What better way to honor one of the most genius minds in this history of mankind then setting him up with his own action franchise? I’ve got an answer: have the guy that made The Fast and the Furious, xXx, Stealth and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (in succession, mind you) spearhead the project.
Variety reports Rob Cohen is doing just that, as he teams with Rocky and Get Rich or Die Tryin’ producer Gene Kirkwood on a blockbuster attempt to chronicle the life of physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher, alchemist, and theologian (thanks, Wiki) Sir Isaac Newtown . Script duties will be handed to Cohen, who also plans to create a graphic novel to help sell the film (as we’ve seen many other directors do, including Darren Aronofsky for his upcoming Noah).
Considering Cohen’s downward spiral as director (hopefully it will go the other way this fall with the ridiculous-looking, but possibly fun Alex Cross), there isn’t much about this Newtown project that doesn’t sound disastrous. I would gladly welcome a respectful period biopic about the icon, but I can’t even imagine the horror that Cohen will construct when it comes to forming not only one, but a series of action films around him. Eek.
Do you have any positive thoughts regarding this project? Please enlighten.