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That's Not My Gatsby! Dreamcasting Your Favorite Book

By Joanna Robinson | Posted Under Comment Diversions | Comments (63)

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If you are, like me, a Lover of Film and a Devourer of Books, then odds are you’ve spent some time weakly and wearily pondering what would happen if They made your favorite book into a film. (Provided, of course, that your favorite book isn’t “The Collected Works Of Jeremy Bentham.” A stirring read, I’m sure, but not exactly filmic.) As a Book Person, I had a minor seizure at the recent The Great Gatsby casting news. Tobey Maguire’s squeaky-voiced Nick Carraway aside, that puffy faced grease bag down there? That’s not my Gatsby. Great actor. Very talented. Not my Gatsby. Could play Tom. Not my Gatsby.

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Are you confused, Ryan Gosling? Me too. I agree. They obviously should have called you.

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I’ve subsequently learned that director Baz Luhrmann plans to film his wretched “Bloat Gatsby” in 3-D so I’m prepared to wash my hands of the whole endeavor. At any rate, Gatsby isn’t my favorite book. Not by a long shot. That would be “Good Omens” (I know, I know, I talk about it a lot). Anyway, as I mentioned yesterday, “Good Omens” is being made into either a film or mini-series and I am paralyzed with fear that they will get it truly, terribly wrong. So my query to you is, if you heard tomorrow that your favorite novel was being made into a film, whom would you cast? Alternatively, if your favorite book was already made into a film, what did you think of the casting job They did? Did They get it right or did They let you down…again…stupid They.

I’ll leave you with this excellent video that someone made for the closing credits of their dream “Good Omens.” They did a bang up job with the casting, and if Edgar Wright were to direct, I would faint dead away. Many thanks to twig for bringing this to my attention.

Joanna Robinson is sick and tired of seeing Keira Knightley pop up in adaptations of her favorite novels. She’s also devastated they didn’t make “A Picture of Dorian Gray” when Jude Law was young and had a full head of hair. Lastly,, don’t discount book devouring. Great source of fiber.









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Comments

nobody should make my favorite book, a heartbreaking work of staggering genius, into a movie. that wouldn't translate

my other favorites: the diary of anne frank, catch-22, to kill a mockingbird, and a prayer for owen meany have all been made into movies.

i like the diary of anne frank and love the to kill a mockingbird movie and can't picture them different. haven't seen catch-22. and the prayer for owen meany movie was apparently so bad john irving made them change the title, it's simon birch. i don't know of any actors appropriate for the role

Posted by: the chaplain at March 30, 2011 4:15 PM

I've lots of thoughts as to who should star in "Fanny Hill," but this is neither the time nor the place.

That said, Jose Ferrer was perfect as Cyrano and I don't know who I'd put in the role today. But occurs to me that I haven't read that book in awhile and I really should do so again.

Posted by: Tracer Bullet at March 30, 2011 4:15 PM

I'd rather Gosling play Nick. I think Carrie Mulligan might play Daisy quite well, but I've be burned before...

Posted by: Bodhi at March 30, 2011 4:18 PM

I was just thinking about this the other day. "They" filmed one of my favorite books a few years ago -- A.S. Byatt's "Possession: A Romance" -- and while I thought that most of the cast was pretty spot on, Aaron Eckhart (whom I usually like just fine) was altogether wrong, wrong, wrong as Roland. I could even live with Princess Gwyneth as Maud -- she's supposed to be a vaguely aristocratic blonde sort, after all. But in the book, she's out of his league in every respect -- a little older and certainly more professionally accomplished. Making Roland a swaggering American "visiting scholar" or whatever he ended up being missed the whole point of that particular pairing. They needed someone more along the lines of, I dunno, James McAvoy, or maybe Martin Freeman (is that his name? Tim from The Office UK).

