Early 2007 came news that the Weinsteins had commissioned crime novelists Michael Connelly and Terrill Lee Lankford to come up with a screenplay adaptation of the 80’s U.S. crime show The Equalizer, with the idea being that Lucky Number Slevin helmer Paul McGuigan would direct.
Presumably the script is complete and we now have a hint at who might be stepping into Edward Woodward’s shoes as the private detective who “free of charge” will solve problems of anyone who approaches. His add in the newspaper (and no doubt the tagline of the film) is “Got a problem? Odds against you? Call the Equalizer.”
Jason Statham said this to Movies Online when asked about the flick…
”I saw Harvey [Weinstein] the other week and he was talking to me about that”, says Statham, who says he’s got new “Transporter” and “Crank” films, in that order, to do first”.
Statham’s casting would cement the kind of movie they are looking for and I’ll admit I’ve been taken a little off guard by this news because he doesn’t seem to the kind of actor who would fit the writings of crime novelists. Have the Weinsteins turned what was looking to be an intense and small character driven cop thriller ala The French Connection, into a balls to the wall action clone of The Transporter and Crank?
source – moviehole
2 Comments
I liked the Equalizer. An Englishman in New York acting like an American Bronson-type. It was pretty original to do that.
But Woodward was channeling Michael Caine most of the time, can Statham bring that kind of quiet danger to a performance or will he do his usual overbearing menace?
He’s capable of that kind of nuance, let’s hope the toughest guy in hollywood isn’t too scared to do it.
No no NO!
Woodward was far more of a fatherly figure in the series. He wasn’t an action figure!! Statham getting the role would suggest that its being taken in completely the wrong direction.
I’d absolutely LOVED the Equalizer and I’ll be gutted if they turn this into another run of the mill action flick.