The performance delivered by Michael Wincott as the villainous Top Dollar in Alex Proyas’s 1994 adaptation of James O’Barr’s graphic novel THE CROW was so awesome, anyone who was cast in the role for the remake currently in development at Relativity Studios was going to have a lot to live up to. However, it now seems that remake director Corin Hardy and screenwriter Claire Wilson are taking a different approach to the character than we’ve seen before.
British actress Andrea Riseborough, who was one half of “an effective team” with Tom Cruise for at least part of OBLIVION’s running time, is currently in negotiations to play the new version of Top Dollar.
Top Dollar was a low level villain in the original source material, but it sounds like she may again be the big bad on the big screen.
If Riseborough’s deal goes through she’ll be playing antagonist to Jack Huston, the actor who is taking on the Herculean task of following in Brandon Lee’s footsteps as undead hero Eric Draven.
James O’Barr is serving as a consultant on the re-adaptation of his work, which is being produced by Edward R. Pressman, who produced all of the CROW films to date, Kevin Misher, Ryan Kavanaugh, and Jeff Waxman. Tucker Tooley and Harvey and Bob Weinstein are executive producers.
The choice of Riseborough as Top Dollar is a very unexpected one, but I enjoyed her performance in OBLIVION, so personally I’m looking forward to seeing what she and the filmmakers have in mind for the character.