Posted by: Another Kate at March 30, 2011 4:21 PM

Ugh, yes, Another Kate, agreed on every point. What a waste of Jennifer Ehle and Jeremy Northam. Though, sometimes I like to mutter, "No mere human can stand in a fire and not be consumed" in the same cottony way Ehle says it.

Posted by: coveredinbees at March 30, 2011 4:25 PM

My favorite book is Dandelion Wine and the main character is a 12 year old boy, so I have no idea.

They already made my second favorite book into a movie and I was pretty happy with the actors and the film (Howard's End).

I also adore Their Eyes Were Watching God and it's apparently some made for TV movie endorsed by Oprah so God, no, I'm not watching it, even if it does have Halle Berry.

Posted by: Snuggiepants at March 30, 2011 4:29 PM

The problem for me is not that I'm afraid that the ubiquitous "they" will get the casting of my favorite books wrong, it's that the books I love are often so unwieldy and impossible to translate to the screen that they will never get made. Science fiction is a tough genre to translate.

Some might see this difficulty as a good thing, but if they get it right, there's nothing that I like to see more than a great book's story transferred to screen.

Posted by: noodlestein at March 30, 2011 4:31 PM

Gatsby is my favorite book, so to hear what Luhrmann is doing with this version really guts me.

Gosling for Gatsby is actually brilliant, but I still wanted Armie Hammer. And Lee Pace for Nick. I think Carey might be a fine Daisy, and I would have picked Keira Knightley for Jordan.

Posted by: lindsaco at March 30, 2011 4:34 PM

They've already made my dream cast movie of "Three Men In A Boat" starring Tim Curry and Michael Palin and Stephen Moore. Unfortunately, it's impossible to find on DVD.

Posted by: BWeaves at March 30, 2011 4:38 PM

My favorite book is Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince and I can't imagine it being filmed in a satisfactory way. That said, I know there's some kind of musical thing out there that I've never seen.

Posted by: Cindy at March 30, 2011 4:39 PM

When I was little one of my favorite books was Ella Enchanted-and we all know what a horrid mess they made of that! Gone with the Wind is anther favorite, I love the movie for what it is, but I wouldn't mind it being turned into a mini series to stay true to the book-it's the casting i'm having problems with!

Posted by: Obvious at March 30, 2011 4:42 PM

I've always thought that a young Malkovich might have made a great Billy Pilgrim, but that ship has sailed now. Maybe Martin Starr could pull it off, though I admit that would be pretty out there.

All in all, a Slaughterhouse-Five movie today would either be amazing or fucking horrific.

Posted by: ChristianH at March 30, 2011 4:44 PM

Among my favorites:

Never Let Me - Good cast and well done.

Cloud Atlas - This one is just begging to be ruined. I'm not optimistic about this at all, especially with Tom Hanks as the lead. I'm just a little tired of him.

The God of Small Things - This calls for Indian youngsters mainly, and I can't even think of ANY young Indian actors anyway, so I can only imagine casting unknowns if a film based on the book is ever hatched up.

Posted by: sars at March 30, 2011 4:44 PM

That's Never Let Me *GO*.

Posted by: sars at March 30, 2011 4:46 PM

Also, I'm glad I haven't heard anything in a while about them trying to film Middlesex. I would eat a hermaphroditic baby if they did.

Posted by: ChristianH at March 30, 2011 4:48 PM

PS: JoRo, bonus points for the "the They" references.

Posted by: Patty O'Green at March 30, 2011 4:54 PM

One of my favorite (and underrated) book-to-movie adaptations is The Namesake. The entire cast was perfection.

lindsaco - I agree with all of your Gatsby choices, especially Lee Pace.

Posted by: Jess at March 30, 2011 5:03 PM

Although I wasn't a huge fan of Good Omens, that casting was PERFECT.

My favorite book, unfortunately, is IT, by Stephen King. And like most Stephen King books (with the exception of the adaptations handled by Frank Darabont), it translated to the screen VERY poorly. The casting of John Boy Walton as the main character is appalling, and with the exceptions of Seth Green as young Richie, the kid who played young Ben, and Tim Curry as Pennywise, it's a travashamockery.

