Russell Crowe talks Nottingham
Story by Jack Foley
RUSSELL Crowe has been talking about Nottingham, the film that looks set to re-examine the legend of Robin Hood and which could reunite him with director Ridley Scott for a fourth time.
Speaking at a recent London press conference for their current hit American Gangster, Crowe said that production of the film is likely to begin sometime between February and June.
And when asked whether his character, Nottingham, would be the villain of the piece, he explained with a wry smile…
“Well, I’m a big Robin Hood fan and have been since I was a little kid, but if you go back into the history of the mythology, you get back to the ballads of Robin the Beheader, who would chop off your head and your hands and take all your money and not give any of it to anybody…
“So we’ll have a look at that. We’ll have a look at how the mythology morphed over time, who was in power and what was the current church we should all attend – and in this country that changed quite regularly! And then we’ll look at the Hollywood mythology ad how much of that is embedded in the psyche of people when they think of Robin Hood.
“I tell you this – Richard the Lionheart won’t be bounding up in the last scene and saving the day [chuckles]. I mean the bloke only spoke French and only spent six months of his 10-year reign in England. And besides, Richard Harris is dead.”
Nottingham is based on a script by Brian Helgeland, who won the Academy Award for LA Confidential, and is one of a couple of projects that Crowe is considering working with Scott on.
For the full American Gangster interview – including why Crowe believes Ridley deserves an Oscar and how he came to spit on Denzel Washington – click HERE