The Casting Game

[filkertom]

All right, to lighten the mood: I'm not much for remakes of films that don't really need 'em, but there are a few I think could be done extremely well with a modern cast. Please note that I'm not talking about "improving" a film.

For instance, in a thread below, I mention The Great Race, recasting Tony Curtis (as The Great Leslie) with Brendan Fraser and Jack Lemmon (as Professor Fate) with Bruce Campbell. (Not Jim Carrey, no, no, a thousand times no.) I'd round out that cast with either Anne Hathaway or Sarah Michelle Gellar as Maggie DuBois (originally played by Natalie Wood), Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as Hezekiah (Keenan Wynn), Gilbert Godfried or Jim Carrey or Jack Black as Max (Peter Falk), and Antonio Banderas as Baron von Fruppe (Ross Martin).

So, who would you cast? Or, is there another movie that you'd like to remake with a particular cast? Or something that hasn't been made, perhaps unlikely to ever be made, that cries out in your heart for one particular actor?

Comments

[lapislaz.livejournal.com]

Wouldn't Heinlein's The Star Beast be perfect with Tom Hanks as John Thomas?

[unclelumpy.livejournal.com]

What about Willem DaFoe as Professor Fate?

[unclelumpy.livejournal.com]

And when the Hell are they going to make another Cannonball Run movie?

Some teams I'd cast;
Jack Black and Kyle Gass (natch!)
Seth Green and Seth McFarlane
Verne Troyer and Paul White
Luke Ski and -=sHoEbOx=-
Frank Coniff and Trace Beulieu

[ericcoleman]

Bill Irwin as Max

[per_solo]

Is it amusing that I would PAY to see that?

Hmmm..wonder how low budget a Cannonball movie could be, and if the whim of those involved (and nostalgia) would be enough to get them to sign on..

Love it when the brain gets pondering. Thanks.

[johno.livejournal.com]

NO, no, no, a thousand times no for Gilbert Godfried in *anything*

Jim Carey, again no, he'd steal every scene.

Jack Black would be a perfect Max.

Anne Hathaway... Cute, pretty, full of spunk. Yep she'd be great.

SMG is too full of herself now days to do it.

[johno.livejournal.com]

Don't forget Burt Reynolds, he has to be in it. Besides, he in the parody himself time in his career. Then get one of Dom's sons to play the sidekick.

[hamadryad.livejournal.com]

I have been wishing ardently for YEARS that someone would remake "Twins" with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Rob Schneider. Tell me that's not perfect.

[aota.livejournal.com]

Not sure who I would cast but you've made me want to see that movie again. Oh look Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/Great-Race-Sub-Jack-Lemmon/dp/B000063K2R/sr=8-1/qid=1168380264/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-1465663-3836810?ie=UTF8&s=dvd) has it for $14.

[unclelumpy.livejournal.com]

Yes! And write the storyline so that Dom passed the mantle of "Captain Chaos" unto him!

unclelumpy.livejournal.com

[unclelumpy.livejournal.com]

Okay, I'm officially redirecting this discussion to my LJ!

[janet-coburn.livejournal.com]

I remember when we played this game with Man of La Mancha and came up with Kevin Kline and Catherine Zeta-Jones as Cervantes/Quixote and Aldonza/Dulcinea. As I recall, the criterion was that they had to be able to do their own singing. Did we ever decide on a Sancho? Bob Hoskins, maybe? Don't know if he sings.

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

Hoskins, maybe. DeVito, possibly. I remember hearing rumors of a Don Quixote movie years ago, starring John Cleese and Robin Williams as Quixote and Sancho. Terry Gilliam was supposed to direct. That would've rocked.

This, of course, brings up Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd movie. I hope to hell Depp, Bonham Carter, and Rickman can sing. Although I adore the casting of Sasha Cohen as Pirelli.

[admnaismith.livejournal.com]

#1. Danny Kaye as Willy Wonka. It's the role he was born to play, and he never got to do it.

#2. I've always wanted to see an adaptation of Steven King's "The Library Policeman", a short novel masterpiece that begins with an atmosphere as if it's going to be a campy, silly tale. "Booga-Booga, kiddies! The Library Policeman!" As it turns out, it's perhaps the scariest damn thing King ever wrote. The star of the movie should be an actor famous mostly for screwball comedies, but who can act dramatically, too. I considered Robin Williams, Albert Brooks and Billy Crystal for the role....but then decided Steve Martin would be the one to kick ass.

[danruk.livejournal.com]

The Don Quixote Movie slated to be done By Terry Gilliam was on the slate. It was scrapped due to many delays, budget fuckups and other such horrible slogging hollywood incidents.

This, however DID make it into an independently produced and directed art film, of which I can NOT remember the title -- basically an outlining 'documentary style' of what went wrong and.. why it went so wrong.

I thought a re-shoot was to starr Johnny Depp as Quixote, but then.. I never actually 'saw' the art film either, so I odn't know the 'devils of all the details'. Just that Gilliam had to abandon a 'labor of love'.

[drzarron.livejournal.com]

While it would be a CRIME against HUMANITY to remake "The Great Race", one of my all time favorite movies, as a thought experiment, hmm..

