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Will George McFly and Robert Zemeckis reteam for BEOWULF'!'

Published at:  Aug 04, 2005 6:18:08 PM CDT

Ahoy, squirts! Quint here with an interesting little bit of potential cool-ass casting for Robert Zemeckis' BEOWULF, currently being adapted by Roger Avary and Neil Gaiman. I love me my Crispin Glover and the thought of him playing Grendel in a BEOWULF flick has me happy as can be. Fangoria reported this tidbit from an interview with Glover. In the article, Glover says the role isn't nailed down yet, so it ain't official, but having that little bit of Crispin's trademarked bat-shit insanity in the role of Grendel would be cooler than cool, in my opinion. What do you folks think?



CLICK IT HERE FOR FANGO'S STORY AND READ SOME DIRECT QUOTAGE FROM CRISPIN!!!





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    Readers Talkback

  • Aug 04, 2005 6:21:36 PM CDT

    Why is bat shit always associated with crazy people?

    by vern

    Also, bugfucking. Just curious, I know alot of crazy people but none of them got pet bats.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Aug 04, 2005 6:22:23 PM CDT

    HOLY DOUBLE-POSTING, BATMAN!!

    by masterwhedon

    Looks like Doc "he who's hung like a donkey" Falken got a little excited.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Aug 04, 2005 6:23:17 PM CDT

    Or he got Quint excited. Either way...

    by masterwhedon

  • Aug 04, 2005 6:24:15 PM CDT

    Thomas Wilson should play Beowulf,

    by yneway

    this I demand!

    Reply to Talkback

  • Aug 04, 2005 6:25:03 PM CDT

    They fixed it!!

    by masterwhedon

    Well, see what I'm talking about here: http://www.aintitcool.com/display.cgi?id=20913

    Reply to Talkback

  • Aug 04, 2005 6:28:29 PM CDT

    Funny, I read that headline and thought: Who's he going to

    by darthcorleone

    I don't remember Grendel having very many human characteristics in the original poem (or the power of speech, for that matter), but it seems like a good direction to go.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Aug 04, 2005 6:28:35 PM CDT

    sounds creepy, in a good way

    by quadrupletree

    Neil Gaiman writing a vehicle for Crhispan Glover. I'm getting chills.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Aug 04, 2005 6:32:36 PM CDT

    With a good start like this, could be all clear from here

    by 1crazyguy

    I love it when a movie starts things out on the right foot. Gets the hopes up and expectations started early.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Aug 04, 2005 6:34:33 PM CDT

    That said, it just occurred to me that Beowulf has to represent

    by darthcorleone

    Beowulf fights and kills boss number 1 (Grendel). Having completed that "level," Beowulf fights and kills boss number 2 (Grendel's mother) and advances to the final "stage." Beowulf fights and kills boss number 3 (the dragon), and he himself is killed in the process. Game over. That's the whole damn story, and there's really not much more to it. (After seeing Kill Bill Vol. 1, my first reaction was "best video game movie ever.")

    Reply to Talkback

  • Aug 04, 2005 6:42:42 PM CDT

    "Thomas Wilson should play Beowulf"

    by cockknocker

    Thou shalt taste my steel bro.. I mean buthead.

    Thomas Wilson has a beer and cheets on a truck full of manure.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Aug 04, 2005 6:43:30 PM CDT

    i really don't know what to expect from this movie...

    by mansep

    but it's got expensive flop written all over it... (aren't i the fair-chance-giving optimist!)

    Reply to Talkback

  • He was great as George McFly, until everybody realized that that was Crispin trying to act *natural*! Every role the guy has ever played, he's basically played George McFly. Worse actor than Keanu Reeves (by far)!

    Reply to Talkback

  • Aug 04, 2005 6:50:37 PM CDT

    Hmmm

    by meremoth

    I hope this movie kicks unholy ass. Please God let it.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Aug 04, 2005 6:58:28 PM CDT

    uhhhh......Wha?

    by bootskin

    Isn't Grendel supposed to be a huge, menacing beast, who's mother was even more of a huge menacing beast?
    I hope the Grendel costume has lots of furry padding cuz bat-shit he is, huge he ain't....

    Reply to Talkback

  • Aug 04, 2005 6:58:29 PM CDT

    Could someone please tell these people...

    by brodilicous

    Could Someone please tell these people that they've already done a screen adaption of Beowulf. It was called '13 Warriors' ... or better known as 'Eaters of the Dead' as written by Micheal Chrichton. Beowulf is a god damn poem... how do you make a movie out of a poem? I can understand writing a book, then that being adapted, but a poem?!?! Someone's been smoking too much cheeba. I'm all for making money out of original ideas but this is ridiculous.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Aug 04, 2005 7:00:58 PM CDT

    Could someone please tell Broidlicious...

    by bootskin

    It's "The 13th Warrior" not "13 Warriors"...?

