Originally posted by BOPRecruit 16
has keanu signed on for any other action movies besides constantine? he was great in the matrix, love to see more of that martial arts!
November 17, 2003 - Variety breaks the news that Best Actor-winner Russell Crowe will not be reteaming with Gladiator director Ridley Scott for the historical epic Tripoli. Keanu Reeves has been tapped to replace him. No word yet on whether Ben Kingsley is still onboard to co-star.
Although the trade paper didn't specify why Crowe dropped out, it's most likely due to the impending birth of his first child and the actor's desire to take time off to be with his family.
Unfortunately, Tripoli has hit another roadblock despite the casting of Reeves. 20th Century Fox has reportedly put the pic into turnaround, "and now co-financing companies are kicking the tires." Could The Matrix Revolutions' poor second weekend at the box office be giving the powers-that-be cold feet?
If the pic is picked up by another studio, Tripoli could be Reeves' next project after Constantine. He would star as William Eaton in the William Monahan-scripted story of how Eaton "joined forces with an exiled king to overthrow the corrupt ruler of what is now Libya."
My review of Monahan's script can be found here.
-- Stax
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The Stax Report: Script Review of Tripoli
Stax checks out the epic that will reteam Russell Crowe & Ridley Scott!
August 07, 2003 - Stax here with my review of the script for Tripoli. This 134-page draft dated February 8, 2002 is by William Monahan (he's since gone on to write Jurassic Park IV and Mazar i Sharif). Ridley Scott is slated to direct Tripoli with his Gladiator leading man Russell Crowe attached to star. Oscar-winner Ben Kingsley will reportedly co-star. Ridley's shingle, Scott Free, will also produce along with Mark Gordon (LXG). 20th Century Fox is looking to partner with another studio to help bring costs down.
Tripoli was supposed to film last year in Malta until tensions in the Middle East and Crowe's decision to take time off delayed shooting. According to Greg's Previews at Yahoo!, filming is now "scheduled to start sometime in 2004 in Morocco on a budget in the $100-120 million range (though there are reports that it may soar as high as $140-150 million)" for a 2005 release.
Touchstone Pictures and producer Gale Anne Hurd have a similar project, Shores of Tripoli, in development with Jean-Jacques Annaud directing.
Fox's Tripoli is a historical epic set against the backdrop of the Barbary Wars. It focuses on U. S. naval agent to the Barbary States William Eaton's (Crowe) military and diplomatic campaign to restore Hamet Karamanli (Kingsley?), the rightful but exiled Bashaw of Tripoli, to power in order to curb the piracy by Barbary corsairs against American merchant and military vessels.
In other words, Eaton is a hawk who schemes to oust the brutal Yusuf Bashaw from power and install a ruler who will be friendly towards the fledgling United States and their commercial and military interests abroad. (More on Tripoli's obvious contemporary overtones later.) Eaton led his ragtag army of U.S. Marines, Berbers and assorted mercenaries hundreds of miles across the desert to battle Yusuf Bashaw's superior forces.
Eaton and his troops endured many hardships along the way, eventually engaging the Bashaw's army in April 1804. (A good overview of Eaton's campaign can be found here.) I won't reveal the outcome of the campaign except to say that it wasn't quite what I had expected. (That's what I get for not brushing up on my history before reading the script!) By the way, please note that I'm using the spelling of Hamet and Yusuf Bashaw as they appear in the script; I've since found different spellings for them online.
Tripoli, as best I can tell, is a highly fictionalized work based on a historical event. It is not a biopic of either Eaton or Hamet; it focuses only on their campaign against Yusuf Bashaw. Monahan's script condenses events that transpired over the course of months and sometimes years, a creative license that is more than understandable. The screenwriter has also omitted a number of historical persons linked with the true story so don't bother looking for the likes of Stephen Decatur here (although Lt. Presley O'Bannon is a prominent supporting character).
The most glaring historical deviations, however, were with the outcome of Eaton's campaign. I will not delve too deeply into it for the sake of spoilers suffice to say that Tripoli reminded me of Braveheart in its (good-natured?) willingness to bend history for the sake of thematic value.
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I'm glad Keanu took his place!!
😉
Otay! Good! Could our man be Superman?? 😎
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Truth, Justice & the Hollywood Way
Some news about another possible new role for Keanu...
Filmforce.IGN - Neo or Aragorn as Superman?
December 18, 2003 - IGN FilmForce has learned the latest on Truth, Justice & the American Way, Focus Features' long-planned biopic of the late Superman star George Reeves. The Allen Coulter-directed project is aiming to begin filming in Los Angeles this March or April. Location scouting, production design work, and casting are currently underway.
[...]
And who might portray George Reeves? Hugh Jackman, Ben Affleck, and Dennis Quaid have all been approached for the part at different times. Now Keanu Reeves has met with Coulter about the lead. Should the Matrix star pass then Viggo Mortensen (Lord of the Rings) might be offered the role.
I've never been hip on the idea of Keanu playing Superman, but this new twist intrigues me...
Playing the man who played Superman.
That cancels out the curse, right?
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I wonder!
🙂