Filmonic » Robin Hood

Robin Hood writers talk script changes

Liam — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 13:23:57 +0000

One interesting thing about the Robin Hood movie when it was first announced was that we would apparently see the story from the Sheriff of Nottingham’s point of view, and therefore for the first time it would be Robin Hood who is seen to be the villain. Another interesting point was that Russell Crowe would play both characters, with Ridley Scott saying it would be “a good old clever adjustment of characters. One becomes the other. It changes.”

However, script re-writes occurred and now we are getting the usual Robin Hood story, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing if the end result is great historical epic, but it would have been cool to see something unique from a story that has been retold over and over again.

The writers of the original script, Ethan Reiff and Cy Voris, spoke to CineFools about the movie, and while things have changed, they aren’t complaining.

Nottingham was about us both wanting to see a new and different version of a classic old story retold. The truth is the movie Ridley Scott made doesn’t have all that much to do with the script we sold to Universal, in the midst of a bidding war with various other Hollywood studios, about 3 years ago. Our script was told from the Sheriff of Nottingham’s POV (thereby the title), and Russell Crowe signed on to play the part of the Sheriff, who was the hero of our screenplay. There are a few things remaining in the movie which had their origin in our script, like including Eleanor of Aquitaine (mother of Richard the Lionhearted and Prince, later King, John) as a key character in a Robin Hood movie for the first time (at least that I know of), plus the movie would never have been made to being with if Russell Crowe hadn’t signed on to play the Sheriff in our original script. I guess for us, without having seen the movie, it’s a mix of triumph and frustration. Triumph because we got the ball rolling that led to a massive Medieval period piece being made with an excellent cast by arguably one of the greatest directors in movie history, but also frustration in that the world will never see the original movie we wrote. But we did get paid, so I’m not complaining. Once they bought it, Universal had the right to do whatever they wanted with our script.

I think the dual role for Russell Crowe may have been too risky for Universal. I’m sure critics and movie lovers would have liked it, however I don’t think the general audience would have appreciated the mind games.

Robin Hood set preview and synopsis revealed

Liam — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 16:42:18 +0000

A few weeks ago Entertainment Tonight took us behind the scenes of Iron Man 2, and now we have the pleasure of seeing footage from their set visit to Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood movie. As ET are all about ’showbiz’ we see the presenter asking Cate Blanchett how many kissing scenes she has with Russell Crowe, but in-between all the rubbish we get to see a few shots of action, and a look at an epic battle on a beach.

While Universal haven’t given the film an official title yet, they have released the synopsis which can be read below:

From Collider:

Oscar winner Russell Crowe stars as the legendary figure known by generations as “Robin Hood,” whose exploits have endured in popular mythology and ignited the imagination of those who share his spirit of adventure and righteousness. In 13th century England, Robin and his band of marauders confront corruption in a local village and lead an uprising against the crown that will forever alter the balance of world power. And whether thief or hero, one man from humble beginnings will become an eternal symbol of freedom for his people.
The untitled Robin Hood adventure chronicles the life of an expert archer, previously interested only in self-preservation, from his service in King Richard’s army against the French. Upon Richard’s death, Robin travels to Nottingham, a town suffering from the corruption of a despotic sheriff and crippling taxation, where he falls for the spirited widow Lady Marion (Oscar winner Cate Blanchett), a woman skeptical of the identity and motivations of this crusader from the forest. Hoping to earn the hand of Maid Marion and salvage the village, Robin assembles a gang whose lethal mercenary skills are matched only by its appetite for life. Together, they begin preying on the indulgent upper class to correct injustices under the sheriff.
With their country weakened from decades of war, embattled from the ineffective rule of the new king and vulnerable to insurgencies from within and threats from afar, Robin and his men heed a call to ever greater adventure. This unlikeliest of heroes and his allies set off to protect their country from slipping into bloody civil war and return glory to England once more.

Futuristic Robin Hood movie on it’s way

Liam — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 11:18:27 +0000

Ridley Scott may be shooting his epic take on Robin Hood with Russell Crowe as we speak, but apparently that doesn’t stop anyone else from making a movie on the English folklore legend. According to RiskyBusiness the producers of 300 and The Dark Knight are working with Warner Bros. to give the character a “futuristic makeover”.

