Russell Crowe Says Robin Hood Was The Bad Guy

I've always been interested in contemporary adaptations of literary and film classics (as is evident with the Disturbia Movie Trailer posting). Well some interesting news just hit the wire that Russel Crowe has signed on to play the Sheriff of Nottingham, in a modern day REVISIONIST live-action Robin Hood adaptation titled Nottingham.

Nottingham is a 180 degree spin of the Robin Hood story-line where the Sheriff is the protagonist and Robin Hood is the bad guy. Since the original Robin Hood story was a spin on the classic good vs. evil structure, I'm not exactly sure this will work into a great story since it basically brings the dynamics to it's usual balance. But I can tell you this, I'm interested.

Both Bryan Singer (X-Men, Superman Returns), Ridley Scott (Gladiator, Hannibal) and Sam Raimi (Spider-Man, Evil Dead) have been attached to the project at other studios. But now Universal is trying to get the picture made but I'm sure whomever ends up sitting in the directors chair probably won't be quite as name-worthy. Either way, could me in.

Sources say that Crowe's deal is for $20 million against a 20 percent backend.

The announcement comes at the end of a bidding war between Universal Pictures, Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line Cinema, DreamWorks Pictures and Columbia Pictures. The Hollywood Reporter says that the script was sold only 36 hours after the script had gone out: "And the writers — whose "Sleeper Cell" Showtime had canceled on January 25 — became part of one the biggest deals in some time."

Universal hopes to push the film into production by years end. I smell a possible Summer 2008 release.