• September 29th, 2008

    Jack Nicholson as Long John Silver in Treasure Island remake

    Jack Nicholson as Long John Silver in Treasure Island remake Jack Nicholson is being lined up to play Long John Silver in a big screen adaptation of Treasure Island set in Scotland.

    Scots film maker Douglas Rae is planning a dark, moody movie version of Robert Louis Stevenson's classic adventure and Nicholson is at the top of his wish list to hobble on screen as the one-legged pirate Long John Silver - along with cross-dressing comic Eddie Izzard.

    Rae said: "Either of them would be fantastic. The film would be partly shot here in Scotland then they would go off to search for the treasure."

    And he will not have to look far to find the perfect location - Stevenson based Ben Gunn's cave on the Darn Walk next to Bridge of Allan, in Stirlingshire, where he played in the meadows as a child.

    Rae is the boss of Ecosse Films and has had global success with films such as Mrs Brown, Jane Austen biography Becoming Jane and Brideshead Revisited.
    He revealed that work is already forging ahead on a very different version of Treasure Island.

    One big-screen version was done tongue in cheek in 1996 when The Muppets teamed up with Rocky Horror Show favourite Tim Curry as Long John Silver and Billy Connolly as Billy Bones. But the Scots producer promises this film will be a much more daring look at the story of plucky cabin boy Jim Hawkins defying ruthless pirates in the search for hidden treasure. He said: "It is a very dark tale and we are working with a writer who has a new take on it."

    Since the early days of the movies Stevenson's Treasure Island has been a favourite with film makers. Most famously, Silver has been portrayed by Wallace Beery and Robert Newton. The lovable rogue has also been played on screen by Orson Welles, Charlton Heston and Jack Palance.

    Pirates Of The Caribbean star Bill Nighy was Silver's voice in a 1997 cartoon version.
    Larger than life British actor Brian Blessed was Silver in the TV series Return To Treasure Island and there has even been a sex change version with Hetty Baynes as Long Jane Silver in a TV comedy. But before Treasure Island can set sail, Rae will launch another classic film, Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights.

    He said: "We are planning a totally different interpretation as an international movie."


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(6204 views / 6 replies)
Kurt - Monday, 29th Sep 2008 @ 18:26

Great, I hope Jack will go for this role!

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