Rumpled and cynical, Clive Owen was like a noir character let loose in an apocalyptic landscape in Children of Men. The actor also explored some noir-ish territory in Sin City (and, to an extent, in the terrible Derailed) and even in Croupier, the movie that made his name in the US. Now he’s taking his perfectly noir persona to a character who defines the genre: Philip Marlowe.
Marc Abraham, one of the producers of the sure-to-be-snubbed-by-the-Oscars Children of Men, tells the Louisville, Kentucky Courier-Journal that he’s reteaming with Owen for a take on Raymond Chandler’s legendary PI:
What movie projects are on the horizon for your production company, Strike Entertainment?
We’ll be doing another movie with Clive Owen. It’s one of Raymond Chandler’s stories. He’ll play the detective Philip Marlowe. We haven’t announced it yet — you’re the first to know.
The reporter didn’t bother following up on that – like finding out which Chandler story they’re adapting – but I have to assume this has nothing to do with the recently-announced Marlowe TV show, which is to be set in modern Los Angeles and not use any Chandler material.
It’s announcements like this that make me happy Clive Owen didn’t get the James Bond role – he’s too talented and full of potential to be tied down to a franchise that will eat up his time for a decade.