Brian Helgeland’s A Knight’s Tale is a favorite movie of mine – I think it’s wonderful and fun and just really well-made. I actually love the integration of 70s rock into the period piece. So I get excited when the guy says that he has an idea for a sequel. Of course whether that sequel ever gets made or not (the film was reasonably profitable, so it isn’t out of the question) is the kicker.
“Well, we came up with this idea where the Wat character uses his winnings to buy a boat, a creaky old leaky boat, and they basically go off and get into trouble. It’s not really a pirate movie, but the idea was that Rufus Sewell kidnaps the princess and takes her to Constantinople and they have to go down in this little boat and rescue her. But [the] name for it was A Pirate’s Tale,” Helgeland tells IGN.
He goes on to say that the biggest problem would be getting the actors together. That could be a very serious problem if Heath Ledger finds himself Oscar nominated, as I am very much hoping he is (I hear he’s fantastic in Brokeback Mountain, and I think 2005 has been a triumphant year for him, where he has really showed his range in films like Lords of Dogtown, Brothers Grimm, and the upcoming Casanova). Paul Bettany, who was Chaucer in the original, could also be a tough fish to land, but I hear that Alan Tudyk is pretty much free of the Serenity franchise and might be up for some good old fonging.
It’s important to note that Helgeland has lately been accumulating projects like you used to accumulate Magic: The Gathering Cards. Among the films he has talked about recently were a remake of The Wild Bunch, a film about Cortez coming to America, and a new version of MOby Dick, but without that long drum solo.
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