It appears that one of the most enigmatic figures in Hollywood right now is…Robert Redford? Yep, kind of. The legendary actor/director was said to be attached to Brian Helgeland‘s Jackie Robinson biopic earlier this spring in the role of Branch Rickey, the Brooklyn Dodgers executive who helped the ball player break the color barrier. But the film was picked up by Legendary Pictures earlier today and their press release made no mention or Redford or Rickey at all, with Deadline intimating that that the thesp was not involved. Anyway, 24 Frames is sticking to their story — sort of — and even more, they’re tossing out another possible Redford project.
In what is going to be the most grizzled pairing up in quite some time, the paper says that Redford is eyeing an adaptation of Bill Bryson‘s “A Walk in the Woods” with Nick Nolte in a co-starring role. Based on a true story, the tale follows a native Iowan who returns home after twenty years in England and decides to walk the Appalachian Trail. Redford would play Bryson, with Nolte as an old friend who joins him on the journey, in what is described as a comedic version of “Into The Wild.” Though without everyone dying at the end.
It seems Redford has been smitten with nature lately, as earlier in the year he was said to be circling “Gold In The Snow,” where he would play an old trapper who helps the young American protagonist in his search for gold in the rivers of Alaska. Either way, it looks like Redford wants to get back on screen for the first time since 2007’s “Lions For Lambs.” We’ll wait to see which movie curdles to the top first.