Regular port-swiller CrisN sent along this nooz article spotted in the Atlanta papers:
Crowe considering new Master & Commander movie
By SIMON HAYDON
Associated Press Writer
LONDON — Russell Crowe is in the early stages of negotiations to reprise the role of Jack Aubrey as a British sea captain in a new movie version from the Master & Commander series of novels.
Crowe told The Associated Press on Friday that a script based mostly on the eleventh novel of Patrick O’Brian’s 20-novel series, The Reverse of the Medal, had been written, but that discussions were at a very early stage.
“There’s still a long way to go,” the New Zealand-born actor told AP at a cricket match between England and Australia in London. He said talks had been taking place with the owner of the rights to the novels.
The 44-year-old Crowe, who won a best actor Oscar for his starring role in Gladiator, is a keen cricket fan. His two cousins, Jeff and Martin, are former captains of the New Zealand national team. Jeff is now a senior cricket official and is in charge of the team of officials at the England-Australia match.
The Aubrey/Maturin novels consists of 20 books and one partly written before his death in 2000 by O’Brian, all set during the Napoleonic Wars.
The 2003 movie Master and Commander took material from several of the novels. The Reverse of the Medal, published in 1986, sees Aubrey in the Caribbean in his ship HMS Surprise, where he meets his illegitimate son Samuel Panda, a Catholic priest born from an illicit liaison.
Crowe gave no indication of when filming could start but said it was one of a number of projects he is considering.
Which I hope he drops such considerin’ right quick-like!
I have said it many, many times but I’m going to say it again: I’ve nothing in particular against Russell Crowe, but he is all wrong for the part of Jack Aubrey. Period. End of report. Finis.
Incidentally, I would point out that Jack never takes the Surprise into the Carribbean. The story opens in port at Bridgetown, Barbados at the far eastern end of the West Indies. Geologically speaking, it is located in the Atlantic, not the Carribbean. Further, when Jack meets Sam Panda, Sam is not a Catholic priest, but instead is in minor orders.
Small details to some, perhaps, but not to me.
14 comments
Comments feed for this article
July 18, 2009 at 9:55 pm
Diane
So if Crowe is wrong, who would be right?
July 18, 2009 at 10:39 pm
Kathy
Excellent! Just what we’ve been needing a Russell Crowe-as-Jack-Aubrey Flame war.
It’s been way too long.
Ahem.
HE’S PERFECT AS JACK AUBREY!
July 19, 2009 at 2:07 am
Diane
LOL Kathy! I’m actually serious. Crowe at least is a competent actor, which can’t be said of much of Hollywood.
July 19, 2009 at 2:53 am
Robbo
Diane – You put your finger on a sore spot, as Hollywood is shamefully shallow in terms of acting depth these days.
As for Kathy? She tasks me. She tasks me! And I shall have her……
July 19, 2009 at 10:27 am
jen
I’ve said it once, I’ll say it again. I love M&C the movie.
But I am curious who Robbo thinks should play Aubrey in the movies, if not Crowe.
July 19, 2009 at 2:16 pm
Sarah G.
I have to chime in here as well, I’m with Jen and Kathy. Loved the movie, Crowe was great fun and it was one of the very few movies that captured the claustrophobic conditions on board.
July 20, 2009 at 3:50 am
Jordana
Justin watched the movie a while back and just recently read the book. He much preferred the book and says now that he has read it, he must agree with you, Robbo.
Having no stake the matter, having ignored both book and film, I’ll have to defer to those more knowledgeable.
July 20, 2009 at 5:06 am
Boy Named Sous
This may come as some shock, but odds are there will be a great many people in the audience who have never read the books. For them, the entertainment value of the movie is of greater import than its dedication to the exact details of the books.
I have come to terms with this regarding the Lord of th Rings trilogy. You would do well to accept it regarding these movies as well.
July 20, 2009 at 12:18 pm
Diane
I’ve never read the books, but would like to – where do I start? I need some good summer reading.
I did very much like the movie.
July 20, 2009 at 4:15 pm
Kathy
Robbo, if I’m remembering correctly, thinks Ciaran Hinds would be great as Jack. While I have the utmost respect for my learned colleague, (ahem), I patently disagree. While Ciaran certainly is no slouch, he doesn’t have enough range to perfectly capture how vulnerable Jack is away from his ship. I know Crowe does (e.g. The Insider, or L.A. Confidential) have enough range.
Furthermore, I thus quoteth O’Brien, from Master and Commander:
Physically, despite his age, Crowe would appear to be a dead-ringer for Aubrey. But it’s more that—he nailed Aubrey’s foibles. The impatience, the stubbornness, etc. Crowe obviously bothered to read the series, and found something worthwhile there. You can tell he was inspired by them, by Aubrey, if the stories that came off the set of him setting up leadership exercises via sport to unify the cast are true. I would argue that, quite simply, he got it.
Crowe’s job-well-done aside, whomever wrote M&C for the screen was much more faithful to Aubrey than they were Maturin, but that was due to the circumstances of the story they chose to adapt, rather than any weakness on Paul Bettany’s part. If they do intend to make Reverse of the Medal we shall see Maturin do the voodoo his does so well, and in fact, that will force Crowe to up his game, and I think he’ll do brilliantly with it.
You can’t have Aubrey without Maturin. It’s the most symbiotic relationship I’ve ever seen in fiction, hands down. We’ve seen Jack in his element; now it’s time to see Maturin in his.
QED
July 20, 2009 at 4:40 pm
Robbo
Actually, I said that Hines would have made a good Aragorn, were I casting a Lord of the Rings movie.
The primary trouble with Crowe is that he is incapable (IMHO) of grasping the simpler (and often sunnier) side of Aubrey – the readiness to dissolve in laughter at the slightest show of wit, for example, or his complete helplessness when dealing with the non-aquatic world – which is just as critical to his character as his other traits. Crowe is naturally too broody, giving an air of thinking everything to death. Jack doesn’t intellectualize much, being more of an instinctive spirit (another way in which he and Maturin play off each other so well).
In fact, in order to smote you hip and thigh, my plan is to read the series again specifically for the purpose of citing and teasing out Jack’s character.
Beat to quarters!
July 20, 2009 at 4:59 pm
Kathy
Forgive me about Hinds, but I still disagree.
Go ahead and smote me hip and thigh. There’s enough fat in either place that I will escape quite unharmed and will actually be the better for it.
Beat to quarters, indeed!
July 21, 2009 at 10:03 am
Simon Haydon
Good people, as the author of the above article, and as a lover of all the novels and the movie, can I just add to the debate by saying that five minutes in Crowe’s company at a cricket match last Friday convinced me that he has more charisma than anyone I’ve met before. To put it bluntly – and I’m a father of four – he was as sexy as hell!!
Can’t think of a better person to reprise the role personally, but of course I’d love to see possible alternatives proposed.
October 30, 2009 at 3:45 am
Rick Adler
I believe one compelling aspect of Jack is his size. He is a large, oversized compared to his fellows, man. Perhaps for that reason among others, I have always thought of the actor John Goodman as the model for Jack Aubrey.