Nick Cave Rewriting 'The Crow' Remake

By Russ Fischer/July 27, 2010 8:40 am EST

I don't know if there's any real way to parse the information that Nick Cave is rewriting the remake of The Crow. Yeah, that Nick Cave: the singer who wrote The Proposition and the famously rejected draft of a sequel to Gladiator. Reaction I had was simply, "what?!" which might be all you can really say.

The Wrap reports that Cave has been hired to rewrite the screenplay by Stephen Norrington, who will still direct the film. We don't know much more than that; last time we talked about the film producer Edward R. Pressman said:

The setting is the southwest — the Mexico/Arizona area — and an urban [setting], Detroit or Pittsburgh or something like that...There are two locations that the film is set. Its initial platform is in the southwest and then it moves to the big city in the north, middle or eastern America, and then back.

The Crow itself is a creature in this movie — it's not just a bird...It's got a personality and a character. Not like Godzilla exactly, but it's very different [and has] a more active role in the story.

We don't know how many of those details will change now that Cave is rewriting.

Have to say, I'm now a lot more interested in the film. I'm a long-time fan of Cave as a singer and lyricist, and his script for The Proposition was fantastic. When Pressman gave those quotes he said that an offer was out to a 'major actor,' and that could be what set this rewrite in motion. If they've got someone big who wanted a slightly different take on the material, that would be reason enough for the rewrite.