Filmonic » Russell Crowe

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.

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.

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.”

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.

Nottingham is now Robin Hood

Liam — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 14:06:27 +0000

Director Ridley Scott spoke to MTV and revealed that Nottingham will no longer be called Nottingham, and he also spoke about Russell Crowe’s preparation for the role.

“Nottingham” has now officially been renamed to reflect its lead character. “Oh yes, I think we are just going to call it ‘Robin Hood’,” Scott revealed.
In an attempt to clarify all the confusion from a few months ago about Russell Crowe playing multiple roles, 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.”
“[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.”
While some have questioned whether Russell Crowe can ditch his “Body of Lies” gut and lose enough weight to play Robin Hood, Ridley says it’s not a problem. “Oh that is silly; all that stuff is bullsh-t,” Scott insisted. “He is going to be totally fit. That is not a problem at all.”
“And he’s been working on his bow and arrow for about 4 months,” Scott revealed. “He sends me tapes of him hitting targets at about 45 meters. He’s pretty good!”

Filming for Robin Hood will take place in around 2 months. The cast so far includes Crowe, Mark Strong and Cate Blanchett.

Cate Blanchett to play Maid Marian in Nottingham?

Liam — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 22:16:04 +0000

Since Sienna Miller bowed out of playing Maid Marian in Ridley Scott’s Nottingham I have been curious to see which actress would replace her. From the casting of Miller I got the impression they were looking for someone similar, such as Keira Knightly or Gemma Arterton, however it appears they have gone for an older, more established actress. Mark Strong who will play Sir Guy of Gisbourne spoke to The Telegraph and revealed who may be playing Russell Crowe’s love interest in the film.

“I think Cate Blanchett is set to take the Maid Marian part. She is a wonderful actress and it would make it a much classier film if she was in it.”

This casting will only add to the film. While I though there was nothing wrong will Miller in the role, Cate Blanchett seems better suited and to see her act alongside Russell Crowe will be interesting.

Pre-production on the film is currently taking place and filming should begin within the next few months.

Gossips and liars give us Nottingham update

Liam — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 00:31:09 +0000

The last time my bulls*hit alarm rang was when Eddie Murphy had apparently landed a role in the next Batman film, and now it has just rung again. According to the New York Post:

Russell Crowe is ‘telling producers to get a new director, demanding script rewrites and, now, forcing Sienna Miller out of the flick’.

According to these ‘journalists’ Russell Crowe is trying to get Ridley Scott fired from his own film. They also say that because Crowe has put on a bit of weight lately he had Sienna Miller fired because she is ’so young and gorgeous’ where as he is ’so old and fat’.

1) Russell Crowe is not trying to get Ridley Scott replaced. They have worked on four movies together and will have no doubt struck up a loving bond.

2) Sienna Miller will not appear in the film because filming got pushed back to March this year, and the schedules didn’t work out. It is not because Russell is having self-esteem issues.

3) I’m not linking to these liars because they only make this crap up to get hits.

Russell Crowe To Play A Werewolf?

Liam — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 22:48:17 +0000

According to Bloody-Disgusting.com and wenn Russell Crowe is set to play a werewolf in a movie that will be directed by his pal Ridley Scott.

We learned of some interesting news this evening as we were tipped off that Ian Jeffers, who wrote both James Wans’ drama-thriller DEATH SENTENCE and Sylvain White’s upcoming adaptation of CASTLEVANIA, has sold an original script to legendary director-produce Ridley Scott (Alien, Blade Runner). Here’s the juicy tid-bit… apparently the film is a werewolf project!

We already have The Wolfman with Benicio Del Toro coming out next year. Are Werewolf movies making a comeback? In answer to my own question…it looks like it!