Cool News
Ridley Scott's NOTTINGHAM Is Now...(Drumroll)...ROBIN HOOD!!
Merrick here...
Ridley Scott spoke with MTV about his endlessly-in-development Robin Hood project.
Last we heard, the project, then called NOTTINGHAM, was to be an alternate take on the myhtos & was to feature Russell Crowe as a sympathetic Sheriff of Nottingham -vs- a not-entirely sympathetic Robin Hood.
Seems this has now morphed into a more traditional Robin Hood project. Called: ROBIN HOOD.
Scott was eager to say that he had changed his mind, and that Crowe will simply portray the famed archer who rises from an unlikely background. “Robin Hood is in the army of Richard Coeur de Lion,” he said of how we’ll find the character early in the film “He is a bowman in the army of Richard Coeur de Lion.”
[edit]
“[Crowe as both Robin and the Sheriff of Nottingham] was an idea so far back, way back when at the time I had this proposed to me, and I read it and thought, ‘I don’t really know what it does for it, but it’s alright’,” Scott recalled of the now-abandoned idea. “It is better to simply have the evolution of a character called Robin Hood, who will come out of a point in the Crusades which is the end.
[edit]
So, rather than the Robin-vs.-Sheriff showdowns we’ve come to expect from “Robin Hood” movies, Scott has instead employed the history of the time to make an entire country the villain. “It is from France. It is the French,” he insisted. “The villain is much bigger in that sense; much more important, and much more dangerous.”
...says THIS ARTICLE over at MTV's Movie Blog.
[edit]
“[Crowe as both Robin and the Sheriff of Nottingham] was an idea so far back, way back when at the time I had this proposed to me, and I read it and thought, ‘I don’t really know what it does for it, but it’s alright’,” Scott recalled of the now-abandoned idea. “It is better to simply have the evolution of a character called Robin Hood, who will come out of a point in the Crusades which is the end.
[edit]
So, rather than the Robin-vs.-Sheriff showdowns we’ve come to expect from “Robin Hood” movies, Scott has instead employed the history of the time to make an entire country the villain. “It is from France. It is the French,” he insisted. “The villain is much bigger in that sense; much more important, and much more dangerous.”
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Really, i mean really....
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I don't quite know what to think about this. Its an entirely different project. All together.
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I'm underwhelmed
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Feb 18, 2009 10:13:38 AM CST
While I am always up for the villification of France...
by james westfall
I don't know that it actually applies to this time period anymore, historically, or... oh screw it! Bring on the French hate. It's been too damn long! =)
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This is like someone buying the rights to Wicked and then deciding to make The Wizard of Oz.
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I love Ridley Scott and Crowe, but this idea, exploring Robin Hood's origin, sounds laaaaame. Michael Curtiz and Errol Flynn's Adventures of Robin Hood is still the high water mark. The scene where Flynn fights off soldiers with a dead stag across his shoulders is one of the best movie openings ever.
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Instead of just calling him Richard the Lionhearted he is Richard Coeur de Lion! Dont you see how Historical research went into this picture??!! I mean gosh! such unappreciatinve fans! What were you expecting? that a studio would risk a bunch of money on a new and intellectually interesting twist?
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A more sympathetic sheriff?? Worst idea ever man. What kind of borderline fascist garbage is that?
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ok, there are TONS of movies called Robin Hood. Keeping it Nottingham was one of two reasons i would have seen this. the other being ridley scott.
but now i have no motivation to see it. its the same old story.
and how in the world is FRANCE a villain? try the sheriff of nottingham. maybe explain his problems, make it his story.
otherwise, this is just the kevin costner version with good direction and not crappy (cough kostner cough) acting.
maybe some british accents, too. that might help. -
Anytime a film has this many redesigns and endless re-envisionings (a la 13th Warrior), it tends to suck ye olde royal ass (Kingdom of Heaven anyone?).
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Then hire the French.
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"Does it come in green"?
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the Errol Flynn is far superior, the Costner movie is terrible
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Feb 18, 2009 10:30:30 AM CST
Ridley Scot = Overrated. Sure, he made Alien 30 Yrs. Ago!
by tylerdurden3395
GREAT Scott Films = Alien, Thelma and Louise, Hannibal (yeah I said it, Hannibal). GOOD but hopelessly overrated Scott films = Blade Runner, Gladiator, Black Hawk Down, Matchstick Men. BAD Scott movies = Legend, Someone to Watch Over me, Black Rain, 1492, White Squall, GI Jane, A Good Year. (Havent seen American Gangster and Body of Lies looked like utter crap.) Give me TONY Scott anyday!
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I fart in your general direction !
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WERMGYQBXwc
Just because i like you guys, welcome to the best robin hood.... -
Fronchinator!
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I blow my nose on you.
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Feb 18, 2009 10:44:07 AM CST
Did the spectacular success of "King Arthur" give him a clue?
by jackpumpkinhead
That other recent "modern and realistic retelling of" (shitting on) myths and legends?