    Thanks

    (BTW Eaters of the Dead was pretty kick-ass, and too short..)

    Reply to Talkback

  • Let me put my fanboy boner away. Maybe someone will wise-up and cast Glover as The Joker. He would scare the living shit out of the movie going public.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Aug 04, 2005 7:12:58 PM CDT

    Could someone please tell Bootskin ...

    by brodilicous

    to think of something better to say rather than correct my errors... I can see you probably wrote your thesis on that movie seeing as how you must be totally in love with Antonia Banderas and his rippling chest that you feel the need to correct me on the title of the movie. And yes the book ruled... but the movie was ok but i dont see how they could do better with the actual poem as a basis of making a movie.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Aug 04, 2005 7:59:38 PM CDT

    What do I think, Quint? Well, I think motion capture Beowulf is

    by hypeendshere

    As for Crispin....uh....whatever, I guess. Doesn't matter. It's a personality-free monster.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Aug 04, 2005 7:59:39 PM CDT

    Hey brodilicous

    by andruin

    Might wanna make notice of say the Oddyssey, which was based on a poem.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Aug 04, 2005 8:09:46 PM CDT

    but didn't crispen glover sue zemeckis before?

    by joestokowski

    yeah, i'm pretty sure he sued both zemeckis and spielberg over footage of him they used in back to the future 2. unless i'm wrong, i don't know.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Aug 04, 2005 8:12:25 PM CDT

    Isn't "batshit" acceptable? I don't see a reason to put

    by burlivesleftnut

    Hm. Talking about the spelling of batshit is more interesting than anything Zemekis can blow out his ass now a days. How sad.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Aug 04, 2005 8:15:22 PM CDT

    Crispy Gloves

    by vinceklortho

    just weird news, this is. How about news that he's playing Joker? That would seem more kick ass. I don't know how to picture this, just thinking of a little rat that is supposed to be a big beast?

    Reply to Talkback

  • Aug 04, 2005 8:20:27 PM CDT

    Could someone please tell Andruin

    by brodilicous

    That Homer's Odyssey was not a god damn poem, but an epic, and had many books to it with a story.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Aug 04, 2005 8:21:10 PM CDT

    if you had actually read the poem...

    by mrgreentheplant

    you'd know it's not a traditional rhyme time flowing metaphor-fest. it's more along the lines of The Odyssey or The Iliad (both made into several movies, why would hollywood not try to cash in again?), and deals more with heroic plot and huge speeches than actual literary beauty. its an "epic" poem, which i dont consider a poem at all.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Aug 04, 2005 8:44:27 PM CDT

    this version of Beowulf seems more interesting.

    by hypeendshere

    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0402057/ plus, it's got sarah polley in it. official site: http://www.beowulf-movie.com/

    Reply to Talkback

  • Aug 04, 2005 8:52:24 PM CDT

    I am waiting for the Butlerized Beowulf

    by cynibun

    For obvious perv and lust reasons of the female persuasion. (A moment of female silence in honor of Gerard Butler)

    And Cripsin Glover is just bizarre and good for bizarre roles only, but Grendel???? A speeded up guy driving around endlessly in a VW bettle, yes, but Grendel?

    Reply to Talkback

  • Aug 04, 2005 9:18:14 PM CDT

    You ALL have it wrong...

    by hervoyel

    Beowulf isn't any of that shit. It's a TELEVISION SERIES! Ok, look picture this. Beowulf AND Grendel are students at a school for wizards and shit. They grow up best friends but have a falling out over a hottie and so they must fight to the death in season 7. The whole thing builds up to that ending. We've got Whedon interested in writing it up and Berman plans to produce. We don't even have the cast finalized yet and there are already two toy companies bidding on the rights to the action figures. I know you're excited but I've saved the best for last. Playing our own version of "Dumbledore" will be none other than William Shatner. He's already signed! So........ What do you think?