Posted by: Siege at March 30, 2011 5:09 PM

ChristianH:

My fear for a long time now is that Nia Vardalos (the chick who did My Big Fat Greek Wedding) will do Middlesex. After all, she has the monopoly on all things Greek in Hollywood thanks to the patronage of Rita Wilson.
Can you imagine that book turned into a few bad jokes about yiyas and Orthodox Easter? I can. Oh the horror!!

Posted by: PaddyDog at March 30, 2011 5:14 PM

Watership Down has already been made into a movie. I assume the voice acting was good, but it's kind of hard to hear when you're curled up in a corner in the fetal position. I don't know who I'd cast in it now. Maybe Liam Neeson as Woundwort? David Tennant as Blackberry (the smart one, natch)?

Posted by: Todd at March 30, 2011 5:23 PM

Posted by: ChristianH at March 30, 2011 4:48 PM

Agreed. Middlesex and The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay are my favorites. The latter can be made into a great movie, but I'd rather not think of what would happen in the wrong hands.

I think I've voiced the same Gatsby dreamcasting too many times on this site. Based on features -- Ryan Gosling for Nick, Naomi Watts for Daisy, a Marlon Brando-type for Tom, Keira Knightley for Jordan. If I remember correctly, Gatsby's working class and not conventionally handsome, and Myrtle's the voluptuous opposite of Daisy...?

Posted by: KP at March 30, 2011 5:23 PM

Hmm. I think most of my favorite books have been made into movies (some, like "Gone With the Wind" and "Sense and Sensibility" are also some of my favorite movies), but of other books I've loved I've always wanted to see a movie or miniseries version of "The Dark Tower" and "The Stand"--the latter done right. There's been a couple of great casting discussions for both here in the past, with the result that I'd love to see Viggo Mortensen as Roland and James Franco as Eddie.

As for other adaptations I might like to see, "American Gods" could be really fun to cast. Dream casting Brian Cox as Wednesday for starters. Christina Hendricks as Easter.

Posted by: figgy at March 30, 2011 5:29 PM

Jesse Eisenberg needs to be somewhere in Kavalier and Clay. And Adrien Brody.

Posted by: figgy at March 30, 2011 5:32 PM

There was a pic in EW begging for Gosling and Michelle Williams for the Gatsby remake. Alas, 'twas not meant to be.

One of my favorites is This Is Where I Leave You by Johnathan Tropper, and the whole time I read it I imagined how amazing the movie version would be. But only if it starred Adam Scott as Judd, the depressed main character forced to go home to sit shiva with his family (Adam Brody as the black sheep little brother, Debra Winger as the over-sharing mother...) Heaven.

Posted by: futuredirect at March 30, 2011 5:36 PM

Bentham.

(Thanks, hattie. I was distracted by my horror at the prospect of Panopticon! in 3D--JR

Posted by: hattie at March 30, 2011 5:42 PM

I think Leo will be great.

Speaking of Leo, I know the movie got some mixed reviews, but as far as being the absolute most perfect adaptation of a book... Sam Mendes completely nailed it with Revolutionary Road. It was like every storyboard he did was EXACTLY how I imagined it in my head. That book is insanely good and I thought the movie was amazing as well.

Posted by: Mel C. at March 30, 2011 5:48 PM

kp and figgy, fuck and yes to Kavalier and Clay casting. Eisenberg would be solid, though Adrian Brody's the perfect choice for the older version of Joe. The trouble will just be showing them age. Eisenberg could conceivably shift from teen to adult, but Brody can't look younger anymore. Plus, Eisenberg isn't wholesomely attractive enough for Sam or cool enough for Joe.

Dream cast: Jesse Eisenberg as Sam Clay, young Adrien Brody as Joe Kavalier. Sarah Lawrence as Rosa Saks? For sure Armie Hammar (or however you spell it) as Tracy Bacon. JK Simmons as Sheldon Anapol. And....hmm....how about Brian Cox as Joe's mentor, the guy who teaches him sleight-of-hand?

