From Bande-a-part:

 “Can you tell us something about your next film, Queen of the Desert?

Within ten days I will start mixing. The filming and editing are completed and I should be able to put an end to the film in the first days of December. I do not know when or where it will be shown first.

The casting is prestigious: Nicole Kidman, James Franco, Robert Pattinson …

They all wanted to really work with me. I was asked why I chose Pattinson. It’s not a big role, and it matched perfectly. I needed an Englishman, who still has the air of a schoolboy, but which is very intelligent. He plays Lawrence of Arabia, but at age 22, on an archaeological site. Kidman, who plays the title role, wondered what that kid got to do and an archaeologist replied that the kid in question has a PhD. Pattinson is very good in this role. He is an intelligent man and the choice was quite natural.

The subject brings us to archeology to your roots, to your grandfather.

It’s not a conscious choice. The main character is partly based on the historical figure of an Englishwoman who worked on archaeological sites. She met Lawrence of Arabia, who was then 22 years. We must not seek a hidden meaning, linked in one way or another to my grandfather. But I am very happy with the result.”

Translation by Google.

Thanks @Sallyvg