The wires (yes, I still think of them like that) were buzzing all weekend with MTV's big scoop -- that while Russell Crowe and Ridley Scott were out promoting Body of Lies, the network cornered them about the long-delayed Nottingham, Scott's revisionist Robin Hood story. There have been a lot of names attached to the role of Robin Hood, ranging from Christian Bale to newcomer Sam Riley.

Forget all of that because now, from Scott himself, comes the announcement that Crowe will be playing both roles. Mum on the details, the director would only say it was "a good old clever adjustment of characters. One becomes the other. It changes." I would take that to mean that the Sheriff of Nottingham becomes Robin Hood after having to steal from the poor one too many times ... or they're twins, which would be pretty lame, especially for Scott and Crowe.

But wait -- there's more! CHUD points out that in reading the original screenplay, they noticed the Sheriff was caught between a tyrant king and a less-than-heroic Robin Hood. Nothing in this script indicated the Sheriff and Robin Hood could be played by the same actor. Now, Brian Helgeland came in and did a rewrite, and much depends on that.

The medievalist in me suspects this is less shockingly revisionist than a return to the old medieval legends, where Robin Hood was merely an outlaw who beheaded people from time to time, not the Robin of Locksley we all know and love. It's a pretty flexible legend, and I'm very anxious to see what Scott does with it ... when it finally heads into production, that is.

If you squint your eyes just right and look at a photo of the late comedian Bill Hicks, he kind of resembles a young Russell Crowe (or vice versa). So, it would have been really cool if the Australian actor had played Hicks around ten years ago, when he was still in his 30s. But if we've learned anything from Kevin Spacey and Mike Myers (respectively, star of the Bobby Darin biopic Beyond the Sea and star of an upcoming Keith Moon biopic titled See Me Feel Me), you're never too old to play an icon who died young, and therefore we must accept the fact that at close to 50 years old, Crowe is likely to portray Hicks, who died from cancer at age 32. Fortunately for Crowe, he's good enough that it shouldn't be too hard to believe such a portrayal.

The Oscar-winning actor is quoted in The Sydney Morning Herald saying he's involved with a Hicks bio, "which is going from treatment to draft stage with Kiwi writer Mark Staufer." Never mind that the quote doesn't sound like it was actually spoken by anyone, let alone Crowe, the article is mostly about how the actor is spending time with his family now that Ridley Scott's Nottingham has been postponed. Crowe also references other projects, including an unnamed documentary and the surfing gang movie My Brother's Keeper, based on the documentary Bra Boys, which Crowe narrated. Stuart Beattie, who co-wrote the doc, is currently working on a second draft of its adaptation.

Q. Why is Cinematical not posting as much as it usually does? What's going on with the site? Did everyone go on vacation at the same time? Will things return to normal anytime soon? Can you tell us anything?

A. "We're still operating, we're undergoing an editorial readjustment, things will be back to normal on August 1st."

Here's a round up of news for today:

• The Wolverine Comic Con trailer has leaked online, and you can watch it in two parts -- one here, one here. I missed this footage when it premiered, and have to say that I love what I see. Hopefully Fox will put it online soon.
• Speaking of trailers, Oliver Stone's W now has a teaser thingy online over at Moviefone. And, honestly, it doesn't look too bad. Definitely teases; definitely has me interested. You?
• Shia LaBeouf took one step closer to becoming a "normal" celebrity after he crashed his car and was arrested for suspicion of DUI early Sunday morning.
  
• Wes Craven admits to talking to Bob Weinstein about doing another Scream movie. Fans everywhere scream, "F*ck no, dude! Leave it alone!"
• A collection of 20 Heath Ledger as the Joker t-shirts and where you can buy them.
• Following a $75 million take this past weekend, The Dark Knight has now grossed $355 million worldwide. Also of note: Step Brothers took home $30 million and The X-Files: I Want to Believe managed $10.2 million.
  
• Ridley Scott's revisionist Robin Hood tale, Nottingham, has been delayed indefinitely. The Hollywood Reporter cites "script concerns, location logistics and the current labor unrest all played a role in the decision." Production was supposed to begin next month, and will now most likely be pushed back to next year.
• Vampires are hot these days, and Family Guy writer David A. Goodman has just been brought on to adapt Blatant Comics' Last Blood, about "the human survivors of a zombie massacre who find themselves protected by a band of vampires who need their blood to survive." Nice.
  

More coming later ...

