Whoa! This sounds cool, but I do not know if Keanu can pull it off.

http://www.comingsoon.net/news/topnews.php?id=8674

Constantine star Keanu Reeves is set to board The 8th Voyage of Sinbad at Columbia Pictures for director Rob Cohen and producer Neal Moritz, reports Variety.

Reeves will star as Sinbad the sailor, the legendary character from "The Arabian Nights." In the film, set in eighth-century China, Sinbad and his shipmates embark on a quest to find the Lamp of Aladdin. Along the way, they meet a beautiful empress and battle fantastical creatures as well as a rebellious Chinese general who threatens the kingdom with his supernatural powers.

Charlie Mitchell is rewriting a script by Cormac and Marianne Wibberly and Tedi Sarafian.

Special-effects pioneer Ray Harryhausen took up Sinbad's story several times before at Sony with The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad (1958), The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1974) and Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger (1977).

"Sinbad" will be Cohen's seventh film with Moritz. The director recently wrapped Columbia's Stealth and also helmed XXX and Universal's The Fast and the Furious.

Reeves? I'm more worried about Cohen directing...

2 strikes against this one already, IMO.

I think Cohen will redeem himself with Stealth. It's got an Oscar winner in it! How could it possibly suck?

Check. Mate.

Keanu? Sold.

I'd be more forgiving of Cohen.. since Singleton was originally tapped to direct.

I'm sitting here thinking...Keanu Reeves as Sinbad? It could work...I'd just love to see another big budget Sinbad flick.

Then I saw Rob Cohen was directing. I'm still smarting over his crappy dragon movie. Oh well.

When I said in another thread that I would like to see some older Harryhausen movies re-made or updated, this isn't what I had in mind!

I agree, ill see anything with this dude in it!

Keanu Reeves as Sinbad? That's just wrong.

I agree. Too thin, and he's not even black.

I don't know if he's much of a comedian either.

Keanu or Sinbad?

Is there even a market for a Sinbad film now? Since the animated film did so well.

Has Sinbad ever been black?

If Harryhausen isn't doing the effects (very unlikely, considering his age), this one'll probably go straight into the crapper, as far as I'm concerned...

No Harryhausen = No Sale

No Caroline Munro = No Sale!

more details:

http://www.comingsoon.net/news/topnews.php?id=9147

Rob Cohen Reveals Sinbad Details
Source: Entertainment Weekly April 12, 2005


Entertainment Weekly caught up with XXX and Stealth director Rob Cohen who revealed new details about The 8th Voyage of Sinbad, which Columbia Pictures will distribute and Neal Moritz is producing.

Keanu Reeves will star as Sinbad the sailor, the legendary character from "The Arabian Nights." In the film, set in eighth-century China, Sinbad and his shipmates embark on a quest to find the Lamp of Aladdin. Along the way, they meet a beautiful empress and battle fantastical creatures as well as a rebellious Chinese general who threatens the kingdom with his supernatural powers.

While setting up the project, Cohen looked up famed special-effects master Ray Harryhausen, who had told Sinbad's story several times before at Sony with The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad, The Golden Voyage of Sinbad and Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger. "I met with him and said, 'I really would be honored if you would be with me on this, since none of us would be here without you.' What Ray understood in movies like 1958's 'The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad' was how to do action-fantasy-adventure at a time there was no CG. So he's coming out of retirement to be our creative consultant, our godfather," said Cohen.

What convinced the 84-year-old veteran? Keanu Reeves. "He just went, 'Oh, that's so brilliant.' Ray thinks Keanu [could be] the greatest Sinbad ever."

The magazine adds that Cohen thinks Ziyi Zhang (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Hero) is the one for the job of the empress. Plus, Cohen says that "Sinbad's got a crew, so it's gonna be a whole interesting group of actors. I've talked to Jet Li, Djimon Hounsou and Hayden Christensen."

Cohen also said he is looking for a PG rating. "I'm gonna make it PG, so that everyone can go!"

The 8th Voyage of Sinbad starts shooting in January.

so, we've got a surfer, a hero, an apprentice, a jedi and a gladiator. but NO arabs!!!

whoa.

This movie is gonna suck.

Hayden Christensen and Keanu Reeves together in a movie...lord help us.

The obligatory Keanu reference:

"Woah"

Good Lord, and here I thought the only thing that could possibly redeem a Cohen-directed Keanu Reeves Sinbad movie was a hard PG-13 rating (The Mummy), if not a light R (Constantine). This project is doomed.