By the way, if Rasshole is Robin, then cast Bale as the sheriff, so that they can throw tantrums and telephones at each other every day.
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Feb 18, 2009 10:44:24 AM CST
I'd actually be far more interested in a Green Arrow movie
by shiftyeyeddog2
Robin Hood - same old same old? zzzzzzzz
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Same 'ol Same 'ol. Good old Hollywood taking a creative idea and turning it into vanilla.
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Hoo-De-Ally Hoo-De-Ally Golly What a Day!
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Americans pronounce Robin Hood as a single word ie. Robinhood. Us Brits pronounce is at two names like John Smith - Robin (pause) Hood. Never understood why.
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How'd they pull that out of their ass?!?!?!?
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No group recital of "Its an entirely different project" ? No? And you call yourselves film geeks!
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Or the marketing department said this was a no-no? BULLSHIT.
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I'm going to carve your heart out...WITH A SPOON!
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don't fucking take the name and give people false expectations.
Robin Hood versus France? Fucking have Robin Hood versus the Taliban. It makes as much fucking sense. -
Can *this* Robin Hood speak with an English accent?
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Do you seriously think we need another Robin Hood movie or do you just want to film another medieval war epic?I think it's time to start getting really picky about your next project. So, pick something good.
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And skip this.
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Feb 18, 2009 11:01:20 AM CST
Ridley - forget Robin Hood and make The Forever War!
by righteousbrother
instead.
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strange. i wonder if the old premise of nottingham was anything like this:
crowe- the sheriff, is getting worn down by being the enforcer of the bad king. he doesn't like what he does, he's just doing his job. he sees the suffering and taxation on the people. he knows (and maybe tries and fails) that he can't change anything.
so he actually invents and becomes robin hood.
a mysterious (hooded?) terrorist/patriot, stealing back what he collected....and he keeps his job as the sheriff as a 'mole', and to secure his secret-- no one would ever suspect him to be both people. he would probably get even more theatrically despicable (short of murder or violence) as the sheriff to solidify that. and if the sheriff and robin hood would ever have to meet to keep the illusion, one of his 'merry men' (probably another disillusioned king's men as well) would fill in for him, in the masked or hooded disguise.
it's like the bruce wayne/batman duality- act like an arrogant asshole and no one would think you are the hero.
and i bet this got scrapped after the success of the dark knight spoiled that premise.
if not, ridley- feel free to use my idea in a few more years. -
I have been massively down on Rid as a director for ages. Hannibal was serial killer porn. Black Hawk Down was weird military porn. And I didn't see A Year In France (or whatever) as it looked like rich person porn. Kingdom of Heaven as seen in the cinema was boring as shit. BUT BUT BUT - i recently got sent the blu ray for free. And watching it really was a wonderful experience. It truly is an old-style hollywood spectacle. Sure it's cheesy and silly; but I never got bored, and it really brings that time and context to life in a way I've never seen. I loved it. Nothing will ever surpass EL CID, but in terms of epics set between 500AD and 1500AD, this is perhaps the next best thing? And second best in a millennium ain't bad.
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... is a lost classic. So much better than the theatrical release.
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What part of MTV does movies? Their website? MTV news? The news show with the mentally handicapped people?
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. . .then this is not a traiditional take of the character. Robin Hood is usually presented as a nobleman, specifically the Earl of Loxley, who loses favor because he supports Richard and opposes John. If he is a bowman he is more or less a peasant. The "twist" here is to recast this as a class issue--evil government versus common people rising up against it. Hmmm, we have never seen that idea before.
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you think hollywood would let them be released initially by now. the track record on those is solid.
except i still prefer the theatrical LEGEND, just because i watched it endlessly as a kid. -
Is that in that era? My bad. Oh, and Beowulf, but that's fantasy, does that count? Oh shit. Someone help me out here. What are the top ten films set between 500 and 1500 AD?
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...Back to taunt us a second time!
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(Kingdom of Heaven I mean) You're right, Gorilla, its old school Hollywood. They even have an "Overture" in the beginning and an "Intermission" with the film score playing throughout both. Classic.
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examples: endlerssl;y. myhtos. This kind of shit writing is one more example of why this site is not taken seriously anymore.
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I've often thought that Ridley's eye for the 'money shot' led him to trivialise the content of what he was doing. But in Kingdom of Heaven, where display was such an important part of life, his eye served him brilliantly -whether it was the approaching army of Salahadin, or the gardens being irrigated, or the many clothes and armour. Really, I think it's as good a film as he's done. Can anyone tell me if Body Of Lies is worth seeing?
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...I just hated the title, "Nottingham"! Sounded like it was gonna be about the problems of a teenaged Robin Hood years before he picked up a bow and arrow and donned the green tights... you know, something with a young cast of pretty boys and girls that would ideally air on the CW.
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With Kevin Costner and his bad English accent?
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I still love Richard Carpenter's 'Robin Of Sherwood' from the 80s. Robert Addie, a young Ray Winstone, great music, and good stories. And Nasir was a badass.
