Goldstein Unties the ‘Nottingham’ Mystery
On his The Big Picture blog at the LA Times, Patrick Goldstein sniffs around the mystery behind the delay of Ridley Scott’s Nottingham by talking to Universal Chairman Marc Shmuger.
Apparently in the original script written by Ethan Reiff and Cyrus Voris (Bulletproof Monk), the sheriff of Nottingham was portrayed as “a CSI-style forensics investigator, set in medieval times (’There were no utensils in medieval times, hence there are no utensils at Medieval Times. Would you like a refill on that Pepsi?’)”
It seems Ridley didn’t care for that angle (can you blame him?) so he brought in Brian Helgeland (L.A. Confidential) for a rewrite. He didn’t like the new version either so now Paul Webb (the upcoming Lincoln) is doing another draft which is due later this month.
That was all rather boring, wasn’t it? Wake me up when the one-sheets come out.
Filed under: News, Pre-Production
Tags: Brian Helgeland, Notthingham, Paul Webb, Ridley Scott, Russell Crowe
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LOVE the Cable Guy reference. When are people going to get over CSI? They’ve practically ruined the procedural genre for me.
The more I hear about the ins and outs of this project, the more I think Ridley Scott would probably be better off making a sequel to Legend. Maybe he’s waiting for Valkyrie to flop to lure Crusie aboard?
That just about does my mean-spirited quotient for the week. I doubtless will see these films whenever they’re actually released.
I’ll write it. These guys just never seem to ask me.
Sorry, can’t see the words ‘medieval times’ without thinking of Cable Guy. It’s a madness.
I don’t share your skepticism on this one Alexander…and as I’ve said I’m not a huge Scott fan. I like the Robin Hood myth and I like the idea of telling the story from the sherrif’s perspective. I’m also glad he’s not going the CSI route.
JB, you need a new agent.
Joel, when are people going to appreciate The Cable Guy for the comedy gold that it is?
Daniel (in Joel’s voice) Never. That movie was doomed the minute they reported Jim Carrey making $20 million.
“Sthsuit yourself. No thweat off my sac. Oh by the way, you might wanna put on a bathing suit ’cause you’ll be channel thurfing in no time! ”
Where have you gone, Jim Carrey? Where have you gone?
Daniel, 100% agreement. It’s far too dark for Jim Carrey fans or most of America, but the Cable Guy is a brilliant little black comedy. It’s the only movie of his other than Eternal Sunshine that I’ve wanted to see more than once. It’s also the last think I enjoyed Broderick in (other than his cameos last season on 30 Rock).
Well, I’m also glad that Scott isn’t going the CSI route (?!?!), but, without coming off like a Wells or Poland, I do think that usually films where there is this much of a shift in the content usually don’t work out so well. Then again, there are some truly great films made whose final material’s pathway to the big screen makes this look like a picnic.
Love the play on words in this headline.
I hear what you’re saying, though I figure if they’re going to drag this story out again, they might as well shake it up. It could be interesting to look at Robin Hood as a kind of old timey terrorist.