    Reply to Talkback

  • Aug 04, 2005 9:19:21 PM CDT

    I forgot to add

    by hervoyel

    That shaky-cam guy from Battlestar Galactica? He's in.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Aug 04, 2005 10:14:24 PM CDT

    This hilarious.

    by dr_dreadlocks

    Guys, you're arguing about a poem.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Aug 04, 2005 10:15:07 PM CDT

    Re: My retarded title.

    by dr_dreadlocks

    I'm also Tarzan, you Jane.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Aug 04, 2005 10:39:54 PM CDT

    Ha Ha VERN

    by donnie_drunko

    Here Lately I myself have been struggling with the term Bat Shit Crazy. Strangely thou i have been using it more and more usually in reference to something Tom Crusie has done. Sadly this term as become not just a reference though to insanity but in everyday useage. For example I got a taco from Taco Bell one of those new Cheese Gordido Crunches and when I got home it was just a regualr crunchy Taco... I went back and and told them they messed my order up. They told me I ordered a plain crunchy. I paused then said dont make me go bat shit crazy....within minutes I had my Gordido Cheesy crunchy taco in my hands. God bless you Mr Crusie and I understand Vern . Its nice to see someone else wonder about this word useage.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Aug 04, 2005 11:25:55 PM CDT

    Can't make a movie from a poem?

    by billy_oblivion

    Gunga-Din.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Aug 04, 2005 11:46:10 PM CDT

    Riki tiki tavi

    by borgnine jr

    Riki tiki tavi was a poem...by Rudy Kipling. And it made for one hellacious tv cartoon. I can't wait for the live action Broadway adaptation.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Aug 04, 2005 11:52:04 PM CDT

    Holy plagiarizers of plagiarizers summoning plagiarizers from th

    by neosamurai85

    Swear that Melody is five hundred times creepier than the Radiator Girl

    Reply to Talkback

  • Aug 05, 2005 12:00:30 AM CDT

    Glover for The Joker...

    by performingmonkey

    The more I think about it, the more I know it would be wrong, but in a fucked up way that I would also like...if that makes any sense. However, I feel they will be casting The Joker younger than Glover, around the same age as Bale. That would make more sense. As long as it isn't Jude Law I'll live with it.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Aug 05, 2005 12:54:41 AM CDT

    "I'm making my lunch!"

    by danielkurland

    Crispin Glover's cameo in "Wild at Heart" is not only one of the best things in the movie, but one of the best things ever. He's going to be in Toronto this month screening his movie, and hopefully I'll get to see him.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Aug 05, 2005 12:55:21 AM CDT

    grendel...

    by seekshelter

    did anyone else ever have to read that book Grendel in school?? it was the beowulf story as told from the point of view of Grendel... that monster was crazy.. i could see a crispin glover playing it the way that book was written...

    Reply to Talkback

  • And yes I know it's a fucking limerick and not a poem.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Aug 05, 2005 2:27:24 AM CDT

    GLOVER FOR JOKER! WHOSE WITH ME? And I don't mean Danny... :

    by silentbobafett2

  • Aug 05, 2005 3:18:38 AM CDT

    "Hell of an American actor"

    by doc_mccoy

    Hahahahahahaha. Have you *seen* RIVER'S EDGE? AT CLOSE RANGE? WILD AT HEART? Glover sticks out like a sore thumb. His schtick actually works in CHARLIE'S ANGELS because the movie is so over-the-top, but the funny part most people don't realize is that he was trying to play to role totally realistic and straight. And I could tell you some great stories about his personal life that would have you rolling. Well, maybe not YOU, experiment 626, president of the George McFly fan club, but other people not so inexplicably loyal to that talentless weirdo.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Are they using CGI to and Hobbit-like tricks to make him really big? Or am I misremembering the poem? And are they using Gardner's Grendel to fill out the role?

    Reply to Talkback

  • Aug 05, 2005 9:34:28 AM CDT

    Best Beowulf/Glover adaptation ever...

    by tucson

    I saw JULIAN Glover's adaptation of Beowulf in 1985 (actually, I saw three of his four performances). He'd adapted the original Old English poem and pretty much recited it (about 90 minutes long) as a skald or bard of the time would've performed it. Yeah, my Old English isn't up to snuff, but, damn, it was amazing and exciting, just based on his voice and gestures and you know, acting ability. No CGI, no multi-million dollar expenditures, no weirdass "new" conceptualization.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Aug 05, 2005 9:36:36 AM CDT

    glover

    by alex p. keaton

    Lorraine Baines- Wait a minute, don't I know you from somewhere?
    George McFly- Yes. Yes. I'm George, George McFly. I'm your density. I mean... your destiny.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Aug 05, 2005 9:37:01 AM CDT

    greatn, your college prof messed it up. Grendel (like most mons

    by hypeendshere

    oh, and THIS MOVIE IS MOTION CAPTURE....like POLAR EXPRESS. don't worry about the 'costume and size' thing.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Aug 05, 2005 10:07:23 AM CDT

    Didn't Zemeckis not use Glover for the Back to the Future se

    by barry egan

  • Aug 05, 2005 11:25:13 AM CDT

    Performance Capture

    by brendon

    That's the term you are looking for, not motion capture. Let's not upset Mr. Z and the team. Well, I must say that this sounds pretty darn good. Don't know quite what approach Messrs. Gaiman and Avary have taken in the writing of Grendel, or even Zmeckis in the conception, but if andy Serkiss can play both a shrivelly green wotsit AND a chuffing big monkey...

