Really Jack(ed) about Reacher!!

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by ApK

Then why call him "Jack Reacher?" Why make him an ex-MP?

He was a Member of Parliament? Is that relevant to the plot?

[DianNC]

Originally Posted by Pookeysgirl

He's not as tall as Reacher but Chris Hemsworth would have been good if he wasn't already playing Thor. Good looking, built quite nicely and has very blue eyes

Yet another great and preferable choice! Chris stars in Robopocalypse due out in 2014. Really enjoyed that book!

[DianNC]

Harry - MP in this case stands for Military Police.

[HarryT]

LOL . Thanks - haven't come across that one before.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by HarryT

He was a Member of Parliament? Is that relevant to the plot?

This made my morning!

[Pookeysgirl]

Originally Posted by ApK

Why only "if he wasn't already playing Thor?" Why couldn't he do both?

(Real answer, aside from any possible scheduling conflicts, is of course, "because Tom Cruise's name sells more tickets," of course. Heck, I'm a fan of the Marvel movies, and I wouldn't have recognized Hemsworth's name immediately, had you not put it along side the word "Thor.")

I was amused, by the way, by one video interview I saw of Child saying something to the effect of "I think Cruise was an excellent choice, and I'm not just saying that because I'm contractually prohibited from saying anything bad about it...."

Oh I have noooo problem seeing more of Chris . I would take him over Tom Cruise any day. Although, I don't particularly like seeing only one hot guy playing in every action film out there. I like a variety of hotness . He did well in Snow White and the Huntsman IMO.

[HoopyFrood]

Originally Posted by DianNC

Yet another great and preferable choice! Chris stars in Robopocalypse due out in 2014. Really enjoyed that book!

That's cool. I didn't know that.

[DianNC]

^ DreamWorks apparently bought the rights before the book was even finished and Spielberg has made statements in interviews that sound like he's committed to the project. He's cast Anne Hathaway to star alongside Hemsworth and she has said that if it really happens, she's onboard!

[yekim54]

Originally Posted by rhadin

If the only that matters is size, why not use "The Rock" -- Dwayne Johnson.

Exactly ... The Rock is 6' 5" and 260 lb of sculpted mayhem.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by yekim54

Exactly ... The Rock is 6' 5" and 260 lb of sculpted mayhem.

There is a difference between "an important matter" and "the only matter."

When a movie wants to show how tough a guy is, they might show him going up against huge beefy dudes in a biker bar. Casting Woody Allen or Judy Dench as the biker would not be a good choice, no matter how big a draw their names are or how talented they are.

Movies are a visual medium, and what we see matters.

Reacher's size and build is an important matter in how he relates to people, and how he gets away with much of what he does. Child felt it important enough to write it, and reiterate it many times, so why wasn't it important enough to put on the screen?

But acting ability is also an important matter, and I don't think the Rock cuts it there.

[Apache]

Originally Posted by ApK

But acting ability is also an important matter, and I don't think the Rock cuts it there.

So you don't think The Dwayne Johnson can act? What about when Dwayne Johnson played Elliot Wilhelm, the gay bodyguard actor in Be cool?
Apache

[DianNC]

Originally Posted by ApK

Reacher's size and build is an important matter in how he relates to people, and how he gets away with much of what he does. Child felt it important enough to write it, and reiterate it many times, so why wasn't it important enough to put on the screen?

Exactly. It would be a different story if his description and physique were only mentioned once at the beginning of the book, but it's not. It's mentioned numerous times, almost as if it's part of the plot. This is just such a typical paragraph (partial paragraph -- from Killing Floor)...

"She looked at me. I wanted her to see this huge guy. A soldier for thirteen long years. A bare-knuckle killer. Icy blue eyes. I was giving it everything I had. I was willing myself to project all the invincibility, all the implacability, all the protection I felt. I was doing the hard, no-blink stare that used to shrivel up drunken marines two at a time."

Size matters!

[HoopyFrood]

I digress from the original gist of this thread:

I love Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson!! I feel that he is being treated similarly to Elvis Presley, in that he is being cast as a non-actor when he has proven that he can do some good work. I think he could be pretty good given the opportunity.

[sadievan]

Originally Posted by Pookeysgirl

He's not as tall as Reacher but Chris Hemsworth would have been good if he wasn't already playing Thor. Good looking, built quite nicely and has very blue eyes

Chris Hemsworth was originally slated to play Mitch Rapp, Vince Flynn's hero. But is not now.

[HoopyFrood]

I started out kind of liking Mitch Rapp but the over-the-top right wing political proselytizing just wore me out and I quit reading them about 4 novels ago.