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something about Ridley Scott bla bla
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I've only seen the director's cut. And it's far from historically accurate. But it FELT right, if you get what I mean.
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...it's common practice to use someone's entire name before proceeding to use just their last name for the remaining article. This helps people know who you're talking about when you say "Crowe."
End of lesson. -
Does anyone want to see this?
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Just slap THAT title onto it and we'll be in good shape.
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I'm sick of new takes of already established works.
I will watch if Russel Thug dies within half an hour and it turns into From Dusk Till Dawn with medieval vamps and then you discover they are not vamps but replicants.... The earth has come full tilt from futuristic apocalyse regressing back to olden times!!!! -
I'm not sure whether I should be happy he caught himself before he threw down a hundred million dollars on a premise he didn't have under control, or whether I should be concerned that he didn't seem to know what he was doing with this concept in the first place.
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this smacks of commercialism. also we need another straight retelling of Robin Hood like we do Alice In Wonderland or King Arthur.
In other news, I am a big fan of Ridley, but he's been hit or miss since the 80's (I've only liked GLADIATOR and KINGDOM OF HEAVEN - Director's Cut at least... which I guess means I like it when he tackles ancient history or fantasy/sci-fi stuff). I finally got to see his first movie THE DUELLISTS and what a great piece of work that is. -
Just a guess.
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I also approve of V'Shael's ROBIN HOOD VS THE TALIBAN idea.
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Let's make Robin Hood a retired legend, who races horses, then make the Sheriff the father-in-law of Mariam who escapes a wedding and give Robin a best friend who has a large stagecoach. They are approached by two cons who pay them 80, 000 gold pieces to bring back the beer in 18 hours.
Now that would be fun! -
But it ain't no "Yakety-Sax." Just sayin'.
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I remember seeing that on Spice Channel back in the day. That shit was hilarious.
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Cast Tyson Beckford as a young Hazim.
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This film will be just as lame as the Leo picture Body Of Truths. The original SUPPOSED concept sounded so much more interesting than another redo of Robin Hood. Sorry inform Hollywood, but Robin Hood is LAME. Also, the era Robin Hood was made was a time where people believed in stealing the rich and giving to the poor. Now people believe stealing is just what it is STEALING. Todays society will favor the SHeriff because people on our era can't relate to a fucking thief. I had hope for Nottingham but not so for Ridley Scott's Robin Hood. Count me out!
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At least portraying Nottingham as a sympathetic character would have been a bit different. Although I was never a fan of Crowe playing both characters.
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Yeah.
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Where Peter Pan was the villain who kidnapped kids and took them to Never Neverland and Captain Hook was a police officer hot on his trail. Whatever happened to that?????????????????????
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Feb 18, 2009 12:12:20 PM CST
Sounds like they swapped an original idea for a tired old one
by benbraddock
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The original idea(s) was/were far more interesting. He can harp on all he wants about how "oh no its the country that's the enemy!!1!" but it boils down to this being the same kind of robin hood story we normally get.
I'm more shocked to learn that this project has been in devlopment for over a year, with actors cast, and they didn't even ahve a definite plot idea, let alone a script! -
... so what's really new here now?
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Does anyone else just NOT see Crowe as Robin?? FFS just give it to Orlando Bloom. Orlando Bloom vs Crowe as the Sheriff, it's a FUCKING NO-BRAINER!!! Though it's still a totally unneeded movie. The BBC's Robin Hood series returns in a few weeks. At least the idea of Nottingham BEING Hood was something different. The movie focussing on the Sheriff would be much better. CROWE AS THE SHERIFF. Please, Ridley, do this.
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These remakes get sillier all the time.
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I kinda don't have feelings either way. I have always liked the Robin Hood legend, but I can't say I have ever seen a feature film version that I would consider to be the reference version of the story. Even the old Fairbanks version or the Flynn/de Havilland/Rathbone version, while a lot of fun, are very silly and very much of their time.
The most interesting versions I have watched were done in the 70s by Richard Lester and starred Connery as an older Robin returning from the Crusades to reunite with his old foe and love interest. While the Mouse House's post Walt Disney animated film was the second 70s interpretation which is a lot of fun. But again neither are the "definitive" version of the story in my eyes.
Oddly, my favorite interpretation came on the small screen in the 80s... Robin of Sherwood made by HTV and Goldcrest was a really great Gothic/pagan interpretation of the myth and is the stand out in my mind. It had a great look and atmosphere and the leads were all outstanding (look for a young Ray Winstone as Will Scarlet). The current BBC small screen version never really took for me, although I have heard there is a third season in production so someone is watching it.
So this brings us to Scott's planned Robin Hood. Visually this could be spectacular... while his 2 cuts of Kingdom of Heaven are a mixed bag, you have to agree it LOOKED fantastic. The sticking point is the script: If it is solid and has good characterization and a well defined narrative then this will work. But, if the story gets bloated with cardboard interpretations of the characters this project will be unintentionally laughable.
