Russell Crowe could use a hit. So could Paul Haggis. So could haggis.

Us on the other hand, I don’t know if we need another old television show turned into a movie, even if that show did feature Edward Woodward trading favors with a very serious face on. Regardless, the actor/producer and the writer/producer are teaming up again having just completed a thriller together where Mr. Jack Aubrey’s wife (Olivia Wilde) gets accused of murder. Crowe has long been interested in bringing The Equalizer to the screen and now it looks like that dream is coming closer to fruition as Mr. Haggis is keen to write the thing.

The Hollywood Reporter tells us so, and it’s an interesting proposition. The show is far from sacred ground and Mr. Woodward has been doing sit-ups on the astral plane for almost a year now, so he’s not going to mind. The show was about a hard ass who traded his services for favors to be paid back at a later date and unlike many of the time was actually gritty and didn’t always have the villains parachuting out of vehicles as they exploded [A gripe I had with Alf].

The boys need a hit. This is commercial. Sounds like good math, though this is by no means a slam dunk. This show and its Stewart Copeland main theme haven’t been part of the television prime time since the first Bush was starting to squat on the White House lawn. Either way, it’ll be interesting to see what shape it takes. Here’s hoping Haggis doesn’t direct the film and they go for someone interesting to direct it. Someone with a  mean streak.