News about Nottingham – Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood story, not the horrible East Midlands town – has been a bit all over the shop lately.
First Nottingham was going to star Russell Crowe as a good Sheriff of Nottingham who had to battle the evil Robin Hood, then it wasn’t going to be made at all, but now it’s back on – and it’s got completely weird. Apparently in the new Nottingham, Russell Crowe is going to play the Sheriff of Nottingham and Robin Hood.
Not in a good way, either. In Nottingham, Russell Crowe’s character will be both the Sheriff of Nottingham and Robin Hood – news which will be profoundly disappointing to all of us hoping that Nottingham would feature a Double Impact-style scene where two identical Russell Crowes have a kung-fu fight with telephones in the woods in 12th Century England.
Russell Crowe and Ridley Scott have something of a mutual profession mancrush on each other. They’ve previously teamed up on Gladiator, A Good Year, American Gangster, Body Of Lies – in fact, we’re mostly convinced that if Russell Crowe was more than 15 years old when Alien was made, it would have been about Russell Crowe bursting out of Russell Crowe’s chest and then getting fired out of a spaceship by a grappling hook fired by Russell Crowe.
Anyway, the next movie that Russell Crowe and Ridley Scott are teaming up on will be Nottingham, their revisionist take on the legend of Robin Hood. Nottingham was to stray from the traditional Robin Hood tale in several ways – there’d be no tights, no Bryan Adams songs and Nottingham wouldn’t be 30 minutes from Dover on horseback. But most importantly, Nottingham would be a detective movie about Russell Crowe playing a hard-bitten Sheriff of Nottingham on the trail of the evil criminal Robin Hood.
That’s the way it was supposed to be, at least. But not too long ago, Nottingham was shelved – the blame being laid on the writers strike, the possibility of an actors strike and the seasonal ugliness of forests. However, now Nottingham is back on with one small difference.
In the new version of Nottingham, the Sheriff Of Nottingham is Robin Hood, and Russell Crowe gets to play everybody, even Friar Tuck and Maid Marion. Probably. MTV reports:
The news comes straight from the helmer himself, with Scott revealing “He’s playing both!” exclusively to MTV News. While Scott held additional details close to his chest — saying they would take too long to describe — he did exclaim that Crowe’s dual roles would be “a good old clever adjustment of characters. One becomes the other. It changes.”
What could this all mean? Does the Sheriff of Nottingham take to robbing people as a way of collecting taxes for the king? Is there going to a Tyler Durden-style schizophrenic reveal near the end of the movie? Or is it going to be the Double Impact thing? Oh, let it be the Double Impact thing, Ridley. There’s a tenner in it for you if you make it the Double Impact thing.
But however Russell Crowe will play the Sheriff of Nottingham and Robin Hood, let’s just all be grateful that Nottingham is actually getting made. It’s been too long since a decent Robin Hood movie has been made – plus we hear that Jay-Z has already recorded another American Gangster-style album inspired by the movie, and we wouldn’t want the world to be deprived of surefire would-be hits like H To The Izzood, Wenches Wenches Wenches and I Got 99 Problems (And Scurvy Accounts For 97 Of Them), would we.
Dermot Muncher says
Oi!! Im from that “horrible East Midlands town” and i’ll have you know that….well…er…um..yeah its Shite.
mjkbk says
Russell says this story is not true. See his longtime fansite, Murph’s Place, http://www.murphsplace.com/crowe/news.html.
Phoebe says
Giving money to the rich seems more popular these days than giving money to the poor, so I guess it’s time to update Robin Hood. And if we can lose the tights at the same time, all the better.
movie fan says
Russell Crowe’s got the accent for Robin Hood (or the sheriff), though he’ll probably have to get a bit slimmer than what his recent role in Body of Lies
Robert says
Is this film even going ahead now?
Sienna Miller gone-still gone, even with Ridley Scott’s intervention.
Crowe trying to get Scott fired-arent they friends or something?
Half the script re-written to suit crowes overweight binge blubber.
The rumor that Crowe will now only play one role – probably the sherrif.
The rumor that Crowe may be replaced altogether by Aussie actor Steve Innes, another Ridley Scott pal, or at least Innes playing the other vacated Crowe role-Robin perhaps?
I was looking forward to this but it’s taking too long and I’m just sick of the nonsense.
William says
I don’t give a toss anymore about this film or who is going to be in it.
Bunch of spoiled diva’s taking themselves too seriously.
Just get the bloody thing made!!!
Vance says
This movie is dead in the water. I know some people involved in the production and they are twiddling their thumbs while problems are worked out, or have already moved onto other projects.
So, Crowe is no longer certain to be part of the project, Miller is long gone and Steve Innes is not playing the Sherrif or Robin but might play King Richard.
All just rumour and speculation isn’t it?
I agree with William – just get it sorted out and get it done.
Rick says
Who is Steve Innes?
Why would he get to play the King and not Christian Bale?
Aah, of course, he is buddies with the director.
Plus, Bale is a dick who already thinks he is the King.
Hanley says
I hear that even Steve Innes is not attached to the film anymore, due to the overlong wait to start and the fact he has other commitments elsewhere.
He has gone back to Australia to work on something with Colin Farrell, Vinnie Jones and Andie MacDowell and then on to Vancouver to work on yet another remake of Dune as the Harkonnen wanker played by Sting in the David Lynch original and (still the best) of 1984.
Actually, I would cast Pink in that role, check out the similarity to her now and Sting then…
David Mard says
Steven Innes? Never heard of him.
Rick says
He is from Perth in Australia – same city that Heath Ledger and Sam Worthington came from.
About 39 years old and is great nephew to dead writer Hammond Innes and cousin to Canadian actress Laura Innes.
Not too well known so far. Was to play King Richard and/or the Sherrif in the Crowe/Scott Nottingham film. Pulled out to do a film in Australia with Mel Gibson directing and is set to be the next Mad Max in Mad Max IV and no, Gibson is not directing that.
In the running to play the blonde Harkonnen asshole played by Sting in the original David Lynch Dune movie that will be redone soon by Michael Berg and is cast to play an Aussie Army officer in a movie called Long Tan, about an actual Vietnam war battle along the lines of Zulu.
Anyway, just google him!
Marty says
Yeah, Berg did “The Kingdom” and that rocked.
“Dune” should too.
Miranda says
I’ve never heard of an Aussie actor named Steve Innes.
Who is he???