Patrick Stewart and John Logan are set to team up for a modern take on Shakespeare’s The Merchant Of Venice. We get the scoop from the movieweb:
“He’s carrying on that association with the Bard with his next film project, producing and starring in a film version of The Merchant Of Venice, set in the Las Vegas of the 20th century. The screenplay was written by John Logan, the man behind Hollywood successes such as The Last Samurai and The Aviator.
The idea came out of an argument the two had after Logan described it as a “loathsome play”.
“I spent half an hour arguing the contrary,” says Patrick. “He said, Would you like it if I started working on a screen project for nothing?’ He earns about $2 million a project, so I thought it was a decent offer.
I am not going to lie and pretend that I read a lot of Shakespeare. What I will tell you is that I am not a huge fan of the movie adaptations of his work. I have no way to compare them to the origional work, but I can say that I do not find most of the films enjoyable. What I have historically disliked greatly is the “modern” adaptations of Shakespeare’s work. I want to see the story told in the intended period not in modern day Las Vegas.
All this being said, I find it refreshing and humorous that the project came to be through an argument. The fact that Logan loathed the play but is still willing to work with it, in order to make the best film possible is a testament to his desire to tackle a challenge. Then consider that he is doing it for free, in order to work something out with Stewart. This story itself would make a great film.
Although I am not a fan of modern interpretations of Shakespeare, I am a huge fan of Stewart. Both on and off the Enterprise, I consider him a master of his craft. I will see this film, if for no other reason, than to celebrate a movie born in argument.
Everyone knows how I love Trek, but to follow simonz example, I’d say I liked Patrick Stewart in “Safehouse”. Pretty cool flick. PS plays a rich paranoid guy in a custom safe house with “LOTS” of security features. Check it out if you get the chance.
The Baz L version.
I still love that film. Shitloads of style but keeping the dialogue reletively close to the subject text.
It has some quality supporting actors like Harold Perrineau, John Leguizamo and Pete Postlethwaite.
I remember the last time I watched a modern reinterepting of a shakespere play, it was Romeo and Juliet with cliare Danes and Lenanardo Dicaprio. I liked it at the time, but now I couldn’t watch it for free. (I know this because they were playing at the store where I worked for some reason a month or so ago, and when you would rather rearrange laser printers …)
I hope Stewart isn’t playing Shylock, although he probably will. I saw a BBC series on playing shakespeare a number of years ago where Stewart did some Shylock andI did not like his interpretation at all (it was too cheesy.) Another actor in that episode(David Suchet) did a much much better Shylock IMO.
‘Last Samurai’ was great in my opinion and John Logan also wrote ‘The Aviator’ – better than Last Samurai. But there is no defending Star Trek: Nemesis, or Star Trek in general, or even Star Wars (just to make sure everyone is offended). He has talent though, but that Stewart, what a bastard I tell you! Just kidding, that bald man has some thespian talent and it’ll be good to see him in something decent outside of sci-fi material. You know something besides his opus… Masterminds, hahah.
Patrick Stewart kicks ass but John Logan is a terrible screenwriter. He wrote the worst parts of Gladiator, he wrote The Time Machine, The Last Samurai and he wrote Star Trek: Nemesis.
The Al Pacino – Jeremy Irons Merchant of Venice movie that came out a couple of years ago wasn’t too bad. All original setting as well. Check that one out.