The 2 feature versions in the 90s were really lackluster so there is the possibility that Scott could make the definitive robin Hood film - the man has talent, even though his films are hit and miss. -
There's been a lot of rumours about Crowe being "difficult" on this film. I suspect after getting Sienna Miller fired he decided to go after the script writers and turn the film upside down.
I don't really want another gritty take on Robin Hood, as the Costner film did a decent enough job of that already. This film was far more interesting when it was going to be told from Nottingham's perspective, especially if it was going to be a sympathetic portrayal. -
Michael Jackson wanted too much money to play the lead. And a script rewrite where the pedophile goes free.
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I really preferred this to be called NOTTINGHAM, just because it seemed so original, so new...
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Depends on the version of the legend you read. The ‘Robin of Sherwood’ series from the Eighties used both. If I remember correctly the Robin in the first series(Robin of Loxley) was a villager with dark hair. When the actor left the series a new Robin (Robert of Huntingten), a nobleman with blond hair, came to the forest and took his place as leader of the outlaw band. Making ‘Robin Hood’ more of a title than a proper name. A interesting version that incorporated some mystical elements into the story. It also introduced a Muslim character as one of the “Merry Men” which I believe was a first that has been copied many times in later film and TV versions.
Bit of trivia, the Nobleman Robin was played by the son of Jason Connery son of Sean. In the mid seventies Sean Connery portrayed a more mature Robin Hood opposite Audrey Hepburn in the film “Robin and Marian” which covers the final part of the story. Robert Shaw is the Sheriff and presents a very different take on the classic ‘villain’. Well worth seeking out.
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More Scott and Crowe working in period, fine by me. Gladiator was the sh1t imho so if we can't have a sequel (which would be a little tricky) then pick up another era which had plenty of sword-based blood-letting.
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Now THAT would have been going out on a limb! Jet Li as the Friar.
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...really is one who has our values rather than the actual values of the historical period. This is the "problem" with Kingdom of Heaven, Costner's Robin Hood and Dances With Wolves, etc. We anachronistically project our values onto the past.
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Still sounds dull, must be so inspiring to be a money orientated film director. I wish one of them would grow some integrity, just get behind something they actually fel inspired by. I mean who's left? There would have been a time when you'd wait for the next Ridley Scott film based on his name alone, now... bollocks.
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you guys even been there?? great food , great wine, beautiful countryside, laid back people. I will retire there.
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Feb 18, 2009 1:21:00 PM CST
"They don't advertise for outlaws in the Sherwood Sentinel..."
by boxcutter
Oh, bother: more disappointment brewing from a man who's capable of so much more. Body of Lies was DULL.
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I picked this up from the video store on a lark one day - excellent movie. Harvey Keitel is more tenacious than a debt collector! "You've insulted me and I demand an apology!"
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Crap.
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Scott needs to pick up a copy of "The Outlaws of Sherwood" by Robyn McKinley. Good story, slight twist on the traditional tale, little bit of romance, little bit of adventure, enough to attract a wide audience. Hell, that would even make a better title than yet another "Robin Hood".
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Is he off this project?
'YOU WANT ME TO TRASH YOUR TIGHTS?!!!!" -
Stir things up between them like give Bale more meat in his sandwich and tell Bale that Crowe spunked in his trailer... Yeah.. that would be good.
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that Robin of Loxely was an android. This is suggested heavily in the movie when Robin's father appears to him in a dream as a great elk. "All androids dream about elks," he said.
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That's the only version of this story that needs to exist. Joe D'Amato FTW!
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In his Commentary on the Kingdom of Heaven: Director's Cut Ridley Scott talks about doing a Robin Hood movie as a sort of sequel to KoH. He implies that Iain Glen would be reprising his role as Richard the Lionheart.
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The dude who sold his revisionist screenplay for a nice packet and Ridley jumped on board and he thought, "Wow! This is too good to be true!" And now everything's being rewritten at the last minute to make it more conventional and another boring Hollywood tentpole pic, unrecognizable from the original script, is on its way.
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This one was the best version of Robin Hood. It should go on untouched from there.
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...it's Oo-de-lally. I know it was forever ago in the talkbacks but argh, it was driving me crazy.
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ya man... that 80s robin of Sherwood was spot on. If Scott is smart he would take his cue from that series.
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...Robin Hood, to bookend Connery's aged Robin and Costner's surfer Robin. Great, I'll look forward to that. What the hell is wrong with Scott? This idea reeks.
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no thanks
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How about John Cleese's "Dennis Moore" as a movie? People LOVE lupines!
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I thought the original idea was so cool. (Not the Russell Crowe as both character thing, but the concept of Robin Hood being a bad guy.) I was really looking forward to it.
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“It is from France. It is the French,” he insisted. “The villain is much bigger in that sense; much more important, and much more dangerous.” ---WHAT THE FUCK DOES THAT EVEN MEAN!?
