Coen Brothers to direct Billy Bob Thornton in a TARZAN movie'

Harry here, and before you start screaming at me read this:

Hey Harry, I don't know if you saw this or not but being a huge Coen brothers fan this put a huge smile on my face. The following is from an article about The Man Who Wasn't There by Ken Turan. It first appeared on Monday, May 14th:

Which is one of the reasons why the actor is jazzed about a notion floated by the "Man Who Wasn't There" filmmakers. "They want to do a Tarzan movie with me as Tarzan," he says, delighted. "I'd bulk up for them, wear my hair long. The Coens and Billy Bob Thornton do Tarzan. Not a bad idea. I'd do it in a second."

Don't know if it will happen, but man... nothing could beat this.

Mr. Littlejeans

Alright, so I went over to the L.A. Times to check it out, and found the entire article here!!! Billy Bob really did say it, and Kenneth Turan didn't report it in a jesting manner. It seems he's serious.

Alright... Now let's examine this logically... Billy Bob Thornton is 45 (turning 46 this August). Other actors played TARZAN in the following age ranges: Lex Barker was 30-34, Buster Crabbe was 26-57, Ron Ely was 28-32, Christopher Lambert was 27, Elmo Lincoln was 29-36 (1st Tarzan btw), Jock Mahoney was 42-43, Gordon Scott was 28-33 and the greatest Tarzan of the all... Johnny Weismuller was 28-44.

That would make Billy Bob the oldest Tarzan to play the role... but we're not talking about a series here (at least I can't imagine the Coen's deciding to get into making a series of TARZAN movies... But I'll tell ya why this intrigues me...

I love my Tarzan films, but when it comes right down to it, nothing more than a B actor has played the role... And this is coming from a guy that was babysat by Johnny Weismuller as a child... ok? I don't want to hear about no love for the old TARZAN movies, cause I love em... but the fact is that the best TARZAN director was an eleven time Academy Award winner... not as a director, but for his work as one of Hollywood's premier Art Directors... that was Cedric Gibbons, an art director for 944 Hollywood films from 1919 to 1954... but directed only one film... which happens to be the best Tarzan movie ever.... TARZAN AND HIS MATE... but besides that one-shot... we've never seen a Great Director or Writer team do a TARZAN film.

Ok, now I believe we all have faith in the talent of the Coen Brothers... but what about the believability of Billy Bob Thornton as Tarzan? He'd probably be no younger than 47-48 when he took on the role. In PUSHING TIN he played a younger man... felt like he was in his mid-thirties... He also bulked up a bit for that role.... He can look rough and tumble... In THE MAN WHO WAS NOT THERE, he proved he can carry a movie by playing it basically mute... and with today's wires and stuff.... hell they can make us believe that Keanu can do Kung Fu, I'm sure they can sell me that Billy Bob can be king of the jungle.

Now... you folks haven't read TO THE WHITE SEA... In reality... TO THE WHITE SEA is a Tarzan novel... not like Tarzan you've seen on screen... I'm talking about the Burrough's white ghost of the jungle who would slit the throats of wandering and intrusive natives... the white ape that would slip a noose around a man's neck and break his neck to protect his territory. I'm talking about TARZAN... The Tarzan of the first few novels before he became a serialized puff character.

I'm talking ONE Tarzan film made by consumate filmmakers and one of the great actors we have working today... set in the thirties... shot by Roger Deakins with a score by Carter Burwell... It would be brutal and scary. Or their take could be a spoofy one in which case I'd go see it hoping they did it right but always griping about what it could've been if done serious... sigh.... Anyways... no matter what, this is a strange development eh?