After numerous set photos, particularly of Russell Brand and Luis Guzman dressed up as Batman and Robin hit the web, we now have our first official look at the upcoming “Arthur.”
The film stars Russell Brand in the titular role as the drunken playboy that made Dudley Moore famous, with Helen Mirren playing Arthur’s put-upon nanny and Greta Gerwig as the girl who forces Arthur to choose between marrying for money or love. Jennifer Garner and Nick Nolte also star with Garner playing an heiress Arthur must marry to retain his fortune, while Nolte plays her deeply religious father.
Talking to the NYTimes about the role, Brand reveals his take on the part will bit a bit more fleshed out and he won’t just be playing a lovable drunk. “Dudley’s performance was a brilliantly executed comedy drunk, and I have to be a lively, inventive drunk too,” Brand said. “But I’m also interested in playing him as a prince who thinks he has the whole world but who then falls in love and has to make a decision, because until now he’s outsourced his responsibility for making adult choices to another human being.”
Brand also reveals he drew upon a number of influences for his part ranging from W. C. Fields movies and James Stewart in “The Philadelphia Story,” to Nicolas Cage in “Leaving Las Vegas.”
Regarding Gerwig’s role as the love interest, the NYTimes reveals her character has been updated from a shoplifter in the original film, to a scam artist who gets money from “out-of-towners by conducting nonsense-filled walking tours.” And according to producer Kevin McCormick, Gerwig won the role because she “was the one who brought out a sweetness in him and also the one who could keep up with him.”
Not surprisingly, given Brand’s quick wit, the film is being rewritten daily by Peter Baynham who is on set each day to crank out new lines and shape the film as it’s being made. Jason Winer (“Modern Family”) is directing and the film is slated for a 2011 release. More pictures after the jump.