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How is it that when the studio told Zach Snyder that they'd rather not have the spartans throw the babies over the cliff, he just said, "well let's just not the make the movie then" and it gets made with babies thrown over cliffs. I mean if Snyder was able to put his foot down at that point in his career why can't Ridley Scott now? Either Ridley thought all other incarnations were shit himself or with Crowe and Scott it's just too big a project to take risks.
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That 80s series was brilliant. To the degree that there's really no more need to re-tell that story; I don't think there's any surpassing the ITV version. The same way that Jeremy Brett makes all subsequent Sherlock Holmes depictions meaningless. Find a new story, not some last-minute pointless rehashing, which this sadly sounds like.
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THERE'S a memory from happier times.
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Feb 18, 2009 4:15:16 PM CST
Oh, and the *French* as bad guys? Remember 'Master & Commander'?
by kevred
I thought M&C was a fantastic movie, but always thought it was a weak move to change the bad guys from America to France.(On behalf of the U.S., I apologize to the world for all the diluted art resulting from our pathetically fragile national ego.)Now here's another Crowe movie with the bad guys being changed to France? Coincidence?Probably, but it's just as pointless. "Robin Hood vs. the French"--the matchup absolutely no one has ever been waiting for. Next up: Indiana Jones vs. the American Dental Association.
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Little does Robin know that the Sherrif of Nottingham is actually his father and Maid Marion his mother! The Blind Friar Tuckresias informs him of the truth and Robin pokes his eyes out by shooting arrows into them. And the The Band of the Merry Chorus put their fists on their hips and just laugh and laugh.
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It's an over-simplification, but William of Normandy conquered england in 1066, and imposed norman-french culture and language upon england. It resulted in a lasting conflict between the Normans and the previous rulers, the Saxons. Richard I was king from 1189-1199, followed by his brother (Prince) John Lackland. Both of them were plantageant monarchs who were essentially French. So this Robin Hood could play off (or play up) these rivalries in a more or less Braveheart-style quest for freedom by the Saxons against the Norman (French) monarchy. But it would be easier and more original to just remake Ivanhoe.
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or king's yeoman who gets the gig as the Reeve, and becomes disenchanted with the onerous role of taxing the poor locals and punishing them for poaching, so he uses his insider knowledge to rob his own caravans and make sorties against the king's forces eventually turning his little corner of the world (Barnsdale/Nottingham/Sherwood) into a rogue state.
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Father to a forrest full of bastard kids, husband to a fat friar named Tuck... who sure does like to f-
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Feb 18, 2009 5:05:38 PM CST
wow this looks really boring now. do we need another remake?
by bmacsmith
is the world clamoring for another remake of Robin Hood? at least the sheriff as good guy sounded interesting. this is just... a remake.
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I've seen both versions of Kingdom Of Heaven. I enjoyed people getting hit with swords, but Gladiator wasn't much better than Heaven. Did anyone else endure 1492? Why is it that Ridley Scott, who made two Sci Fi masterpieces...Flat out fucking masterpieces, keeps returning to History channel romps. Every film he's made that isn't Blade Runner or Aliens has been either pure shit, or wonderfully shot shit. This went from interesting...I.e. Robin Hood is a scummy thief being taken out by the heroic sheriff, to being about the evolution of Robin Hood vs. Post crusade french influence. Just...wow. What a fucking idiot.
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William Monaghan actually mentions on the commentary that he planned to write a sequel where Balian ends up getting sick of the crusades and moves to England and becomes Robin hood. Shame they're going for Crowe, but they could just make him a much older Balian.
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Oh look you said that too...
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Feb 18, 2009 5:12:18 PM CST
i didnt know the badguys in M&C were originally American, but...
by bmacsmith
but i kinda see why the French would be a better choice. The French at the time was probably more of a threat than our lowly navy. i would have a hard time believing our ships could take on and beat up an English one. i like the change
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Russell Crowe is still the size of around three normal non-greedy people. Reckon within the next two weeks filming's going to be delayed for some made-up bullshit reason, to give fatty more time to lose weight. He won't, and the project'll get canned until Ridley gets himself all excited about another actor and the whole process starts again.
In five years the only role Russell Crowe will be suitable for is playing the old Orson Welles in a biopic. -
Ha ha.Sheez man. Even so, Russell Crowe is a bad idea for this. But sounds like their really trying hard to make something crappier and more inaccurate then Prince of Thieves. And that's saying a lot.
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We need more dramatic fatties in hollywood, Brando is dead. The next time they need a morbidly obese criminal mastermind with an anger problem, who else are they going to call?
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Just think - what a movie that would be. Simon Toyne, Big Belly Ben, Wenda the White Faun, Oswyn Longneck the thrice-hanged and the Smiling Knight. New, fresh and inventive.Or maybe the tale of Jarek Mace the Morningstar. Owen Odell, Piercollo and Wulf and the fight with the vampire kings. Nah, tell you what, bollocks to all that. Let's just have the tired old fucking story of Robin Hood one more time, shall we?
