I was watching the new episode of HBO’s Entourage the other night, in which the lead actor character has “cooled” and his agent strongly advises him to take a big high-profile “gimme” project like Aquaman or risk evaporating from the A-list.  I can only imagine a similar conversation occurring between Ben Affleck and his talent agent, if there’s any truth to this rumor. Although I see him as more of a Namor.

Apparently Affleck is interested in whipping out his badge for the big-screen remake of the late-60s cop show Hawaii Five-O, a series known mostly for its vivid shirts and catchphrase “Book him, Danno”, and for giving rappers new lingo to describe men of the law.  The property actually started a bidding war a few years ago, with a script by Chinatown writer Robert Towne making the rounds.  Like the original series (which starred square-jawed Jack Lord), the update would follow an elite Hawaii police unit that focuses on organized crime and hunts an elusive kingpin name Wo Fat.

As much as I’d hate to see him encourage further creative bankruptcy in Hollywood, Affleck could use a “safe” flick (hey, I like the guy) along the lines of similar TV updates like Miami Vice and Dukes of Hazzard.  He’s currently starring as the man in the supersuit in the George Reeves indie biopic Truth, Justice and the American Way, and he’s been planning to get behind the camera to direct an adaptation of Mystic River author Dennis Lehane’s Boston-based kidnapping thriller Gone Baby Gone.

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