Russell Crowe is set to lead a silver screen adaptation of CBS crime series “The Equalizer,” which aired from 1985 to 1989.
The fast-paced and violent series combined elements of the spy and private investigator genres and followed an aging man (played by Edward Woodward) who offers his services as a ‘fixer’ free of charge in an attempt to atone for a mysterious past working for an agency referred to only as “The Company.” So Crowe as a mysterious, ultra-violent vigilante? Sounds about right.
The original series also featured a notable theme song written and performed by The Police’s Stewart Copeland and also saw a whole host of future stars cameo — enough to warrant a ‘Notable Guest Stars’ subheading on its Wikipedia page which lists Macaulay Culkin, Kevin Spacey, Christian Slater and John Goodman among many others.
First put together by The Weinstein Company in 2007, the film adaptation is now being spearheaded by producers Mace Neufeld and Alex Siskin with Escape Artists with no studio on board as of yet. Neufeld himself was behind some big 80’s action films including “The Hunt For Red October” and “Patriot Games” and is also producing the new Chris Pine-led revival of the Jack Ryan series though his collaboration with Siskin — a man responsible for films like “Master Of Disguise” and “Deuce Bigelow” — doesn’t exactly bode well.
Either way, don’t expect this production to hit the ground running any time soon; there’s not even a script yet.