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...how about he fucks off back to Peter Weir and makes the other half of 'Master & Commander', because a film that starts a third of the way into a story and ends halfway through really needs another visit. I mean, we had two sequels to POTC, for fuck's sake and they were bollocks. M&C more than justifies another outing...
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Geeze, is too much to ask for an original idea? I wanted a Nottigham project with lots of moral grays. Have the ol' sherrif pretty much think he's in a bad position enforcing a system of over taxation to support the ill founded later crusades. Make Robin a bit of an arrogant prick and self-annointedly self-righteous and have them fight it out. Was that too much to ask? (And I know it sounds sarcastic, but I am serious when I say this sounded more interesting than yet another black and white portrayal of the characters.)
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There's the early Robin Hood myth of a Saxon outlaw fighting Norman oppression, and then there's the later romance tale of the warrior in Richard's Crusader army who returns home and foils a plot to place John on the throne permanently. These two stories don't exactly combine well. Why would an outlawed Saxon champion fight in a Norman king's army?
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Scott may be a great director - but he screwed up KOH with his choice of Orlando Bloom as lead actor. The man was utterly lifeless: every single supporting actor, every single extra, every prop, camel and piece of scenery was more interesting to watch than Bloom. He completely killed the film - even the much-improved director's cut. At least Crowe can carry a movie - no matter how silly its premise. Evidence: Gladiator.
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The DC of Alien was horrible.
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Does anyone else get the feeling that he's been sleepwalking through his last few directorial gigs? Seems to me like he just shows up, gets 20 cameras to cover a scene, then gives the footage to his editor to cut together. Rinse and repeat.
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Feb 18, 2009 11:22:48 PM CST
Why a spoon cousin? Why not a knife?
by nomoredirtyjokespleaseweareyanks
'Cause it's dull you TWIT, it'll hurt more!
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No more merciful beheadings, cancel the food scraps for lepers and orphans......And call off Christmas.
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You. 6:45.....and bring a friend.
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Feb 18, 2009 11:27:54 PM CST
I CAN'T DO THIS WITH ALL THAT RACKET!!!
by nomoredirtyjokespleaseweareyanks
Well at least I didn't use a spoon.
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I thought of the HOOD trilogy by Lawhead as well, the first 2 were great, didn't think TUCK had been released yet? Anyways for those interested, Robin is Welsh, and yes the French are the villians in the 2nd book (Scarlet)
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I can't wait to see the first isotoner slap-fight in cinematic history... Still, Scott should have casted Lance Armstrong as Robin Hood...
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Just a perfect movie experience. I'm not a Bloom fan, but give him credit where it's due: he was excellent as the tortured main character.
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I have a huge DVD collection. If my house ever caught fire and I had the chance to save one movie, it would be my copy of the Kingdom of Heaven Director's Cut. I truly love that movie. The DC literally fixed every single problem I had with the theatrical version of the film (like explaining why Bailin understood how siege equipment and military tactics worked)and increased the the depth of the plot.
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I don't know what he means by having France as "the villain," but then again, I don't know very much about the history of England and the life of King Richard the Lionheart during that time. Is this supposed to be some kind of period commentary? His statements seem vague. That said, I'm curious about something. There have been God-only-knows how many Robin Hood movies made over the past several decades. Many would argue that as far as romanticized Robin Hood movies go, 1938's "The Adventures of Robin Hood" can't really be topped. Maybe, maybe not. But from what I recall, the earliest Robin Hood stories depicted a Robin Hood who wasn't necessarily a good man. In fact, he was probably something of a psychopath and maybe even a sadist, which is why I was originally interested in a movie that depicts Robin as the villain and the Sheriff as sympathetic. My point is, seeing as there have been countless iterations of Robin Hood the romantic hero, why can't we have a movie where the filmmakers go back and read the original Robin Hood stories and make a movie based more directly on that? One which is more morally complex and grounded in reality? Or is that what Ridley and Russell are already going for? And if not, then does anybody know if it's possibly been done in some form or another?
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That last post ("Regarding") was an accident.
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No really. They probably went with the old legend of Robin Hood because they felt that with the way the audience is feeling people are not going to be that sympathetic to the sheriff and instead would want the escapist fantasy of the classic story - guys steals from the rich to give to the poor.
Just replace Prince John, Sir Guy and the Sheriff with the heads of Wall Street and you got yourself a real hit. -
Where you belong you fuckhair! enough of these snorefest reality movies. fuck dicaprio's serious facial hair acting and that pig russel crowe. gangster movies, iraq movies, medieval movies? unbelievable! Howabout Replicants bursting out of anus cavities ? never has puke sewer dilapidated rainy areas looked beautiful.
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We already have a fairly recent Robin Hood that is just fine with me. The Scott/Crowe partnership went dry as far as I'm concerned after Body Of Lies. Crowe needs to do something interesting to get my attention back. Admitting he's spent the past 10 years with an unnecessarily inflated ego would be a good start.
