Nordling here.
Charles Laughton's classic performance in THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME is a thing of beauty. Sensitive, strong, passionate, and tragic, his Quasimodo is simply his signature role, and the film's a certified clasic. Seeing it at BNAT this past December was just wonderful and I loved seeing it with that crowd.
It's been remade a few times over the years, including in a Disney animated musical that I quite liked, actually. Now it seems Tim Burton and Josh Brolin want to bring the classic Victor Hugo tale to the screen again, with Brolin playing the Hunchback, according to Hollywood Reporter.
There's an obvious physicality to the role that Brolin would embody, and Burton is currently developing DARK SHADOWS so he would not be able to jump into pre-production immediately. The script is being developed by Michele Mulroney and Kieran Mulroney, who most recently wrote the SHERLOCK HOLMES sequel GAME OF SHADOWS. Brolin is also producing the film. It's not certain if Burton will direct or not, but considering his film catalog this would seem right up his belfry, so to speak.
Josh Brolin seems an interesting choice for the part. He's not someone I would have considered for a remake of this, but I have no doubts he could turn in a good performance. The last film he did with makeup, JONAH HEX, didn't do too well both financially or critically, and so maybe Brolin wants to give this kind of performance another try. As this project develops further, it would be interesting to see the cast they get for this film. I'm wondering who they would cast as Frollo, especially - the one actor that comes to mind is Christoph Waltz. We'll see how this goes.
Nordling, out.