And of course, Mickey Rourke as the Golem.

Posted by: ChristianH at March 30, 2011 5:53 PM

They never get Emma quite right, sadly. Partly because -*putting on pretentious hat*- the strong narrative voice resists adaptation, but also the casting has always been woeful. Gwyneth Paltrow? Even Romola Garai, who I would have thought would be pretty suited to it, didn't quite get it right.

My other favourite, A Confederacy of Dunces, has thankfully never been filmed. Fingers crossed.

Posted by: Caspar at March 30, 2011 5:55 PM

Oh my...you better not be joking about that cast for Good Omens or I WILL CUT YOU! I peed a little when I saw the Four Horse(wo)men of the Apocalypse because HOT DAMN! I do have one quibble...uhm...Simon Pegg as Aziraphale? What? Was Jude Law busy? The man who is described as being "gayer than a treeful of monkeys on nitrous oxide"?! Simon Pegg?! Wha?

Posted by: Joker at March 30, 2011 6:10 PM

Not sure if they're my favorite-y favorites, but I love the Thursday Next books and think that I should be cast as Thursday. I'm sure I could fake a Swindon accent. If Squinty and Goopy can do it, why the hell can't I?

Posted by: Captain Tuttle at March 30, 2011 6:11 PM

"The World According To Garp" is my favorite novel and the cinematic trashing of same - with the abominable Robin Williams as TS Garp - stands as the worst adaptation in the history of film.
Well, I think so, anyway.

Posted by: Spender at March 30, 2011 6:14 PM

Sars, Cloud Atlas is also a favorite of mine.

Here's my cast:

Adam Ewing: Christian Bale
Robert Frobisher: Hugh Jackman
Luisa Rey: Rachel Weisz
Timothy Cavendish: Hugh Laurie (he could be made to seem old enough...)
Sonmi 451: Rinko Kikuchi
Young z'achry: Cirian Murphy
Old z'achry: Mark Ruffalo (old means something different in post-apocalyptic futures)

Posted by: Codger at March 30, 2011 6:30 PM

Does anyone have a Special Topics in Calamity Physics cast to share?

Posted by: Codger at March 30, 2011 6:33 PM

Personally I am terrified of any amazing book being turned into a movie these days- what with the studios being extraordinarily shameless in their singular pursuit of money, Heath Ledger being dead, and the most "in demand" actors being from Twilight, how can any book be turned into something worth watching?

No books should be turned into movies now, that's my vote!

Posted by: JuiceinLA at March 30, 2011 6:56 PM

With Kavalier and Clay, Hollywood will probably toss some incredibly inappropriate upper-list name for Rosa Saks i.e. Scarlett Johansson, Natalie Portman... I honestly can't think of a good actress for her, but I'm also envisioning JGL and.or Jon Hamm somewhere in this adaptation.

My other recent favourite non-moviefied (yet and please don't) books are Prague and The Blind Assassin. I'm sadly not good enough at this whole dreamcasting thing to come up with decent names, but I'll throw those titles out there for anyone who wants to try!

Posted by: kiyo-chan at March 30, 2011 7:10 PM

Cryptonomicon/The Baroque Cycle (because the Cryptonomicon miniseries will come first, make money, and then lead HBO or the BBC to make The Baroque Cycle. Also, because a lot of the characters in Cryptonomicon should play their ancestors/other characters in The Baroque Cycle.)

