It's never great to be the third choice to do something, but I'd imagine it's a whole lot worse when the entire world knows that you are the third choice. In the past few months, the role of the villain in Spike Lee's remake of Oldboy has been offered to both Christian Bale and Colin Firth, both of whom ended up turning the part down. This means that whoever the studio approaches next will know that they not only aren't the first choice, but they aren't even the first name mentioned as part of a backup plan. Hence why today must be bittersweet for Clive Owen.

Twitch has learned that Owen is now the new name that has been offered the chance to play the antagonist in Oldboy. While Josh Brolin is attached to play the lead, the project has been having a hard time attracting stars, as Rooney Mara also turned down the chance to star in the movie. Should Owen take the part, it will be the second time that he has worked with Spike Lee, as they made Inside Man together back in 2006. The film is the remake of the 2003 Chan-wook Park movie about a man who is kidnapped and held as a prisoner for 15 years without given a reason. Upon his release, the man goes on the hunt to find the person responsible for his incarceration.

While I actually like the idea of Brolin facing off against Owen, this news is kind of sad. Five years ago studios would have been jumping all over Owen to play the part, but now he's been relegated to third choice. Maybe this will be the role that brings him back to the A-list.