“Robin Hood” will be getting a futuristic makeover courtesy of the producers of “The Dark Knight” and “300” as well as Warner Bros., where a new take on the classic tale has been set up.
Atlas Entertainment and Hollywood Gang will produce the untitled saga, while commercials director Nicolai Fuglsig, who pitched the project, has signed on to direct. Jason Hall, the CAA-repped scribe who penned the upcoming Ashton Kutcher dramedy ‘Spread,” will write the screenplay.
Few plot details have been revealed about the new Robin Hood, but it will be set in a dystopian London and center on a band of thieves whose activities restore hope to the city’s embattled population. Producers describe it as “a futuristic action adventure” that will be “both inspired by and pay homage to the legend of Robin Hood.”

If this was just another regular Robin Hood movie I’d be against it as we are already getting one and we’ve had many in the past, but as it will be set in the future i’m interested in seeing it. The bows and arrows will probably be replaced with guns and tasers, however London today has hundreds of CCTV cameras and the police now have DNA, so the thieves will have to be a bit smarter than simply stealing something and fleeing on their horses.

Danny Huston joins Robin Hood

Liam — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 11:09:09 +0000

Danny Huston, who we last saw in X-Men Origins: Wolverine as William Stryker, has joined the cast of Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood (they still need to give it an official title). According to The Hollywood Reporter he will play Richard the Lionheart, who in past incarnations left for the crusades, leaving a hole for the Sheriff of Nottingham to worm his way into power. As his casting has been announced this late in the game it’s possible the role will be a small but important one.

Danny Huston has been getting some cool roles recently. We will see him play Poseidon next year in Clash of the Titans and he will also be seen in Edge of Darkness alongside Mel Gibson and Ray Winstone.

Robin Hood set pics

Liam — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 17:14:04 +0000

JustJared got some snaps of Russell Crowe and the cast and crew of Robin Hood filming on Pembrokeshire beach in Wales.

The BBC have some details on what is currently being filmed there:

Filming of a Robin Hood movie starring Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett is due to take over much of a Pembrokeshire beach for the next fortnight. A cast and crew of over 800, plus 130 horses, are due to shoot a major battle scene at Freshwater West.
Last month the beach was used as a location for the final film in the Harry Potter series. That saw a giant cottage made out of shells built on the sands with stars Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson taking part in the filming.
The Robin Hood film is being made by Universal Pictures and is directed by Sir Ridley Scott.

Click here to see the rest of the set pics. My favourite picture is a rather surreal shot of Crowe and his Merry Men in costume driving a vehicle. The sight of medieval knights using modern technology made me chuckle.

Matthew Macfayden is The Sheriff of Nottingham

Liam — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 18:54:39 +0000

The actor playing The Sheriff of Nottingham in Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood has remained a mystery up until today. We knew of Russell Crowe as Robin Hood himself, Cate Blanchett as Maid Marian, and we even knew who had been cast as Robin’s Merry Men. However the actor’s name has now been revealed, with the official website for Matthew Macfayden confirmed his casting today:

Matthew’s agent, Christian Hodell, has confirmed that he will be playing the Sheriff of Nottingham in the new Robin Hood movie. Shooting for Matthew will occur in May and June.

Matthew Macfayden is probably best known for playing Mr. Darcy in Pride & Prejudice alongside Keira Knightly. He also had a role in Frost/Nixon.

First look at Russell Crowe as Robin Hood!

Liam — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 02:31:03 +0000

Hey look! It’s Maximus Decimus Meridius with a bow and arrow instead of a sword! USA Today got our first look at Russell Crowe as Robin Hood, and if Filmonic was one of those gossip blogs I would comment on how Crowe has lost sooooo much weight since State of Play, and how the blue sooooo doesn’t go with the brown. But i’m not. So I won’t. Cast your merry eyes below!

“He doesn’t have the old Robin Hood tights,” says producer Brian Grazer. “He’s got armor. He’s very medieval. He looks, if anything, more like he did in Gladiator than anything we’re used to seeing with Robin Hood.”
“Oddly, it’s a metaphor for today,” Grazer says. “He’s trying to create equality in a world where there are a lot of injustices. He’s a crusader for the people, trying to reclaim some of the ill-gotten gains of the wealthy. That’s a universal theme.”
Not that the film will linger on the contemporary. “We just shot a scene where Maid Marion fires a flaming bow and arrow into the night sky. It’s just a cool story.”