Starting with the ones I've cast:
--Alan Turing and Issac Newton MUST be played by the same actor, and that actor should either be Paul Bettany or Benedict Cumberbatch. Note that even though Newton and Turing play similar functions in their books, Newton takes mysticism and turns it up to eleven whereas Turing is just your everyday mathematical genius/gay martyr.
--Similarly, the actor who plays Rudy in Cryptonomicon should play Leibnitz in the Baroque Cycle.
--Hugh Laurie should play Robert Hooke. In Cryptonomicon, he could also play Commander Schoen (a bit part, but critical)
--Following that bit, Stephen Fry should play Wilkins. Just for the lulz, he could cameo as one of the Bletchley military guys in Cryptonomicon.
--Jack Shaftoe should be played by Josh Holloway... and perhaps he should also play Doug Shaftoe, but I can't see him either as Bobby Shaftoe or Bob Shaftoe.
--Whoever plays Lawrence Waterhouse must also play Daniel Waterhouse - but shouldn't play Randy Waterhouse.
--I'm not sure who to cast as Eliza; Emily Blunt or Rachel McAdams would work.
--As for Enoch Root... you got me.

Posted by: Maureen at March 30, 2011 7:13 PM

Nathan Fillion, properly directed, must play Travis McGee. Every announcement about Leo-de-sinking-ship (De-ship! De-ship!) playing The McGee makes me reach for a large class of Boodles on ice & launch into an soliloquy about the decay of the world.

Under "probably impossible to film", I want to see The Left Hand of Darkness made into a movie. So many juicy characters there - Forest Whitaker as Genly Ai, Viggo Mortensen as Estraven, James Caviezel as Fax & Meshe (in flashbacks / frame-tales), Ian McNiece as Obsle, Alan Rickman as Argaven the mad king.

Posted by: BierceAmbrose at March 30, 2011 8:42 PM

Personally, I would love to see a great adaptation of Catch-22. I know, who would have guessed! The combination of Heller's brilliant dialouge and realistic dogfights has me salivating.

But if it isn't going to be any good what's the point? And, honestly before I think of actors I'd want the right director, and I don't know one who would do the material justice. Chris Nolan is as reliable as they come but he's never done comedy. David Fincher might pull it off, but I suspect he would make it dark/satiric rather than satiric/dark. Terry Gilliam has the talent to make it work, but for that gypsy he pissed off 25 years ago and the curse on his career that would probably doom this project faster than you can say Don Quixote. Peter Jackson would make the movie look amazing, albiet 3 1/2 hours long with completely re-worked and butchered dialouge.

Posted by: Irving Washington at March 30, 2011 8:53 PM

I absolutely loved James Dean as Caleb in East of Eden, but the movie was not that great.

But ooooh...he was so great as Caleb. I would bring him back from the dead for that. I don't know if Zombie East of Eden would work, but hey, it's James Dean.

Posted by: Candee at March 30, 2011 9:34 PM

I'm pretty sure that Stranger in a Strange Land is unfilmable. Which is a good thing.

Posted by: That Girl at March 30, 2011 9:51 PM

My favorite novel is Stanger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein. My dream cast is as follows:

Valentine Michael Smith: Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Jubal Harshaw: Val Kilmer
Jill Boardman: Ellen Page (if she's not old enough then Amy Adams)
Ben Caxton: Ben Affleck
Joe Douglas: William H. Macy
Alice Douglas: Allison Janney

The key to the film is the casting of Jubal and Kilmer would be perfect. He can capture the stubborn and funny parts of Jubal equally well. I had heard they were gonna do a version of this in the 90s with Tom Hanks and that wouldn't have worked at all. My version would be perfect. Now if only I could get them to let me direct it...

Posted by: Ty at March 30, 2011 9:59 PM

This going to be huge cop out....but my favorite author growing up was PK Dick. After so many of his novels and short stories have been butchered and hacked apart...I had no hope of ever seeing one of his novels made faithfully into a movie.

I was terrified when I heard "A Scanner Darkly" was being made because it was the first book I ever read that I was not forced to read by school or my parents. It really opened my eyes to the whole world of literature and not just the stuff I was "supposed" to read and enjoy.

I know it wasn't the most popular movie...but man...its perfect to me. I thought the cast was absolutely stellar and it ACTUALLY followed the book.

