Russell Crowe To Play Bill Hicks? Comedian's biopic to fill Nottingham gap Source: Sydney Morning Herald
Ridley Scott's Nottingham has been pushed back indefinitely but at least until Spring, what with any self-respecting Robin Hood requiring that leaves be on the trees before he can commence robbing from the rich and giving to the poor. But star Russell Crowe isn't going to let the grass grow under his feet until spring, oh no. Instead, he's trying to get underway with a new biopic of achingly cool comedy legend Bill Hicks.
For those of you not in the know, Hicks was one of the smartest, most acerbic comedians of the 80s and early 90s, who struggled with drink and drugs before getting his career back on track - only to fall victim to cancer at just 32 years old. Despite his tragically young death, he lived long enough and worked hard enough to influence pretty much every comedian since, and has been paid tribute in everything from The Simpsons to the comic series Preacher.
New Zealand writer Mark Staufer has already written a treatment for a possible film, and is now turning that into a draft script, in the hope that it will hit production before the leaves unfold again in Sherwood Forest. And while he has not hitherto been known for comedy Crowe is not a bad likeness for Hicks - check out the AEnima album inlay that shows Hicks depicted here and tell us that doesn't look at least a bit like our favourite phone-chucker - and could do very well at this sort of intense stand up. Even better, enjoy some vintage Hicks standup right here, and see why it is that his biopic is a Good Idea.
all i can say is as a huge hicks fan i hope they dont do it it goes against all that bill belived in. sadly in the day when no subject is sacred it probably will happen and i can only pray that they dont turn it into another hollywood based on the life of story with only a tenth of it being true. ... Read More
Absolute bullsyte.
Thats all that needs to be said about this topic. Not only is russell crowe NOT funny, but he obviously looks NOTHING like comic master Bill Hicks. The only thing they share in common is that they are both white guys with brown hair. A facking disgrace to even insult the man with ACCUSING him of sharing a likeness to that hollywood toughguy troll. The very concept of a Bill Hicks Biopic goes against everything that Hicks believed in. Just another excuse to put more money in... Read More
L: Luis Cyphre
last thing we need is someone pretending to be Hicks...
ennis Leary already exixts why do we need Crowe doing a bad impersonation of a genius.
L: zcarstheme
Saw Hicks live twice.
You sir are a b@st@rd & I am exceptionally envious of you. I had the chance to see him on his last tour of the UK but couldnt go as was to skint. As has been said by others this Holywoodisation of his life would have gone so against everything he stood for & believed ... Read More
I agree with Rupert303, my heart sank when I saw this article. I was blessed to have seen Hicks live twice, the man was unique. Genius like that just can't be imitated. ... Read More
I know Bill Hicks was an interesting guy for sure but i dunno how interesting his life was. Plus i'm sure he'd hate the idea of having a biopic about him. ... Read More
but doing something really left field, like only focus on his teenage years where he honed his expletive ridden monologues in front of family and friends, or right at the end of his life where he tried to reconcile being clean and sober, diagnosed with cancer and still trying to stay funny. Instead what I thik we'll get is at best a half good simulation of his stand up, in the pursuity of an(other) Oscar for whomever plays him. With Hicks' DVDs and live CDs still widely available, it's not like ... Read More
