Stephen Norrington’s run of shoddy luck sitting in the director’s chair is continuing as Comics2Film reports that he’s pulled the eject cord on his planned remake of The Crow after some creative differences.
Just this week, we reported on the rumours of Mark Wahlberg being offered the role and when the site got in touch with Norrington to confirm or deny the move, he let slip that he’s off the project. "I don't know about that story but I can tell you I'm no longer involved with The Crow.”
So what’s the story? It would seem that another actor – also a star – had become attached to the project, attracted by Norrington’s new vision for the film, which aims to take the story in a different visual and thematic direction from Alex Proyas’ 1994 original.
But despite the apparent meeting of minds, this unnamed performer then demanded that Norrington ditch the script he’d been developing with Nick Cave and start over with another writer.
"As I had gotten involved explicitly as a writer-director my exit was inevitable. I was bummed. I had developed a genuinely authentic take that respected the source material while moving beyond it, and Nick Cave came in and added more depth," Norrington says. "I think the fans would have been pleasantly surprised."
From the sound of it, Wahlberg isn’t the one who demanded the change and forced the director’s hand. "I will say I think Wahlberg could be cool if they take a gritty blue-collar approach," Norrington says of the rumour. "He's a truthful actor. I think he could really ground the supernatural stuff."
As for Norrington himself, he’s putting 18 months of Crow development behind him to focus on other projects, including an untitled indie blend of animation and live action and The Lost Patrol, which he signed on to make for Legendary Pictures in January. Maybe his luck is about to change. Or maybe the cinematic karma from The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen will keep haunting him…