Russell Crowe mounts a one-man sequel campaign
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Russell Crowe is at it again.
No, not telling newspaper reporters he doesn’t believe what’s written in newspapers. The Aussie actor is trying to foment a different kind of revolution, this time by starting a Twitter campaign for a new ‘Master and Commander’ film.
‘If you want a Master and Commander sequel I suggest you e-mail Tom Rothman at Fox and let him know your thoughts,’ Crowe tweeted, referring to the studio head.
Crowe actually has a point -- there are more Patrick O’Brian books where Peter Weir’s original came from. (The author wrote 20 in all.) And the first nautical adventure, while only a modest performer in the U.S., was a global hit, with more than $200 million in receipts when it came out seven years ago.
Of course, there’s no indication that there’s any development momentum whatsoever on a new film based on O’Brian’s Aubrey-Maturin series (which follows the adventures of two naval officers during the Napoleonic Wars). And it’s hard to see this as something other than Crowe trying to get back to his salad days after a string of flops.
Studios know that nautical movies are knotty and expensive propositions, which is why a Fox spokesman tweeted back that there was nothing happening right now. ‘Getting a lot of tweets about Master & Commander sequel, I’ll look into it (I’d love one, too, but as you all know a LOT goes into it.)’
So no new ‘Master and Commander’ for now -- although Twitter campaigns from A-list actors aimed at studio heads are almost as interesting a plot turn as anything in the stories of the ship-bound themselves.
--Steven Zeitchik
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