Redford and Newman, together again?

Redford (L) and Newman in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

"All these years went by and nobody came up with any ideas that were anything but corny and kind of low grade so we just decided probably that wasn't going to happen," Redford said. "But now there's something rolling around that we're talking about, and the real question is whether he can remember his lines or not," the 68-year-old Redford said in a dig at Newman, who turned 80 this year.

Media reports earlier this year suggested the two would pair up in an adaptation of Bill Bryson's travel book A Walk in the Woods, the story of the author's hike through the American wilderness with a friend. Redford said he was superstitious about discussing details of projects that were not finalised. "I think Paul and I are probably alike in that we're reluctant to talk about something that is not real yet, but we are talking about it," he told reporters in New York while promoting his new film, An Unfinished Life.

Redford said it was surprising considering Hollywood's penchant for remakes that nothing had come to fruition since the mob and gambling film The Sting in 1973 and the 1969 hit Butch Cassidy, about two bank robbers who flee to Bolivia.