Sienna Miller talks Robin Hood. Says she was too young

Liam — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 15:12:09 +0000

Once upon a time Sienna Miller was cast as Maid Marian in Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood (then called Nottingham). We then got news that she was no longer playing the role, and the media and gossip people reported that she was fired because she was ’so young and gorgeous’ where as Russell Crowe was ’so old and fat’. That wasn’t exactly true (as expected) but according to Miller, age was a factor in her not appearing in the movie.

From Contact Music:

“The script has been evolving and changing and it often happens in films. They’ve been trying to make this for a couple of years and they rewrote the script and they needed someone who was older.”
“There’s a husband who has been away at war for 10 years and he comes back, so it’s just not feasible for me to play her. Cate Blanchett is doing it.” Miller insists there have been many other cast changes – but the media refuses to focus on them.
She adds, “The media doesn’t have to make quite as much a meal of it as they do when it happens to me. I’m sure it will be a wonderful project but this is not an absolutely shocking thing to happen in the movie industry when scripts evolve and casts change.
“Other people have changed in that cast, but the media just won’t document it. I would obviously love to work with Ridley and still I hope to in the future.”

Putting age aside, Cate Blanchett is a better actress and is better suited for the role. However, I am still a fan of Sienna. The gossips and tabloids have presented an image of her over the years and it overshadows her work, which is sometimes quite good.

Robin Hood cast announced

Liam — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 13:47:15 +0000

Universal have announced the cast for Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood (they still need to decide on a final title). We already knew of Russell Crowe as Robin Hood, Cate Blanchett as Maid Marian and Mark Strong as King John’s henchman. Joining them will be:

Vanessa Redgrave as John and Richard’s mother, Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine
Oscar Isaac as King John
Léa Seydoux as the woman who will become queen, French Princess Isabella
Scott Grimes as Welshman Will Scarlet
Kevin Durand as Robin’s right-hand, Scotsman Little John
Alan Doyle as their troubadour, Irishman Allan Adayle

We also have a synopsis. From In Contention:

Crowe stars as the legendary figure known by generations as Robin Hood, whose exploits have endured in popular mythology and ignited the imagination of those who share his spirit of adventure and righteousness. In 13th century England, Robin and his band of marauders confront corruption in a local village and lead an uprising against the crown that will forever alter the balance of world power. And whether thief or hero, one man from humble beginnings will become an eternal symbol of freedom for his people.
The untitled Robin Hood adventure chronicles the life of an expert archer, previously interested only in self-preservation, from his service in King Richard’s army against the French. Upon Richard’s death, Robin travels to Nottingham, a town suffering from the corruption of a despotic sheriff and crippling taxation, where he falls for the spirited widow Lady Marion (Blanchett), a woman skeptical of the identity and motivations of this crusader from the forest. Hoping to earn the hand of Maid Marion and salvage the village, Robin assembles a gang whose lethal mercenary skills are matched only by its appetite for life. Together, they begin preying on the indulgent upper class to correct injustices under the sheriff.
With their country weakened from decades of war, embattled from the ineffective rule of the new king and vulnerable to insurgencies from within and threats from afar, Robin and his men heed a call to ever greater adventure. This unlikeliest of heroes and his allies set off to protect their country from slipping into bloody civil war and return glory to England once more.

Russell Crowe wants to make the best Robin Hood movie…ever!

Liam — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 00:30:03 +0000

The latest issue of Empire magazine includes an interview with our beloved phone throwing actor Russell Crowe. In the interview he talks a little about Robin Hood, which he will start filming in April. Turns out he wants to make the best Robin Hood movie ever.

“The challenge is to make a great film. There’s no point in making the second-best Robin Hood movie. If we are going to do it, we have to do it with the thought in mind that we’ve got the chance of making the best Robin Hood movie ever. Doing a Robin Hood movie is a childhood dream; doing a bad Robin Hood movie – that doesn’t come into the dream. It’s got to be fully realised and really worth the effort – as we sit and talk it’s been 18 months of effort, and that’s the sort of stuff that people don’t see or quantify.

With Ridley Scott directing and an impressive cast including Cate Blanchett and Mark Strong, we may end up getting the best Robin Hood movie ever. However according to Wikipedia there have been over 50 adaptations since 1908, so it’ll have to be good.