Remake/Adaptation Casting Calls

[Reverend Jax]

So take a old movie, or an old TV show, or a comic book, or a novel, and cast actor for a modern remake/adaptation. Praise choices, post better ones, fight about it, etc etc etc.

 

I'll kick it off with an obvious one:

 

For a CHiPS, replacing Erik Estrada, Wilmer Valderrama

Replacing Larry Wilcox...i dunno, Owen Wilson?

 

Wilmer's really the key to this remake though.

[The NZA]

id take all those hacks in Citizen Kane and cast Ed Norton. As everybody.

[Silent Bob]

Done this particular one before so it won't take much thought.

 

CASABLANCA

 

Rick Blaine - George Clooney

 

Ilsa Lund - Naomi Watts

 

Victor Laszlo - Jude Law

 

Cpt. Renault - Francois Berleand

 

Maj. Strasser - Jason Isaacs

 

Ugarte - Steve Buscemi

 

Ferrari - Robbie Coltrane

 

Sam - Queen Latifah (I'll fight for that choice, dammit)

[Silent Bob]

I liked this idea for a game, but I guess I scared everybody off when I suggested Queen Latifah for Sam, huh? You know, supposedly the producers of Casablanca originally wanted Sam to be a woman, but they didn't think audiences at the time would buy a platonic friendship between the two characters. I'm gonna stand by that choice. At least I didn't pick Morgan Freeman.

 

Let's try bringing the game back with one of my favorite movies - The Apartment, Billy Wilder's classic dramedy about office politics, sexual politics and what happens when the two collide. I had a lot of trouble trying to come up with casting for this remake, because I couldn't think of a good actor who had the comic timing and likability of a 1960 Jack Lemmon. Then, for some reason, I decided to try to move the story to London and somehow it all fell into place easier.

 

THE APARTMENT (London cast)

 

C.C. "Bud" Baxter - Martin Freeman (originally Jack Lemmon)

Freeman has that hard to find likable everyman quality and a great sense of comic timing. He's also had plenty of experience playing a lovestricken office drone, so the role should be a cinch for him. Though I'd prefer Freeman, I also think Simon Pegg could do the role.

 

Fran Kubelik - Renee Zelweger (originally Shirley MacLaine)

Even when I was trying to cast an American version, this role was a no brainer. Zelweger is Fran Kubelik. Sure, it's cheating a little bit, but she's done the accent plenty of times before so why not one more time.

 

Jeff Sheldrake - Pierce Brosnan (originally Fred MacMurray)

In terms of facial expressions and acting style, sometimes the similarities between the aging Pierce Brosnan and Fred MacMurray are uncanny (look at that smile!). And in films like The Tailor of Panama and The Matador, Brosnan has proved that he knows exactly where the line between smooth and sleaze is, and he knows just when to cross it - just what's needed for the role of Sheldrake, the womanizing executive.

 

Dr. Dreyfuss - Stephen Fry (originally Jack Kruschen)

Baxter's doctor neighbor is highly critical of the life that Baxter appears to lead, but doesn't hesitate to help when he's needed with medical expertise and a bit of advice ("Be a mensch!"). He's content with his life and confident in himself - everything that Baxter is not. Fry has that intelligent quality, he often looks like he has everything figured out.

 

Karl Matuschka - Jason Statham (originally Johnny Seven)

A small but pivotal role, Fran's working class, tough guy brother-in-law, who doesn't hesitate to rough up anybody who may be causing problems for his family. Statham could do this role in his sleep and it would serve as a nice two-scene cameo for him.

 

Miss Olsen - Ashley Jensen (originally Edie Adams)

Sheldrake's secretary and former conquest, Miss Olsen blows the lid on his string of affairs to everyone who shouldn't know. Though the role seemed to be written as a catty office gossip, Edie Adams brought a touch of vulnerability to the character, something Jensen can do effortlessly.

 

My unused New York cast:

 

C.C. "Bud" Baxter - ??? (possibly Zach Braff, but he looks too young)

Fran Kubelik - Renee Zelweger (possibly Drew Barrymore)

Jeff Sheldrake - Michael Douglas (I'm not happy with this choice, but I haven't thought of anyone better yet)

Dr. Dreyfuss - Rob Reiner

Karl Matuschka - Michael Imperioli

Miss Olsen - Joan Cusack (possibly Kim Cattrall)

[Reverend Jax]

A few weeks (or many it was months) ago, Ice Cube said on Conan that he would really like to be in an A-Team movie as B.A. Baracus, played originally by the immortal and one-of-a-kind Mr T. I don't know if I've want anyone being B.A. Baracus unless it was Mr T again. What does everyone else think?

[Silent Bob]

I don't have any desire to see Ice Cube in anything.

[Reverend Jax]

Not even in Friday After Friday After Next?

 

You know someone's working on it.

[Silent Bob]

Still miss this game.

 

Casting the Avengers/Ultimates movie.

 

Marvel has made no secret of the fact that all of their current big movies are just stepping stones for an upcoming Avengers film. When casting this, I tried to consider that such a film would be an incredibly expensive project. Aside from Jackson and Downey, none of these cast members are A-list (and Jackson and Downey are both reprising roles they're already anxious to reprise). Though there are a few famous faces, I don't think any of them are famous enough to outshine their characters.

 

Also, for those of you who read the Ultimates, you might remember a scene from the first Volume in which the characters sit around and speculate who might play them in a film. So for fun, I'll give you Nick Fury's picks as well.

