military commander Hannibal to the screen. Over that time, producers have balked at its initial price tag of $230 million as well as Diesel's insistence on directing. Still, the ambiguously ethnic actor has gone as far as hiring a screenwriter to translate the script he and other writers have been working on into Punic -- an ancient language that has been extinct for more than 2,000 years.

Diesel said he identified with Hannibal on several levels.

"It's about overcoming insurmountable odds. But nothing speaks more to me than the fact that this was the first champion of multiculturalism," he said. "Rome's empire flourished because they were able to adopt the idea that many nationalities could coexist together. They learned that from Hannibal."

He weighed the consequences of pursuing his dream project.

"It takes someone with enough of an ego to believe they can tell this story better than anybody else. That's where I'm at," Diesel said, breaking into a wide grin. "They can't stop me. They can stomp me. Kick me when I'm down. But they won't stop me. Cross your fingers for me, brother!"

Fingers crossed!

I wonder if Father William Fulco is still doing the script. Translating English into vocalized Punic would be quite a challenge - indeed, a considerably greater challenge than translating it into first-century Aramaic for Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ.

Background here.