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The only film I can watch starring Bloom.
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Richard Kluger's 1992 novel "The Sheriff of Nottingham" -- here, on Amazon http://tinyurl.com/co2b9z which concerned a sympathetic, conflicted Sheriff.
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Ridley should ge with it- no one needs another stale robin hood remake- but there is alotof great history novels out there he can still adapt- like the entire 21 part Richard Sharpe series by Bernard Cornwell- that would be a great role for Crowe. Or Conan Doyle's The White Company-it's a great adventure story set during the war of the roses. I read that Nick Meyers of Wrath of Khan fame wrote an excellent screenplay of it yearsago but it was never filmed...
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The Director's Cut of Alien is not actually the preferred version by Ridley Scott. 20th Century Fox agreed to do a restoration on the film if Scott cut a new edit incorporating deleted scenes. Scott agreed to do it for a DVD release but Fox and their marketing dept. released it theatrically as a "Director's Cut" - which is not the case. All of this explained on the DVD. BTW Kingdom of Heaven DC is a terrific film. Probably the best example I can think of that really shows how much a movie can be changed in the editing room. The difference between the two versions is amazing. KoH DC is probably one of the most underated event movies to come out recently, next to Master & Commander. Those two really are classics.
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That movie needed a leading actor with a strong presence. Bloom was such a non-entity that he kept being upstaged by everyone else, including his own horse. You say his character was tortured? Maybe - but you'd never know it from Bloom's blank performance. His expression for 'tortured' is the same as his expression for 'happy' which is the same as his expression for 'confused' which is the same as his expression for 'wonder what I'm having for dinner'. KOH would have been brilliant if they'd hired ANY other actor - and I mean ANY.
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Bloom was deinetly off mark (again). Just imagine Ewan MacGregor in the role, or McAvoy, or any number of UK actors. Despite that, it's STILL one of my favorite movies, meaning the dc. An amazing DVD and movie, but Bloom wasn't quite there, and that's being generous. Example - the speech toward the end.
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Why bother when we already have this?
http://tinyurl.com/d58sca
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This was originally pitched as a twist on the Robin Hood myth in which the Sheriff is the protagonist. "Cool," everyone said. Then we heard Crowe was playing both parts. "Horrible idea," everyone said. Now it turns out that project is dead and they're doing a simple Robin Hood movie. "Eh," everyone says.
I love the Robin Hood story, but Crowe would have been MUCH better in the Sheriff role. -
When the development process is "lets do something with Russell Crowe and Robin Hood" and then changing it multiple times, where it should be "lets get a great script" then make that script.
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Originality is dead in Hollywood. I am all but giving up now. How can an original, visionary director like Ridley Scott (Apple's '1984' commercial, 'Alien', 'Bladerunner') fall so corporate, so predictable, so unoriginal, so... profit-driven? Take a chance. You had something original, something new, something daring with the Nottingham idea. Now, back to the same-old dreck.
To quote Roger Miller's wonderful song from an equally predictable Robin Hood film: "Every town has it's ups and downs, sometimes ups outnumber the downs, but not in Nottingham." -
Master and Commander? Now we're talking...
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where they're filming what was Nottingham. It still has the word Nottingham on all the studios, and I saw quite a few sets being built - stuff that looked like castles. Word from the people working there is that a lot of it really DOES have to do with RC's weight... And that there have been a lot of rewrites and no-one really knows what's going on. Also that new sets keep being requested all the time...
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It made $390 million worldwide! In 1991! And everybody I know liked it.
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Good call. From what I read of the original story I'm glad he's moving to a more traditional telling, albeit with a French enemy. After Costner's dreadful permed-hair prince of B-list actors with an American accent, I think Crowe and Ridley could give us a bloody good version to take the rancid taste from my mouth. Book me a ticket.
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This story has been done and done again, but rather than an interesting take on it, I'm not surprised given the US economy that it would be pushed for this to be more traditional "Robin Hood steals from the evil rich society and gives to the poor"
Surprised this movie hasn't come out yet actually, you'd think the studios would have this story ready for every economic downturn. -
it was a bad idea when Kevin costner was doing it and nothing has changed
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Is that they still could have story involving class differences. The Sheriff could be a very sympathetic cop who understands why Robin Hood is doing this, but is given an order to capture the outlaw. Over the course of the movie he could slowly realize that sometimes you can't just blindly follow orders, especially in a society that has such social inequality. Think of it as a medieval "Murder on the Orient Express" where Hercules Poirot lets the murderers go free because the victim was a worse criminal.
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I do it for yooooou...
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Thanks for the laugh. :-)
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Feb 20, 2009 1:59:19 AM CST
The villain is France. Sure that will go over well in Europe...
by chien_sale
bunch of anti-frogs racists!
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you know the one where they tried to make Robin some sort of guy that was prisoner of war?
