Whatever you think of Rob Cohen he does have a flair behind the camera, making action sequences with style and lot’s of…well…action! Not so sure about his casting choice on this one, as we’ve said before, but there’s distinct hope for the rest of the movie.
Entertainment Weekly through Coming Soon bring us interesting news from Cohen, as well as his direct confirmation of what I think could be the worst Sinbad ever, but what would I know?
Keanu Reeves will star as Sinbad the sailor…set in eighth-century China, Sinbad and his shipmates embark on a quest to find the Lamp of Aladdin. Along the way, they meet a beautiful empress and battle fantastical creatures as well as a rebellious Chinese general who threatens the kingdom with his supernatural powers.
While setting up the project, Cohen looked up famed special-effects master Ray Harryhausen, who had told Sinbad’s story several times before at Sony…”I met with him and said, ‘I really would be honored if you would be with me on this, since none of us would be here without you.’ What Ray understood in movies like 1958’s ‘The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad’ was how to do action-fantasy-adventure at a time there was no CG. So he’s coming out of retirement to be our creative consultant, our godfather,” said Cohen.
What convinced the 84-year-old veteran? Keanu Reeves. “He just went, ‘Oh, that’s so brilliant.’ Ray thinks Keanu [could be] the greatest Sinbad ever.”
The magazine adds that Cohen thinks Ziyi Zhang (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Hero) is the one for the job of the empress. Plus, Cohen says that “Sinbad’s got a crew, so it’s gonna be a whole interesting group of actors. I’ve talked to Jet Li, Djimon Hounsou and Hayden Christensen.”
See, what would I know! Interesting choices for the rest of the movie though, and for Christensen it would come at a time when he’s openly stating he’s concerned he’ll be typecast as Darth Vader. Ermmm, sorry mate, no fear of that, his movies are already done.
Despite the initial news of the bad Sinbad, I think this could look quite good after all, Cohen behind the scenes and some interesting actor choices in front. Are there any other fans of the original Sinbad out there? What do you feel about this step in the franchise and the current line up?