I honestly can't imagine another book I liked on that level being made and matching "A Scanner Darkly".

Now if I could just forget that ever saw paycheck "Paycheck"...

Posted by: Diablo at March 30, 2011 10:19 PM

Well my favorite books are Jane Eyre, been there, done that, a thousand times, never really gotten it perfect, The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks, which, if I gave a dream-casting treatment would give away the plot twist and finally, Dhalgren by Samuel Delany so I'll go with that one.

The Kid: Adam Beach
Lanya Colson: Noomi Rapace
Tak Loufer: Guy Pierce
Denny: Benedict Clark (plays Severus Snape in the final HP)
George Harrison: Michael Clark Duncan
Roger Calkins: Willem Dafoe
Ernest Newboy: Morgan Freeman
June Richards: Dakota Fanning
Arthur Richards: Jared Harris
Mary Richards: Edie Falco
Captain Michael Kamp (an astronaut): Bill Murray

This will never happen, so I'll just see it in my mind's eye.

Posted by: Mrs Smith at March 30, 2011 10:29 PM

The "Thursday Next" series. I've thought long and hard about who would be the perfect Thursday and frankly I can never decide, which is why I know I'd probably end up disappointed with whoever they would cast as her. Kelly MacDonald is usually my top choice. Or perhaps Anna Friel? Hmm. Great. Now I'm going to think about this for hours.

Posted by: beckster at March 31, 2011 1:14 AM

Ty, I think that you've just hit on why they can never make that movie. Because if that cast were announced, the ONLY person I would be pleased about would be William H. Macy, and I'd be on Pajiba bitching about how fucked the project already was.

Val Kilmer? Really? I might almost be interested in seeing what Jeff Bridges could do with Jubal.

Also, I don't think that there are many actors, especially film actors, who could believably portray the transformations Michael and Jill go through. If they ever did film it, I would be excited if they did something like have different actors at the end than at the beginning.

Posted by: That Girl at March 31, 2011 1:15 AM

I think The Quiet American is one of Graham Greene's greatest novels and I thought the most recent film version was brilliant. Michael Caine definitely deserved the Oscar and Brendan Fraser was perfect as the earnest and idealisitic but naive American.

In fact, I also really liked The End of the Affair with Ralph Feinnes and Julianne Moore. In some respects, I actually prefer the film to the book. That raises another interesting question. Does anyone else have examples of films they thought were better than their source material? The Princess Bride maybe?

Posted by: GCS at March 31, 2011 5:03 AM

I see Vonnegut's come up. There is no limit to my love for ol' Kurt, but I would have to say that he's pretty much unfilmable.

I think some Camus should be done. The Outsider could be done pretty well I think, and for some reason I can see Ed Norton doing it.

Hunter S Thompson's been done, and it was pretty much perfect as far as I'm concerned.

A Dostoyevsky would do me nicely, but...that would be a challenge. Crime and Punishment or Brothers Karamazov would be amazing if done even half-right. Although I gotta say a young Pacino is the only viable candidate for Raskolnikov that I can see in my head. And that's not that viable at all, because he's dead.

I quite liked Catch-22. Not necessarily the whole package, but casting-wise: pretty damn good.

Any Marquez should remain away from the screen.

There's another great Russian classic called Fathers and Sons, but I think that was already done, and it was called Fight Club. And that was pretty good.

Of course all those things that I've mentioned would be the best/much better if Zack Snyder had been at the helm.

Posted by: zeke the pig at March 31, 2011 8:14 AM

Lamb, by Christopher Moore is one of my favorites. I really can't see them making a movie out of it, but I could see Ryan Reynolds as Biff, only.... well... he just doesn't LOOK Jewish enough. Maybe Seth Rogan? Ugh, that's weird... but maybe. Just maybe. I have no idea who could play Joshua, though.

