Hey, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab.
It’s a big day for Stellan Skarsgard if all these reports are true. Or even if just one of them is. These are high-profile roles, and he seems like interesting casting for either one.
First up is this e-mail I got:
Hey guys,
We've received word on possibly the first candidate for the role of Doc Ock in Spidey 2.
CLICK HERE FOR THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE!!
We'll be following up on this report as well once we hear from some contacts.
Thanks!
Mirko Parlevliet,
Superhero Hype!
That was followed closely by this letter from Vee-X:
The biggest tabloid in Sweden published an article today (29/8) regarding who will star as Merrin in the new Exorcist 4:1.
According to the paper the actor will be none other than swedish actor Stellan Skarsgård. I'll try to give you a brief summary of the article:
* Stellan will play Max von Sydow's role in the movie, directed by Paul Schrader
* When asked he would try to look like von Sydow, Stellan answered: yes, with underbite and all (laughs).
* Other actors: Minnie Driver and Gabriel Mann
* Vittorio Storaro will be DP
* Based on the novel "The exorcist", the story centers around Merrin in Africa, trying to help a boy possessed by the demon Pazuzu.
Hope this is some new stuff for all of you.
Didn’t know about Storaro. If that’s right, it’ll go a long way to verifying the rest of the story. It helps that I also got this e-mail:
G’day to ya all at the greatest film-geek-site of all time.
Here’s devil of a scoop from the land of tall women, sex and suicide.
Sweden’s two largest tabloid newspapers are reporting that Stellan SkarsgÃ¥rd taking over after the now departing Liam Neeson in the upcoming Exorcist prequel.
http://www.expressen.se/article.asp?id=120490
http://www.aftonbladet.se/vss/noje/story/0,2789,198908,00.html
Though older today than von Sydow was in ‘74, Stellan SkarsgÃ¥rd will be playing a younger Father Merrin.
“This is my biggest part yet in the US.”
Skarsgård read the script this weekend and accepted the part on the spot.
They start shooting in Marocco in November and hopes to finish in London in February.
Director Paul Schrader is currently working on the script. The story is set right after WW2 and some years after. Joining Skarsgård in Africa will be, among others, Minnie Driver, Gabriel Mann and director of photography Vittorio Storaro.
On the question “Will there be any effects?” SkarsgÃ¥rd answers:
-Yes, more and better than the first film, hopefully.
Skarsgård's also quoted saying:
-For a big Hollywood movie the script is really good. There are action, effects and devils, but also well written characters.
This is JOJO, Roadwarrior, last surviving member of the
Ardman-conspiracy, signing off.
I agree about the script, at least based on the draft I read, and I have to say that this project has recovered nicely. When John Frankenheimer left the film just before his death, Liam Neeson was quoted saying that the only reason he signed on was to work with Frankenheimer, suggesting that he’d leave. Now with Schrader and the rest of that creative team in place, this is looking like a serious-minded sequel, something that has a chance of actually being a worthy follow-up to the original.
"Moriarty" out.
