Casting
All of this talk about Robert Langdon, and my own comment about Tom Hanks not being "hot" enough to fill the bill, has got me thinking about casting decisions.
When Gary Oldman was cast to play Sirius Black in Harry Potter, the message boards were going wild with young'uns complaining that he was too old, and not hot enough. I was positively astounded, because I find Gary Oldman to be one of the sexiest men to ever grace the silver screen. (Maybe one of the twenty sexiest movie actors of all time.) Admittedly, it's not his looks. It's his intensity. If I had cast Sirius Black, incidentally, my very favorite Potter character to date, I would have cast Daniel Day Lewis. Because, you know, yum. But I thought Gary Oldman was a great choice for this tortured soul of a guy. So, good then.
Interesting to me too, is the fact that Peter Jackson's first choice for Aragorn was the aforementioned Daniel Day Lewis. Dan enjoyed quite a long reign at the very top of my Muy Caliente Babes list. And yes, I have a compulsion to make lists of all kinds, and yes, Daniel Day Lewis was at the very top of my real, I-actually-wrote-it-down list. Some of my friends do this too, so we can compare and contrast at get-togethers. Anyway, he's still pretty much tops. If only he didn't take himself so seriously, our love could last. But I digress. My point is, I actually shudder at the very thought of him as Aragorn. As I understand it, he was courted for the role rather vigorously by Jackson, but kept turning him down. After the shameful showing of Stuart Townsend, the role was finally filled by the man who was clearly meant to have it, the inimitable Viggo. And who isn't happy about that? Except for Stuart Townsend, that is.
So, what's my point, then? I really don't know. I suppose it is that I may be jumping the gun when criticizing Tom Hanks as Robert Langdon. Maybe that will work out just fine. Maybe he was meant to play the role. I do know this: The cinematic Robert Langdon is bound to be a better-developed character than the literary one. He would have to be, considering the "genius" that is Dan Brown.
Oh, but wait. I just realized who would play the perfect Langdon: A younger Harrison Ford. Because after all, isn't Langdon a total Indy ripoff? I've solved it.
When Gary Oldman was cast to play Sirius Black in Harry Potter, the message boards were going wild with young'uns complaining that he was too old, and not hot enough. I was positively astounded, because I find Gary Oldman to be one of the sexiest men to ever grace the silver screen. (Maybe one of the twenty sexiest movie actors of all time.) Admittedly, it's not his looks. It's his intensity. If I had cast Sirius Black, incidentally, my very favorite Potter character to date, I would have cast Daniel Day Lewis. Because, you know, yum. But I thought Gary Oldman was a great choice for this tortured soul of a guy. So, good then.
Interesting to me too, is the fact that Peter Jackson's first choice for Aragorn was the aforementioned Daniel Day Lewis. Dan enjoyed quite a long reign at the very top of my Muy Caliente Babes list. And yes, I have a compulsion to make lists of all kinds, and yes, Daniel Day Lewis was at the very top of my real, I-actually-wrote-it-down list. Some of my friends do this too, so we can compare and contrast at get-togethers. Anyway, he's still pretty much tops. If only he didn't take himself so seriously, our love could last. But I digress. My point is, I actually shudder at the very thought of him as Aragorn. As I understand it, he was courted for the role rather vigorously by Jackson, but kept turning him down. After the shameful showing of Stuart Townsend, the role was finally filled by the man who was clearly meant to have it, the inimitable Viggo. And who isn't happy about that? Except for Stuart Townsend, that is.
So, what's my point, then? I really don't know. I suppose it is that I may be jumping the gun when criticizing Tom Hanks as Robert Langdon. Maybe that will work out just fine. Maybe he was meant to play the role. I do know this: The cinematic Robert Langdon is bound to be a better-developed character than the literary one. He would have to be, considering the "genius" that is Dan Brown.
Oh, but wait. I just realized who would play the perfect Langdon: A younger Harrison Ford. Because after all, isn't Langdon a total Indy ripoff? I've solved it.
posted by Kristine at 11:49 PM
3 Comments:
HA! They should rename it:
"Massachusetts Jones and the GREAT LIE."
I say Massachusetts because Indiana is one of them there unenlightened red states and just not quite pompus enough.
I felt the same way when Tom Cruise was cast as Lestat in Interview With A Vampire. Puh-leeeze. I was even surprised at Anne Rice's belief that Rutger Howard should play Lestat. Everyone knows it should have been Sting.
Gary Oldman is one of the sexiest actors out there right now, but more importantly he is the man of a thousand faces. He plays people and from movie to movie you wouldn't know it's him. I love that about him. 5th Element? Amazing. Dracula? Perfect. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead? Classic.
Ok, I'll shut up now.
Alicia
You know, I've never read Anne Rice, but I remember many people saying that Tom Cruise was all wrong. But Sting? Oh, that would've been awesome. For the record, I did like the movie.
Did you know that Gary Oldman was having trouble coming up with what Zorg should sound like? Then he heard Ross Perot and decided to go with that. I think that's hilarious.
I'm so glad I'm not the only one who recognizes the sheer genius that is Gary Oldman. I like him SO much, I even own The Scarlet Letter. Never tell anyone, though. ha ha
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