The Nottingham rumors are flying as thick as, well, the trees of Sherwood Forest. Both CHUD and Ain't It Cool News, who apparently share the same source, are adamant that Christian Bale will not be playing Robin Hood in Ridley Scott's reinterpretation of the classic tale. So, as exciting as the idea of seeing Bale and Russell Crowe square off again is, it will have to wait for another film. Oddly, I find the news a relief. I like Bale immensely, but there are only so many icons a man should play in his career!

But, there's a new name being tossed about. Latino Review reports that Sam Riley, who played the troubled Ian Curtis in Control, is rumored to be in the running. Not only that, but Russell Crowe is said to be championing his casting. Whatever, and whoever, Crowe wants, he usually gets. So, if you look to your right, you may be looking at the latest incarnation of Robin Hood.

Riley is certainly closer to Sienna Miller's age, thus making the love triangle between Maid Marian, Robin and Nottingham a bit more complex. (And palatable to all of us leery of the age gap between Miller and Crowe.) He is certainly a fresh choice, and the role would lend itself to a talented newcomer. We shall soon see! Meanwhile, sound off below -- is Riley a good fit for the man in green? Or are you off the project for good now that Bale is out of the running?

It's a day of big actors and big rumors. Aside from murmurs of Josh Brolin as Snake Plissken, The Daily Mail claims Christian Bale is in talks to play Robin Hood in Ridley Scott's upcoming film, Nottingham, which has already cast Russell Crowe as the Sheriff of Nottingham and Sienna Miller as Maid Marian.

The paper says: "Nothing is signed for Bale, but director Ridley Scott is exceedingly keen to cast him." This could just as easily be false as it is true, but it wouldn't be surprising if Ridley was keen on Bale. The man has oodles of acting talent, and he's got increasing star power, so he's the perfect guy for a role like this. They say that costume fittings start next week, so we should know soon either way, as well as if Vanessa Redgrave and William Hurt will sign on.

Now, should this be true: I wonder how many iconic roles Christian Bale can take on before it's overkill, or whether he can just keep going and going like the Energizer Bunny. He's Batman, John Connor, and maybe now Robin Hood. Who's next?

[via CHUD]

Am I the only one who hears Bryan Adams singing that cheesy love song each and every time Ridley Scott's new Robin Hood flick gets a mention? I can't help it, the damn song is just there. It's burned into my big-screen Robin Hood memories and it won't go away. Help! But enough about me -- the BBC tells us Sienna Miller has officially confirmed that she will be playing the lovely Maid Marian in Nottingham, opposite Russell Crowe's Sheriff of Nottingham. Says Maid Miller: "It's happening. I just found out. It's the most exciting news in the world. It's ridiculous. But there's this looming actor's strike, so it's not 100% sure that it's going to be made, but it's looking pretty certain."

Hopefully we'll avoid this whole actor's strike thingy, because I'm honestly very interested in seeing what Ridley Scott, Russell Crowe and Sienna Miller do with the Robin Hood story -- especially since they're sort of flipping it so that the Sheriff is a bit more sympathetic and Robin is, well, nothing but a street hood ... or something like that. Oh, and there's a love triangle. No word yet on who they'll get to play the legendary Robin Hood, though I wouldn't mind seeing Orlando Bloom in the role. Thoughts?

Nottingham is currently scheduled to hit theaters on November 6, 2009.

It just might be possible that Ridley Scott has become one of the busiest directors in the business. Over the course of a year, Scott has been attached to everything from a fashion biopic on Gucci to a big-screen Monopoly flick -- and now there is another title to add to the list. In an interview with the rough and tumble director about his recent projects, the conversation drifted to sci-fi movies and Scott tells Eclipse Magazine, "I am going to do one. I waited for a book for 20 years and I have got the book. I am not going to tell you what the book is but that film is going to probably be written within the next month. That will definitely be what I do next after Nottingham..." Considering the man was responsible for one of the best sci-fi films ever made, trying to top it is going to be a tall order.

Scott failed to mention where this leaves his classic noir flick with Casey Affleck, The Kind One, or the long-suffering Cormac McCarthy adaptation, Blood Meridian. He did provide an update on Meridian and told Eclipse, "We got it down as a screenplay and the problem is that it is so savage. But that's what it is. If you did it properly it would be an X-certificate. But you can't apologise for the violence and you can't quantify the violence and you shouldn't try to explain the violence. It is what it is..." If there's anyone who can sell stylized violence to audiences, it's Scott, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed on that one.

Remember, nothing is official for either of these projects, so stay tuned to Cinematical for updates.

It seemed completely strange to me when I heard that Ridley Scott wanted to make Monopoly into a movie. I mean, it's no Clue. There's no crazy characters to bring to life (no, an iron is not a crazy character), and a less novel-like gameplay. Yet I'm still intrigued, and will have to be for a while longer. While talking with Empire, Scott said that the project is still in development and that he doesn't know "where we're going to go with that." That doesn't sound good.