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A theme running through several of his historical movies that I see -- the struggle of the lower-class anachronistic hero/anti hero who is more virtuous than the decadent born to the manor aristocrat establishment. Maximus in Gladiator, Denzel's character in American Gangster, Columbus in 1492, Balian in Kingdom of Heaven who with one swoop negates the whole idea prevalent back then that one can only be a knight if one is noble-born and he gives that nice populist proletarian speech before Saladin besieges Jerusalem. Nice for us moderns to relate to but totally out of place in something medieval. Bottom line, I like how Scott's movies look and show past times but the ideas and themes running through a lot of his work suck balls. Now a working-class Robin taking on the Norman-French ("the villain is France") nobility then ruling England? Newsflash -- Richard Lionheart was born in France, spoke French, wrote poetry in French, ruled half of France as a vassal of the French king (a source of constant conflict between the two), and only spent 10 months in England, the country that was the basis of his royal title but he had no interest in compared to his French provinces of Normandy and Aquitaine. So, whatever. Just rewrite/revision it all however the fuck you want and most people won't know better or care anyway. And Kingdom of Heaven really annoyed me because Liam should've been the main character. No Orlando pouty sad eyes. Doesn't have the gravitas to carry an epic. And the lead character's post-modern nihilistic world view, just too easy to sit the middle ground in a movie about the FUCKING CRUSADES! Wouldn't it have been better to delve into the psychology of the religious fervor that drove both sides at the time? The atrocities committed by both sides, and the sharing of culture? Instead we get a weak man out of his times who sees the reason for the whole conflict as silly and not worth fighting for so we the audience can all nod in agreement and compliment ourselves at how much more enlightened we are now. Oh, and the Battle of Hattin, one of the most important in the Middle Ages and one where Balian was present, just abstracted to an aftermath? Gone with the Wind could get away with giving the battle of Gettysburg similar treatment because it was, well, Gone with the Wind. But Kingdom of Heaven desperately needed some more punch, and giving Hattin some screen time might've helped. And why do modern filmmakers love depicting ancient battles as having so much pyrotechnics going on? Exploding fireballs launched by catapults? Sorry, it probably wasn't quite so spectacular and visually stimulating in real life. Fuck it all.
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I'd just like to see a period film that doesn't take a detatched, judgemental outlook on the characters/events/beliefs of the time, but just show how it was. Save the editorial please. Those people living back then thought they were doing right by the morals and beliefs of the time. Just different than us now with all our science and creature comforts. We can smugly sit from our perch passing judgement on all who have lived before just because they didn't think like us and believed in other ideas. Sorry, I just don't see it that way. But Ridley seems to. Oh, and I gotta talk some more smack about KOH. I'm not going to get on my "it's not accurate" perch again, I know writers/directors have to streamline to make history into drama. But I don't see the point of changing history to your version of events when the real thing was as interesting or more so. Guy de Lusignan wasn't a Templar, wouldn't have been wearing their tunic. His wife loved him and stuck by him and died in the Holy Land, sorry the Queen of Jerusalem did not retire to a village in France to be the wife of a blacksmith. And when released Guy continued the fight against Saladin's numerically superior army outside the city of Acre, waiting for the Third Crusade (Lionheart's) to come to the rescue. Brave guy. KOH could've even delved more into the depravity of Reynald of Chatillon, who was nothing more than a pirate but had more balls than, well, than a bull. Reynald was nuts in a dangerous way, not goofy and comic like Brendan Gleeson. Missed opportunity there. Same with Commodus in Gladiator. The writer/director used too much restraint in depicting the depravity of one of Rome's more vile tyrants. Knowing what I know, I was expecting a lot more from Commodus than what I saw in the film, and yeah I do realize he bumps off his father the emperor and has Maximus's family brutally slaughtered. And lusts after his sister. They could've gone further, trust me. Wow, I'm bored and have diarrhea of the mouth here, and I don't mean any disrespect to you guys who like KOH or Gladiator, everyone has his tastes and I don't hate those movies, I just thought they could've been so much more. They still look great. Just my opinion, no one gives a shit anyway. Best period film of the past 30 yrs -- Master and Commander. With Rob Roy a close second. Braveheart suffered from the same anachronstic/innacurate problems in my opinion. Had just read a book about William Wallace and then seeing the movie, was pissed at what they left out that could've made him a more compelling character than what was shown. He wasn't so pure and vanilla, trust me. And he wasn't a man of the people as shown, he was of the knightly class. But that would alienate our democratically-inclined viewing audience, now, wouldn't it?
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Balian did knight non-nobles in defending Jerusalem. But they were more prosperous townsmen who could afford to equip themselves like a knight. Everything else I said still stands. And I forgot, why the hostility to the Church in William Monaghan's works? Jack Nicholson's remarks in The Departed, and also the less than flattering portrait of churchmen both at the beginning of KOH (the priest) and Patriarch Eraclius in Jerusalem who, going by his deeds as chronicled, wasn't the weasel the film made him out to be. OK, that's enough.
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Scott's last great film. I hope he's able to top it with this one.
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Was played by John Cleese in Time Bandits.
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