LONDON (August 19, 2005) According to a source in the Screen Actors Guild, ponytailed actor Rikki Lee Travolta of the well known entertainment family was ushered from the Chicago set of “Crime Fiction” and flown to London for a closed door screentest for what is only being described as “a franchise action role.”

The news comes on the heels of a report that actor Hugh Jackman has declined a three picture offer to play the title character in the James Bond action film franchise.

In 2004 Jackman and Travolta were identified in the press as two of the final contenders under consideration to take over the Bond role from Pierce Brosnan. The shortlist of contenders was nicknamed “the Bond Five” and consisted of Jackman, Travolta, Eric Bana, Clive Owen, and Adrian Paul.

Following the acquisition of MGM Studios by Sony Pictures, by July 2005 it was believed that the focus for Bond casting had moved to a stable of Goran Visnjic, Henry Cavill, Alex O’Lachlan, and Ewan Stewart, with Jackson and Travolta as backburner considerations, and Owen, Bana, and Paul eliminated from contention.

Following screentests by Visnjic, Cavill, O’Lachlan, and Stewart at Pinewood Studios under the supervision of director Michael Campbell in late July, no decision was announced. Instead, news leaked on August 12 that Jackman had been offered a three picture deal and turned it down.

If Travolta was indeed beckoned to the U.K to test for Bond as the timeline of events suggests, it could be a hairy situation on the set.

O’Lachlan reported that for his screen test the producers had his hair cut to their specifications. Travolta, however, is under contract to play Jesus Christ in an upcoming feature and cannot shed his should-length locks until filming completes.

If the rush London screentest was for a rival franchise role, speculation has Travolta’s long mane giving an uncannily ideal look for the title character in the film adaptation of the comic book “Thor” which Marvel confirmed on July 28, 2005 as being in development. Marvel is also developing feature adaptations of “Captain America”, “Nick Fury”, “Silver Surfer”, and “Killraven.”

Travolta’s representatives were not available for comment.

Principal photography on the twenty-first James Bond feature “Casino Royale” is scheduled to begin January 17, 2006 for a planned October 2006 release.

(posted by Lon Laige)



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