Russell Crowe Is Bill Hicks? ‘Nottingham’ Delayed?
Posted by The Movie God | August 22nd, 2008 at 8:44 am
FlicksNews is reporting that Russell Crowe is apparently set to play Bill Hicks in a biopic of the far-too-young-deceased comedian. Crowe was quoted in the Sydney Morning Herald saying, “I have another project based on the life of comedian Bill Hicks, which is going from treatment to draft stage with Kiwi writer Mark Staufer.”
Crowe’s currently spending time at home with his wife and kids while Nottingham is postponed. Apparently filming won’t be starting again until March because director Ridley Scott wants the leaves in Sherwood Forest to be perfect. That, ladies and gentleman, is an artist seeking perfection.
For those who don’t know, Bill Hicks was a hilarious and usually graphic comedian who loved to smoke and drink and piss people off. He was a master of his craft and one of many comedians who died way too young. Hicks died of cancer in 1994 at the age of 32.
If we do indeed go somewhere after death (although Hicks would be the very last to believe it), you can imagine this dude is hanging out with the likes of Mitch Hedberg and Sam Kinison, listening to stories from Bruce, Pryor, Carlin, and Dangerfield.
Now that’s the table I wanna sit at.
For those of you unfamiliar with his work, below is a couple great starters.
If Crowe wants to produce or direct the flick that would be great. But I wouldn’t cast him as Bill Hicks. The role requires a younger actor, preferably an unknown. I admire Crowe for wanting to do this. Hicks was always a bigger name in countries like England, Scotland, and Australia than in the U.S. which is a damn shame. Us yanks were too busy listening to Paul Reiser and Jeff Foxworthy. Aren’t we highly evolved beings?
DanJW
No film could live up to the man himself. It will inevitably be censored as well (will they include all the various experiments with drugs that Hicks did, or his adventures in the local brothels?)
However you would do well to read a Hicks biography youself (I recommend ‘Agent of Evolution’). Then you would know that Hicks was a christian – or at least that he believed in something like God. It was organised religion and dogma that he didn’t like. Heck you can tell that he believed in life after death just by his material; for instance by his assertion that ‘life is just a ride’.
Do your homework MovieGod.
Alfonso
I love Bill Hicks’ work. A man that had a beautiful goal: to change our way of thinking, our philosophy and interestingly doing so with a comedic routine. I don’t believe in the afterlife but my take on his “life is just ride” is that our chance at existence doesn’t have to be about worrying.
I would love to see a movie about him.
http://www.kogmedia.com movie fan
Russell Crowe’s accent already resembles something that would fit in another version Robin Hood… though he’ll probably have to drop some of that girth he developed for Body of Lies
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