I heard They are doing The Gunslinger. I think RyRey would make a GREAT Eddie. I heard Josh Harnett would be Roland, but I can't get there. I mean, he LOOKS like ROland the way Roland is drawn in the graphic novels, but in my mind I always see Clint Eastwood as Roland, even though he is now totally way too old to play him. So... yeah.

Goddamnit, this is hard.

Posted by: Cletus at March 31, 2011 9:20 AM

Stranger in a Strange Land with Timothy Olyphant as Valentine Michael Smith and Dustin Rowles as Jubal Harshaw.

Starring the Pajebettes as Jill Boardman, Alice Douglas and the rest of the female characters. The "making of" as y'all work out who plays whom will probably sell better than the movie.

Posted by: BierceAmbrose at March 31, 2011 10:15 AM

I can't believe nobody has started on dreamcasting Jamie and Claire. Maybe there is enough of that going on in the world already.

Among my very favorite books are Tana French's Dublin murder squad trilogy. If dreamcasting means I can pretend someone is maybe a better actor than reality bears out, I have always thought that Keri Russell would be a perfect Cassie. I'm very partial to her. I don't have much to offer in the way of the men, though. In this adaptation we run up against the dreaded need to do an Irish accent and that is so frequently a disaster.

Posted by: Cara at March 31, 2011 10:31 AM

Well, one of my favorite novels is "Ask the Dust," and I wasn't terribly thrilled with its cast in the recent movie version.

Posted by: Mattfactor at March 31, 2011 10:51 AM

@codger we need to start a book club. I enjoyed Calamity Physics, too. Funny you mentioned Hugh Laurie for Cavendish, since I think he might make a really good Gareth for Calamity Physics. As for Blue, as much as I pretty much hate her, Olivia Wilde might be a good pick.

I just wiki'ed the book, and it turns out that Hollywood is (surprise, surprise) adapting the book to film. It says "[t]he film will be directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, the writing-directing team behind Half Nelson" so this might turn out all right.

Posted by: sars at March 31, 2011 11:07 AM

A short story I've always wanted to see adapted is Ray Bradbury's Dark They Were, and Golden-Eyed, but I really can't imagine any actor for the part of Harry. Does anyone else who has read it have any ideas? Guy Pierce maybe?

Posted by: baboocole at March 31, 2011 11:37 AM

Caspar, I'm with you. Emma has become my absolute favorite Austen novel, and I've been consistently disappointed with anybody who plays her. On the other hand, it's an extremely difficult role, so I don't necessarily hold it against the actresses, and goodness knows I'm not sure I could cast the role if I tried.

I'm pretty terrible at coming up with fantasy casting though, because generally speaking no one fits my ideas of my characters, so I can never settle on an actor or actress.

I'm a huge Harry Potter and LoTR fan, and luckily am pretty pleased with the casting in both series of movies. My absolute favorite book of all time is The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, which has had several film adaptations that I haven't seen, and I have a hard time with that one too. A younger Jude Law might have made a really good Dorian (appropriate, given that he played Bosie in the movie Wilde,) but I 'm not sure who could do it well now. Although I haven't seen him, Colin Firth played Lord Henry in one movie, and I suspect that (despite the fact that he was a little old for the character) he was outstanding. I don't even have any ideas for Basil. But I've actually avoided most movies (although I may yet see the Colin Firth movie) of this, largely because I'm absolutely certain that none of them will do justice to the book or characters, and I don't want to offend my brain by watching them.

Posted by: GwenBear at March 31, 2011 2:27 PM

I always thought it a crime that they didn't do an adaptation of Dorian Gray (a proper one, with a non-idiotic ending) with Jonathan Rhys Myers when he was a bit younger. He has the right aesthetic of beauty and evil.

And while I find it comforting that Jasper Fforde has sworn that if anyone adapts Thursday Next, it'll be him, I really just hope it doesn't happen. Too much of the world-building and jokes are made specifically for book format.

Posted by: kalexal at March 31, 2011 3:06 PM

I hate movies and only eat books for breakfast. rawwrrr. let the devouring begin.