    I'm in.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Aug 05, 2005 11:30:00 AM CDT

    but didn't crispen glover sue zemeckis before?

    by emeraldboy

    No, what happened was this Bob and bob(gale and zemeckis) wanted all the cast back for the 2nd movie and the all agreed with the exception of that girl whos name i cant remember who played jen in the first film and our friend Crispen Glover.

    With Lea Thompon cast as Jen Bob and Bob went after Crispen. There was just onr problem Glover wanted more moolah.

    He wouldnt budge from that position and so a standoff ensued. Bob and bob went to spielberg who told them that they could consider writing George Mcfly out of the movie.

    When BttF 2 was released it was mauled by critics who could understand the 2 act and they didnt like the whole new dark 1985.

    It was only with the release of the superb DVD SE triliogy that we learnd for the first about about the battle between Gale, Zemeckis and Glover.

    Finally I dont understand people who dont like these novies. You have to admire Zemeckis balls for pulling of these movies considring that his previous two movies were utter failures. Zemeckis truly is a revolutionary filmaker and I cant wait to see what he does next.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Aug 05, 2005 12:08:37 PM CDT

    two things.

    by quadrupletree

    First, Glover as the joker would go out and purchase ungodly amounts of ass then drop KICK said ASSes into a woodchipper. It would be that good.

    Second, shaky-cam in Battlestar Galactica is the single worst thing about that show and one of the worst ideas ever. I mean shaky-cam in space? Who's supposed to be filming it? Some guy in a space suit holding a camera and spining around wildly out of control in zero G? Dumb.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Aug 05, 2005 12:24:57 PM CDT

    Brodilicous

    by seepgood

    Epics ARE poems. Saying "it's not a poem, it's an epic!" is like saying "it's not a plane, it's an airliner!". And as for the Odyssey having a story - guess what? So does Beowulf. It's not as long as either of Homer's works, but it is long - more than 100 pages in the translation on my shelf. It's shorter than a novel, but then only the shortest novels can be adapted into feature films without major trimming. Also, I haven't read "Eaters of the Dead, but "The Thirteenth Warrior" was not an adaptation of Beowulf by any stretch of the imagination. About the only things it actually borrowed from Beowulf were the setting in the Dark Age Scandinavian world and the idea of noturnal raids on a settlement by an enigmatic menace. I assume you've never actually read Beowulf, otherwise you would know that. It might be a good idea to have some idea what the subject matter is like before you start bellowing about whether it's adaptable or not.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Aug 05, 2005 12:52:56 PM CDT

    SEX!

    by tango fett

    Wasn't their an 80's movie of Beowulf set in the future or something? I swear I saw it at Barnes and Noble.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Aug 05, 2005 1:03:21 PM CDT

    Sheepgood

    by voodoo ben

    Hate to argue with someone I agree with, but the 13th Warrior was, in a roundabout way, based on the Beowulf legend. Crichton wrote "Eaters of the Dead" in response to a colleague's assertion that, were he allowed to teach the most boring literature ever written, the first book in the class would be Beowulf. "Eaters of the Dead" was Crichton's defense - he proved that the Beowulf myth was an interesting, exciting story people could get into - if it was presented the right way. Since the 13th Warrior was based on Eaters of the Dead....

    Anyway, Crispin Glover is by far the best choice for the Joker as far as "big name" actors go. I'm convinced he's the only person who wouldnt fuck it up and go way over-the-top campy with it.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Aug 05, 2005 1:07:17 PM CDT

    shaky-cam

    by david assholehof

    Hey, quadrupletree, that effect was blatantly stolen from the effects in Firefly (Same FX Studio, anyone?) No, I'm NOT a Whedonite, but it IS a cool effect.. It makes the viewer feel like they are "out there".. If your not getting that feeling, you need to ease up on the shrooms so everything else doesn't have shaky-cam.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Aug 05, 2005 1:11:01 PM CDT

    Crispin Glover as the Joker

    by david assholehof

    Glover IS born to play the part based mainly on the feel they established in Begins. It just fits so well. Just for shits and giggles, he should reshoot some of the Jack/Joker dialogue and say "See, I could do this, but it sucked." Then do something better just to get his point across...