He did discuss, however, what draws him to it. It "underscores the mean side of people. Monopoly changes people, the nicest person becomes a monster -- as soon as they buy Park Lane, that's it, they've all changed. I'm trying to figure out what tone of comedy it could be. It could be a really big film." First, does this mean we'll have Monopoly UK-style? Either way, a group of people are going to get confused over the names. Secondly, what's with this monster thing? I've had some lively Monopoly games, like the time my little cousin wiped the floor with me, or when conglomerations were made to try to take down the big guys, but in my experience, it's been whoever is losing that gets a little mean or snarky. How about your Monopoly experiences?

In other news, Scott discussed the upcoming Nottingham picture, which he calls Robin Hood -- I don't know if that's just his name for it, or if the title was changed. Whatever the case, once Leo and Russell are done with Body of Lies, and all the strikes are settled, Scott will kick the film into gear. He says Crowe is still tapped for the lead, and he's scouted some locations. Now I'm not sure if Scott said something else about the project that wasn't posted, but Empire says that the Sheriff twist previously reported "appears to have either fallen by the wayside or Crowe fancies reprising his conflicted bad guy schtick again." Such confusion!

It looks like everything is up in the air, so we'll have to continue to wait and see what Scott has in store.

So while I wouldn't necessarily pair the rough and tumble director Ridley Scott with the world of high fashion, Fox must see something in the pairing that I don't. Variety reports that Fox 2000 is putting together a vehicle for Scott to direct that is based on the life and murder of Maurizio Gucci (head of the famous Gucci fashion house). The project had been wasting away at Paramount before Fox finally picked it up through The Devil Wears Prada producer, Carla Hacken.

The famous house of Gucci was founded by Guccio Gucci back in 1906. By the time the 70's had rolled around, the company was in serious financial trouble and there was infighting and bad blood running rampant in the family. Maurizio was the grandson of founder Guccio and had managed to retain 50% of the business after the death of his father. He allied with his cousin Paulo, and the two finally turned the company around. It was Maurizio who had hired a relatively new designer at the time, Tom Ford, to help revive the label in the 90's. On the eve of his big debut though, Maurizio was gunned down outside his apartment building. In 1998, Maurizio's ex-wife was convicted of the murder (she was later retried but her conviction was upheld with a reduced sentence).

Fox has already lined up Charles Randolph (The Interpreter) to begin working on the script as soon as the writer's strike is over. According to Variety, the story "chronicles the wild and glamorous story of the Gucci family in the 1970s and '80s". Scott is currently shooting the drama Body of Lies with Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe on location in Morocco, before heading off to work on the revisionist Robin Hood flick, Nottingham. So since Scott has plenty of work left to do and a script has yet to be written, it could be awhile before Scott and company can get this project underway.

When Brad Pitt ditched his starring role in State of Play last Wednesday, it seemed like for once a production was hitting snags that have nothing to do with the writer's strike. Not true; it turns out Pitt's departure was due to a script problem, specifically that Pitt thinks it needs some more work and Universal disagrees, and so State of Play has become yet another victim of the strike. But unlike other strike-affected movies, such as Pinkville and Shantaram, State of Play may not be going into a development hibernation. According to Variety, Universal is attempting to woo Russell Crowe to fill Pitt's shoes and keep the movie on track. Crowe would have to make sure he can squeeze this film in before his March start on Ridley Scott's Nottingham, while the studio would have to make sure that Crowe doesn't mind problem scripts. If the actor doesn't get cast, though, Variety points out that both Tom Hanks and Johnny Depp seem to be available thanks to the strike (same goes for Bruce Willis I think).

Obviously, Universal is hoping to get this movie made no matter what, because it needs to have something in the can once the strike has left us with a release void. Yet despite the strength of its cast, which includes Edward Norton, Helen Mirren, Rachel McAdams, Robin Wright Penn and Jason Bateman, the studio has to understand that if the script is problematic, the outcome may be a disappointment. It's worth pointing out that the plot of State of Play, which deals with politics and journalism, sounds superficially like the recent remake of All the King's Men, which had a stellar ensemble yet failed anyway. State and Play may be nothing like that film, but regardless it does remind me enough to foresee a failure. Anyway, we should hear definite word on whether or not Crowe takes the part early this week. We should also hear definite word, though probably not this week, on whether or not Universal plans to sue Pitt over his exit. The case will certainly be interesting to follow, because it could change the way in which Hollywood deals with A-list talent and pay-or-play contracts.