 

Nick Fury

Samuel L. Jackson

Where You've Seen Him: What, do you live in a cave?

Nick Fury Pick: Samuel L. Jackson

Obviously, this one's a non-issue. Samuel L. Jackson was always meant to play Nick Fury, he already has, and he will continue to do so. That's the way that it should be. If, by some act of God, Jackson was unable to play the role, I'd suggest Jamie Fox for the role. But that's a worst-case scenario.

 

Captain America/Steve Rogers

Scott Porter

Where You've Seen Him: On TV in the highly-acclaimed but little-watched Friday Night Lights. As Rex Racer in the Speed Racer flick

Nick Fury Pick: Brad Pitt

A lot of people might consider Porter too young looking (he actually turns 30 next year), but keep in mind that Steve Rogers was recruited in his early to mid-20s at the oldest and stayed that age when he was frozen. A Captain America pushing 40 wouldn't make a whole lot of sense. Porter has that perfect combination of American boy next door looks and athleticism.

 

Iron Man/Tony Stark

Robert Downey Jr.

Where You've Seen Him: Rehab, maybe? Plus there was that little flick over the summer called Iron Man.

Nick Fury Pick: Johnny Depp

Let's face it, they got it right the first time. Downey nailed Tony Stark and he deserves to hang onto the role. Now, the film Tony Stark is a little different from Ultimate Tony Stark. If anyone wanted to recast an accurate Ultimates film without Downey, I think Depp would actually be a great choice for the role. But thankfully, no recast will be necessary.

 

Thor

Ray Stevenson

Where You've Seen Him: HBO's great two seasons of Rome. In heavily edited trailers for Punisher: War Zone.

But Silent Bob, Stevenson is already playing a major Marvel character! Yeah, I know, but with the way Lion's Gate is fucking up the Punisher flick, it won't surprise me if Stevenson's portrayal of Frank Castle will be forgotten on a back shelf somewhere within a couple years. He'd make a perfect Ultimate Thor. Latest casting news for Kenneth Branagh's Thor film (yeah, that Kenneth Branagh) has Daniel Craig in consideration for the role. But Craig turned it down, saying "Being both Bond and Thor would be too much of a power trip, I think." Side bit of trivia, Bryan Hitch has stated in interviews that in some panels of the Ultimate comics, he drew Thor as Brad Pitt as a easter egg for Fight Club fans to hint at the fact that it might all be in Thor's head.

 

Giant Man/Ant Man/Hank Pym

Matthew Fox

Where You've Seen Him: Lost on some island in the South Pacific somewhere. You might also have recently seen him in Speed Racer, proving that he'd look good in a Giant Man costume.

Nick Fury Pick: Matthew McConaughey

There's really not a whole lot to say here, I just think he'd be perfect for the role. And it would be nice to see Fox play a darker side that he doesn't usually get to play.

 

Wasp/Janet Pym

Kelly Hu

Where You've Seen Her: Cracking her knuckles as Lady Deathstrike in X2.

Nick Fury Pick: Lucy Liu

I actually think Lucy Liu might have been good for the role too, because it'd give her a chance to play a (relatively) normal character instead of the icy bitch role she usually gets. She's actually good at warmer characters, she just never gets them. That said, I think people would just see Lucy Liu and not the Wasp, so I'd prefer Kelly Hu in the role. Yeah, like Stevenson, she's been in a Marvel film before, but if Foggy Nelson and Happy Hogan can be played by the same guy, so can these two.

 

Natasha Romanova/The Black Widow

Kate Beckinsale

Where You've Seen Her: Looking unbelievable in skin-tight outfits in the Underworld films. Or in Pearl Harbor, if you're the unlucky sort.

Seriously, have you seen her in the Underworld flicks? That's all you need, right there. Just redden the hair a bit and boom, you got Black Widow. Let's just hope she can fake a Russian accent that doesn't sound like her Transylvanian (Van Helsing).

 

Hank Barton/Hawkeye

James Badge Dale

Where You've Seen Him: As the almost-as-badass-as-Jack Agent Chase Edmunds in the third season of 24. Shooting a major character in the forehead in The Departed.

Find me a better guy to play Hawkeye. Seriously, let's see you do it. Look at this fuckin' guy. Who'd be a better Hawkeye than him? Nobody, that's who.

[Reverend Jax]

So Nick Fury didn't have casting picks for Black Widow or Hawkeye? Also, two different actors that both played Rex Racer side by side? I think you've just been watching Speed Racer on DVD and are having trouble thinking about anything else. Tell me it didn't take you like 5 minutes before you could think of any actress BESIDES Christina Ricci to play Black Widow.

[Silent Bob]

Black Widow and Hawkeye hadn't been introduced yet in the comic when the casting scene took place.

 

And though I admit it took watching Speed Racer before I started considering Scott Porter, I've actually had Matthew Fox in mind for Hank Pym since I first started reading The Ultimates.

 

Also, the only major Ultimates character that I didn't cast was Bruce Banner. They already have Norton as Marvel Movie Banner, and his interpretation is drastically different from that of the Ultimates so that character is kinda moot. Plus, I honestly haven't come up with a good name for it. In the comic, Steve Buscemi is jokingly suggested for the role, but I think the character looks more like a skinny Courage Under Fire-era Matt Damon.

 

Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch also have a fairly sizable part in the books. Might get around to casting them soon.