There will be (Peter) blood

By Steven Zeitchik

"Captain Blood," the story of a doctor convicted of treason who escapes to become a pirate, is one of those movies we imagine studio execs look at each other every few years and say 'why has no one ever remade that?' The Errol Flynn classic has all the elements of a modern tentpole -- a wronged man, Jack Sparrow-esque adventure on the high seas, etc -- to make it a summer blockbuster, but plenty of prestige elements to give it a run among older and/or specialty filmgoers. (The 1935 version was actually nominated for Best Picture).

And yet in the more than seventy years since the latest rendition came out, no movie has ever gotten off the ground. That hasn't been for Warners' lack of trying. Frank Darabont was one of several to take a stab at it when wrote a script thirteen years ago, at the height of his "Shawshank" fame.

Now the project finally appears to have some momentum. Warners has attached a producer, Bill Gerber, and a director, Philip Noyce. We'll see how Noyce handles the swashbuckler; he's one of those directors who can go action, as he did with "Dead Calm" or "Catch a Fire," or arthouse, as he did with "The Quiet American." Casting remains a question -- do you take an action hero who could wave a sword with authority or make a more nuanced, Downey-esque choice? And it's worth noting that writers haven't been attached yet. But they will apparently be working off Darabont's scrip. It may not be long before there is some blood.