Sir Anthony Hopkins to play a baddie in Arabian Nights

In an exclusive from Borys Kit at The Hollywood Reporter‘s Heat Vision blog, Anthony Hopkins is in final negotiations to play the villain in The Arabian Nights.

Hopkins’ role will be that of “Pharotu, an evil sorcerer who killed Sinbad’s love, a mermaid, and is looking to amass more magic for himself.” And since previously announced star Liam Hemsworth will not be playing Sinbad, this makes me wonder if the plot of this movie will feature numerous villains, one for each member of the Hitchhiker Heroes.

At our monthly midnight screening series at the Landmark Sunshine in New York City, two of the other GeekingOutAbout.com writers and I were talking about what happens when novels are adapted into movies and the old chestnut about how short stories make the best movie adaptations (Minority Report, Stand By Me).

I firmly believe that it’s just as tough to adapt mythology into a movie, and its $432 million worldwide gross aside, Clash of the Titans—and its original—is only enjoyable as a movie if you completely turn off your brain when it comes to everything you know about the original source material.

Which makes it hard for us geeks to enjoy a movie sometimes, but hey… there are some prices that are okay to pay.

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