We’re a bit behind the curve on the news for Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood movie. While Nick covered the fact that Sienna Miller was out not too long ago, I never got around to reporting the rumor — now confirmed by the trades — that Cate Blanchett would replace Miller’s raw sexuality with a more refined sensuality. (Did I choose the most Sienna Miller-looking Blanchett photo I could find? Maybe.)
Nor were we on top of the name change from Nottingham to a more crowd-friendly Robin Hood, or the fact that Ridley Scott is streamlining the film away from the experimental “the sheriff is Robin Hood” approach. Cue wrist slap and insincere apology.
Russell Crowe is now playing only Robin Hood, of whom Scott told MTV, “…is in the army of Richard Coeur de Lion…He is a bowman in the army of Richard Coeur de Lion.” That relates this storyline very directly to Kingdom of Heaven, which briefly featured Iain Glen as Richard the Lionhearted. Scott’s new take also orients Robin Hood very directly against the French rather than the Sheriff of Nottingham. Loosely figured, that puts this movie at the center of a triangle defined by Kingdom, Gladiator and…Black Hawk Down? Maybe.
Universal is emptying the coffers for this one: Variety says the budget is $130m, which is an insane amount of money to spend on guys running around a forest in green tights. If I hear that most of that money is ironically being spent on foie gras for the craft service table, I’m definitely going to angle for a set visit.