The Great Leslie: Hmm.. Tony Curtis was perfect. He had the looks, the charm and never felt like he was faking it. While Frasier has the looks and the charm, I'm not sure he could not feel like he was 'acting'. Love him enough to give him a chance. I had a flash of George Clooney in the role.

Professor Fate: Sorry Tom, Bruce is a god, but I'm not sure he could do Fate. Actually I'm more worried he couldn't pull off the Prince and Fate believably. Jack Black actually would do a decent job.

Maggie: Anne Hathaway would be GREAT! She's stylish enough yet can do manic, she'd be perfect.

Hezekiah: Now BRUCE would make a great Hezekiah.

Max: Wow, hmm. OOH.. Masi Oka!! (Hiro from "Heroes") He's hot, he got a great look. Playing Max as a Japanese man servant would be a fun take.

The Baron: YES! Banderas is perfect! oh, and he's "Baron Rolfe von Stuppe"

Ohh. Dwayne Johnson would be great as "Texas Jack", the Larry Storch part from the original.

What would be fun is the format is perfect for a ton of cameos, so you could slip in people all over.

[drzarron.livejournal.com]

If you were to mount a new production of "Man of La Mancha", Kevin Kline would be a dream casting.. and I'd pair him with Nathan Lane as Sancho (When I mentioned this to Diana, we both named Lane at the same time.) CZ-J could make one heck of a Dulcinea.

[gridlore.livejournal.com]

I've long dreamed of a remake of The Longest Day (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056197/). The cast is far too long (and I'm too ignorant of Hollywood's current crop) to do a detailed recasting, but one thing I'd do is give Nicholas Cage John Watne's role as Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin Vandervoort.

We'd have to have the Germans played by Germans, directed by a German, and speaking German. That movie has one of my favorite lines of all time.

"You know those five thousand ships you say the Allies haven't got? Well, they've got them! " - Maj. Werner Pluskat [on the phone]

[fuuberry.livejournal.com]

The idea of Alan Rickman singing still sends me into swooning giggles. We know Bonham Carter can sing, at least, since she sung in Corpse Bride. For the life of me, I can't remember if Depp sang in Cry Baby.

[fuuberry.livejournal.com]

Update: He can! Well, Rickman, that is. I managed to dig up an mp3 of him singing a medley with Lindsay Duncan. It's poor quality, but his voice still sounds great. Essentially just his normal music, but...y'know, to music.

[trdsf.livejournal.com]

I stand by my remake of Manos: Hands of Fate.

• Turn the writing and directing duties over to the Coen Brothers.
• As Michael: John Goodman
• As Margaret: Frances McDormand
• As The Master: Bruce Campbell
• As Torgo: Johnny Depp
• Special cameo as the couple making out in the convertible by Mike Nelson and Bridget Jones.

I say it works. :)

[vixyish.livejournal.com]

I'm more worried about Depp being such a pretty-boy. Sweeney is one of my all-time favorite shows, and the main character has to look hard-used by life. We know already that Bonham Carter can do haggard and crazy really well. Depp always looks too pretty in everything I've seen him in, not to say flaming in some films. I've seen a production with a rather flamingly gay Sweeney. It really, really didn't work.

[deadpool247.livejournal.com]

Interesting choices. I can see Campbell playing Prof. Fate, sure. Wait...would that massive pie fight still happen? If so, I think Hathaway is the way to go, and not Gellar.

I was thinking of a remake of Sitting Pretty, with Rowan Atkinson playing Lynn Belvedere (it'd be a remake/sequel, with this Belvedere being the son (or grandson) of the original, played by Clifton Webb)

[deadpool247.livejournal.com]

lol...scary, but that could work. That casting, anyway. The script would need a major overhaul, but that cast would work, esp. the couple making out. The MiSTies would laugh at that setup alone (heck, I am!)

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

... I even looked it up on IMDB. How did I get Ross Martin's character name wrong? Gaaah. Shoulda cut&pasted.

I do actually think Bruce could pull it off. Not so sure about Black, although I'd be willing to give him a chance. You're right, though -- Bruce would be a fantastic Hezekiah as well. I just want him to have more leading roles, dammit. And I want The Rock to have more good ones....

Haven't watched Heroes. DON'T START WITH ME, PEOPLE. ;) I'm still catching up on the Eccleston Doctor Who and Galactica.

[tomreedtoon.livejournal.com]

Okay, one of my favorites, "The Last Starfighter." The critical casting part is Centauri, a great memorable part played by the late Robert Preston.

The trailer park kid could be played by just about anybody. Hell, for box office make it one of the young "clean teens" from the Nickelodeon action shows. Ditto for the associated other humans and aliens. But for the critical role of Centauri...

Lewis Black!

He can talk the semi-cynical, semi-conniving line beautifully. He would also add that little touch of Jewish fatalism into the character. "Sure, I conned you into joining a near-hopeless battle to save Rylos and the free part of the galaxy. But what the hell am I supposed to do? Just take it lying down? Go for a vacation in Palm Springs until the planet blows up? C'mon, work with me, kid!"

Not only would it work, it'd be the foundation for a cool "Last Starfighter" TV series. And it'd make up for the lousy part Black was given in "Unaccompanied Minors."