It appears that Gerard Butler is getting ready to wield the big sword in a Roman-era film again.Speaking to Ain't It Cool News to promote the currently released Overture Films thriller 'Law Abiding Citizen,' the former '300' star let it leak out that he'll soon be appearing as general Tullus Aufidius in an upcoming film adaptation of Shakespeare's tragedy 'Coriolanus.'
Ralph Fiennes will direct and star in the independently financed movie, playing the lead role of military leader Gaius Martius Coriolanus, who after being banished from the Roman army, teams with his Volscian army rival (played by Butler) to seek his revenge.
Vanessa Redgrave is already attached to the film, and William Hurt is also rumored to be involved.
For his part, Butler currently co-stars alongside Jamie Foxx in 'Law Abiding Citizen,' which had surprising pop at last weekend's domestic box office, taking in $21 million.
That had to come as somewhat of a relief for Butler, who is coming off a string of middling romantic comedies ('P.S. I Love You,' 'The Ugly Truth') and flopped thrillers ('RocknRolla,' 'Gamer') since '300' took in a whopping $456 million globally in 2007 and made him a star in the process.
Reader Comments (1)
hoodin at 12:03PM on Oct 25th 2009
How in the world can you say that P S I Love you OR The Ugly truth were not box office successes? Maybe it is because The Ugly Truth, in particular, proved that certain critics can be consistently very wrong and very out of touch with the public.
PS I Love You, not only had good box office numbers, both local and worldwide...but was #1 when it was released to DVD. The Ugly Truth will not be released to DVD very soon, due to the good box office draw and popularity it is still experiencing worldwide.
It is so hard to take a critic seriously, or appreciate what critics say when they are immediately proven incorrect, by the overwhelming or positive public reaction. So often I have heard people base their choice of movie by going AGAINST what the critic says. "It is getting hammered by a specific critic, and he is always wrong, so let's go see it".
Even a negative critique could be believed and appreciated, if it were based on viable, honest, and real facts and statistics. Most of the negative comments are prefaced and shaped by the preconcieved notions and ideas based on what an actor has done in another movie, or that he had more chemistry in "that" movie etc. A good critic should be able to FAIRLY judge an actor and movie on their merits, even if it is not his favorite actor or subject material.
Judge and be a "credible" and honest critic who can judge a film fairly, or take your predetermined slanted ideas into another field.