Posted by: idleprimate at March 31, 2011 6:41 PM

I still want to see Caleb Carr's "The Alienist" on film. It came out long enough ago that my original perfect cast can no longer play the roles for which I had selected them, but this thread has made me ponder it again.

Perhaps Viggo Mortensen as Dr. Kreitzler? Sara needs to be a "Beatrice played by Emma Thompson in 'Much Ado About Nothing'" type. Not Thompson herself, not now, but someone else who can pull off that blend of elegance, dignity, and class, with intensity, depth, and a believably tough and dangerous edge. Aaron Eckhart or Richard Armitage as John Schuyler Moore. Yes, they're completely different types, but I'd be interested in seeing either one play Moore. No idea about Stevie or Cyrus. Japheth Dury, the killer, might be a good character for Mark Strong or Vinnie Jones. This will clearly take more thought. Any other ideas?

From what I understand, a film project was optioned, and possibly even scripted, but didn't get made. I can hope.

Posted by: Jana Jerusalem at March 31, 2011 8:11 PM

"My fear for a long time now is that Nia Vardalos (the chick who did My Big Fat Greek Wedding) will do Middlesex."

Nah. She's too stupid. I know that's mean, but I think our precious Middlesex is safe.

I love "A Confederacy of Dunces", but my erstwhile cast is outdated. I can only picture Philip Seymour Hoffman as Ignatius, but he's too old for the role now.

Armie Hammer as Gatsby - interesting. I think DiCaprio may seem too old for the role.

I love Philip Roth, but fear Jason Biggs in some of the roles I love most.

Posted by: samantha t at March 31, 2011 10:20 PM

Sars, let's try another: American Gods.

Mr. Wednesday: Tommy Lee Jones
Shadow: Mark Ruffalo,
Laura: Michelle Williams, or maybe Amy Adams
Low-key: Morgan Freeman
Mad Sweeney: Bill Murray
Czernobog: Viggo
The Zorya: Helena Bonham Carter, Helen Mirren, and Amy Adams, or maybe Michelle Williams
Eostre: Meryl Streep
Thoth: SHOULD have been Pete Postlethwaite, dammit.
Bilquis: Angelina is the obvious choice, if we're dreaming here.
Mama Ji: I got nothing.
Anansi: Chiwetel Ejiofor

There are so many other characters, but this is my start. I think I've already blown the lid off the budget...


Posted by: Codger at April 1, 2011 1:07 PM

Princess Bride.
Dawn of the Dead (the original)
Rushmore.
Memento.
Superman 3.
The Empire Strikes Back.
The Story of Ricki.
Master of the Flying Guillotine.
Night of the Living Dead (1980s remake -- it's not better than the original, but it's just a little more fun)
Spider-Man 2
Conan the Barbarian
Total Recall
Die Hard
Ocean's 11 (I don't care -- it's watchable)
Yojimbo
Beetlejuice
Back To The Future 1-3 (can't watch just one without watching all 3)
The Royal Tenenbaums
A Fistful of Dollars
High Noont most of the cast was pretty spot on, Aaron Eckhart (whom I usually like just fine) was altogether wrong, wrong, wrong as Roland. I could even live with Princess Gwyneth as Maud -- she's supposed to be a vaguely aristocratic blonde sort, after all. But in the book, she's out of his league in every respect -- a little older and certainly more professionally accomplished. Making Roland a swaggering American "visiting scholar" or whatever he ended up being missed the whole point of that particular pairing. They needed someone more along the lines of, I dunno, James McAvoy, or maybe Martin Freeman (is that his name? Tim from The Office UK).

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Posted by: Degon at April 15, 2011 8:44 AM

The thing I most want for that "American Gods" adaptation is Mia Kirshner for Laura. I know she's hardly a main character but she's ridiculously perfect.

Posted by: Juliet at April 24, 2011 5:50 PM