    Reply to Talkback

  • Aug 05, 2005 1:19:36 PM CDT

    tomatoes - to-mah-toes

    by hypeendshere

    the live-action version shot on location comes out in Sept. as for the future Beowulf that was staight to video, it was a Christopher Lambert debacle.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Aug 05, 2005 1:20:28 PM CDT

    Re: Eaters of the Dead

    by david assholehof

    I've read this a dozen times. I think it was some of Crichton's best writing. Yes, it was INSPIRED by Beowulf. Yes, it was an exploration into the concept. AND, it was an excellent book and a very slick movie, imho. Crichton always translates so well into filmplay... Coma, The Andromeda Strain, Westworld(!), Jurassic Park...

    Reply to Talkback

  • Aug 05, 2005 1:46:48 PM CDT

    Could someone please tell these people...

    by darthcorleone

    ...that they've already done a perfect adaptation of Beowulf and there's no need to do it again. It was released in 1999 and starred Christopher Lambert.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Aug 05, 2005 2:36:23 PM CDT

    I want Rubin & Ed on DVD

    by incrediburgible

    Glover with Howard Hessman rules.
    in that hotel conference room with the Echo People..... fantastic

    Reply to Talkback

  • Aug 05, 2005 2:38:50 PM CDT

    Hey you, Beowulf...

    by billy goat

    "...get your damn hands off her!"

    Reply to Talkback

  • Aug 05, 2005 3:27:50 PM CDT

    10 more to Billy Goat from me...

    by david assholehof

    "This village needs an enema!"

    Reply to Talkback

  • Aug 05, 2005 4:13:31 PM CDT

    Uh, Sarah Polley

    by justaguy

    She looks like Frodo in Beowulf.

    http://www.beowulfandgrendel.com/beowulfpictures/beowulfcharacters/selma.jpg

    Reply to Talkback

  • Aug 05, 2005 4:36:00 PM CDT

    Beowulf just happens to be my enemy...

    by f69

    ...and I'm afriad I'm not very good at confrontations.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Aug 05, 2005 6:04:20 PM CDT

    Yeah Coma is the Best Crichton...

    by flem_snopes

    ... ever written by Robin Cook...

    Reply to Talkback

  • Aug 05, 2005 7:06:40 PM CDT

    The Beaver Trilogy

    by **zardoz**

    I took a screenwriting class one summer and the teacher was Trent Harris, writer/director of Rubin & Ed. Trent was really hilarious and told everyone tales of his adventures in making movies. He showed us the Beaver Trilogy ever before it started appearing in festivals. He used it as an exercise to show the evolution of a project. The first section was a video project he did when he worked at a local TV station in Utah (this class was at the UofU). He was testing out a new camera, and some weird kid hanging around walked up and made conversation with him. Turns out this kid was a serious Olivia Newton John fan. He had he name (and Farah's) etched into his ride. He invited Trent to a talent competition in Beaver Utah the following week where he was going to sing an Olivia song. Thus began part one of the Beaver Trilogy. It was amazing video. He got all dressed up in Olivia drag and sang in falsetto. Total spectacle. Trent later got accepted into AFI, and filmed an adaptation of this with Sean Penn. Later on he did it again for his senior project with Crispin Glover. After this project he swore he would never work with Crispin again. Clearly he broke his promise, and we now have Rubin & Ed (although not on dvd)...

    Reply to Talkback

  • Aug 06, 2005 4:12:38 PM CDT

    Ben

    by seepgood

    Sorry, I should have been clearer - I was aware that Crichton's book was "inspired" by Beowulf, but how ever much or little of Beowulf was left in "Eaters of the Dead", there wasn't much left in the film version. Certainly not enough for it to be considered an adaptation of Beowulf, any more than you can consider "O Brother Where Art Thou?" an adaptation of the Odyssey. Interesting stuff about how it came about though - Crichton's not exactly plagued by low self-esteem, is he? I await John Grisham's "less boring" version of the Ramayana.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Aug 10, 2005 4:02:27 PM CDT

    Crispin Glover

    by chaos731

    is a god among men. Who else on earth could sell putting a cockroach on his anus any better than him? Plus, he was absolutely astounding in Willard. Also on that Late Show with David Letterman debacle many years ago. He's a great actor.

    Reply to Talkback

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