Ridley Scott's 'Nottingham' running late

So few high-profile studio movies are being made today that it was something of a surprise to discover that Nottingham, Ridley Scott's much-anticipated Robin Hood drama, had been postponed, even with Russell Crowe on board in the role of a more likeable-than-usual Sheriff of Nottingham.

Universal Pictures, which is financing, cited labour uncertainty, an unfinished script and seasonal concerns about shooting during winter in forest locations that needed to have the rich green hue associated with leafy Sherwood Forest.

The original script, by Ethan Reiff and Cyrus Voris (Bulletproof Monk), had been such a hot property that Crowe signed on immediately, prompting a studio bidding war that was won by Universal and Brian Grazer's Imagine Entertainment, which will produce the film.

Scott immediately passed muster with Crowe, who had starred in the director's Oscar-winning Gladiator and the more recent (ahem, not quite as successful) A Good Year.

So if the film has a huge star and an A-plus film-maker raring to go, what actually is slowing it down?

Universal chairman Marc Shmuger offered some answers.

The original script had enormous appeal because it had what Hollywood craves - a great part for a big movie star.

But it was not exactly the kind of character Scott imagined for his vision of Sherwood Forest.

"The script had the Sheriff of Nottingham as a CSI-style forensics investigator, set in medieval times," Shmuger explains.

"It was really well written, but Ridley's interest took him in a different direction."

Scott brought veteran screenwriter Brian Helgeland on to do rewrites but was not entirely happy with the results.

So now, Hollywood being Hollywood, the movie is getting a new rewrite by British playwright Paul Webb.

He has worked on several highly regarded unproduced scripts, most notably Lincoln, which has Steven Spielberg attached to direct.

Webb is supposed to turn in his new draft later this month, which - if everything goes right, which usually is not the case - could allow filming to begin as early as late October.

It is more likely the project will not gear up until early 2009, making it impossible to hit its original November 2009 release date.

The delay could help on one front.

Crowe, who has looked, shall we say, like he's been feasting on the king's venison in recent films, needs to lose weight before he's ready to play such an athletic part.

As encouragement, the production team plans to send Joe Abunassar, a top Las Vegas-based trainer who works with NBA stars, to Australia to get Crowe into fighting shape.

Still, Universal is bullish on the movie, which it sees as an elevation of the many TV and film renditions of Robin Hood over the years.

Of course, it is not a movie yet.

It needs a new script, a budget and a start date.

That is a tall order.

Maybe Crowe can relax for a few more weeks before rushing into that killer workout regime. - Patrick Goldstein

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