Now MGM Wants Russell Crowe For ‘RoboCop’? [Update: “No,” Says Crowe]
This is starting to get ridiculous. Yesterday we heard thatAkiva Goldsmanisstill trying to call in favorswithRussell Crowe, among other actors, to play a role in his directorial debutWinter’s Tale. Then it came out thatDarren Aronofskywants the actorforNoah. Now MGM is supposedly looking at Crowe forRoboCop. Really?
The source here is atweetfrom Variety’s Jeff Sneider, who said, “Sure, Russell Crowe, MIGHT star in Aronofsky’s NOAH… but do you know what else he MIGHT star in? Three words: Ro. Bo. Cop.”
Given that Crowe has been attached in some form toWinter’s Talefor quite a while, and with Crowe’s working relationship with Goldsman in mind, that seems like the most likely of the three films to actually land the actor.Noahis reportedly further along than just being a wishlist situation (if we take Deadline’s word), while thisRoboCopthing sounds like more of a shortlist scenario. It’s an interesting report, because it is an indicator about what MGM is thinking about forJose Padilha’s reboot ofRoboCop— they’re not determined to cast young — but beyond that I wouldn’t expect to see a cybernetic Crowe busting ass just yet.
Oh, and when I say ‘ridiculous,’ I don’t mean casting interest in Crowe, because his skills have been thoroughly proven. I mean the rash of info about films that he may or may not end up in, which in part seems like a bit of competitive reporting.
And I don’t think Crowe is quite right forRoboCop, as that character needs an actor with a certain sort of vulnerability. Crowe can be vulnerable, sure, but I don’t see him as that particular character. (I’m sure there will be many who argue with me on that point.) But if Padilha puts him in the Clarence Boddicker role…
Update:Twitter user John Dotson (@DRockDot) asked Crowe via Twitter if there was any truth to theRoboCopstory. He said simply, “no.” He said the samein responseto another Twitter user asking aboutRoboCop. So that’s that.
