Bob and Paul's Excellent Adventure?

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. The Sting.

And now the Appalachian Trail?

I've read in a number of places that Robert Redford and Paul Newman are talking about doing an adaption of Bill Bryson's A Walk in the Woods.

It pains me to say it, but I'm not persuaded. I have less of a quarrel with Redford playing Bryson than I do with Newman playing Katz, though I don't think Redford would be the best choice for Bryson, either.

Bryson and his old friend Stephen Katz (not his real name) were in their mid-40s when they commenced their attempt to thru-hike the AT in 1996. Newman and Redford are 80 and 68, respectively. I understand that they are not exactly normal human specimens when it comes to aging, but I still think it might be a stretch.

Moreover, Katz was portrayed in the book as a hilarious, sloppy fat ex-drunk for whom an AT thru-hike was remarkably out of character. I just don't see Newman in that role, and I'm not sure they do, either. The Guardian article quotes a "source close to Redford" (yes, I know that could be his plumber, for all we know) as saying that the story might have to be "rethought a little."

Pardon me for a moment, I need to fetch my smelling salts. Rethought a little? Heaven forbid.

But on the other hand, it's hard not to trust Redford and Newman, even with such precious material as A Walk in the Woods. So we'll see. I stand willing to be convinced. I'm sure Bob and Paul will be relieved to hear it.