Casting movie adaptations of books

[ficbot]

I just read a press release about Katherine Heigl leaving Grey's Anatomy, and on the one hand I am thrilled because I really disliked her character on that show, but on the other hand there was some bad news in there. It talked about one of her upcoming non-Greys projects being the role of Stephanie Plum in an upcoming movie adaptation of the book series. I am so disappointed! I have read these books and she is totally not what I pictured the character being. She may surprise me, of course. I remember how mad people were when Tom Cruise was cast in Interview the the Vampire. I am trying to keep an open mind. But on first reaction, this just seems SO wrong...

Have you ever been surprised by the movie cast of a book you enjoyed? Have you ever been disappointed only to find the actor requite themselves better than you had hoped?

[Solitaire1]

Originally Posted by ficbot

I just read a press release about Katherine Heigl leaving Grey's Anatomy, and on the one hand I am thrilled because I really disliked her character on that show, but on the other hand there was some bad news in there. It talked about one of her upcoming non-Greys projects being the role of Stephanie Plum in an upcoming movie adaptation of the book series. I am so disappointed! I have read these books and she is totally not what I pictured the character being. She may surprise me, of course. I remember how mad people were when Tom Cruise was cast in Interview the the Vampire. I am trying to keep an open mind. But on first reaction, this just seems SO wrong...

Have you ever been surprised by the movie cast of a book you enjoyed? Have you ever been disappointed only to find the actor requite themselves better than you had hoped?

I was pleasantly surprised by Jim Carrey in the movie version of "Lemony Snicket's A Series Of Unfortunate Events." Overall, he looked like he walked off the pages of the book. For me, his only drawback was he didn't come off creepy enough for the character. The other actors were spot-on in their roles too.

Like you, I try and keep an open mind when I see a movie/TV series based on a book/comic book/anime/manga. I know there will be changes to the original, but what I look for is for it to be true to the original source. With live action projects, actors will often be cast that won't match what you expect of the character. But an actor can overcome this.

An example of this was Michael Keaton in the 1989 movie "Batman." Although he didn't come to my mind when thinking of Batman and many fans at the time thought it was a wrong choice, he turned out to work well for the character.

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Originally Posted by Solitaire1

An example of this was Michael Keaton in the 1989 movie "Batman." Although he didn't come to my mind when thinking of Batman and many fans at the time thought it was a wrong choice, he turned out to work well for the character.

Funny... I was thinking of Batman when I read this thread, but my opinion was that Keaton was horrible for the role of Wayne/Batman (though I hated the entire Burtonesque envisioning of the movies), and it was Christian Bale who was much better suited for the role.

I'm trying to think of adaptations of actual books, but none are coming to mind that I thought were jarring good or bad choices... And of course, I'm still waiting for a number of books I want to see adapted...

[GeoffC]

Originally Posted by Steve Jordan

Funny... I was thinking of Batman when I read this thread, but my opinion was that Keaton was horrible for the role of Wayne/Batman (though I hated the entire Burtonesque envisioning of the movies), and it was Christian Bale who was much better suited for the role.

I'm trying to think of adaptations of actual books, but none are coming to mind that I thought were jarring good or bad choices... And of course, I'm still waiting for a number of books I want to see adapted...

I thought we already had a list of actors/actresses sorted out for your books ...

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Originally Posted by GeoffC

I thought we already had a list of actors/actresses sorted out for your books ...

Well, for Verdant Skies, and the Kestral series, yes (oh, I guess I need to cast someone for Danny, and I never did the Jovian Skies crew!). Would it be worth a thread to do the others?

Just as well... the contract negotiations were the pits...

[kindlekitten]

Originally Posted by Steve Jordan

Funny... I was thinking of Batman when I read this thread, but my opinion was that Keaton was horrible for the role of Wayne/Batman (though I hated the entire Burtonesque envisioning of the movies), and it was Christian Bale who was much better suited for the role.

I'm trying to think of adaptations of actual books, but none are coming to mind that I thought were jarring good or bad choices... And of course, I'm still waiting for a number of books I want to see adapted...

yeah, but that's the first a lot of us knew that Keaton HOT!

[Solitaire1]

Originally Posted by Steve Jordan

Funny... I was thinking of Batman when I read this thread, but my opinion was that Keaton was horrible for the role of Wayne/Batman (though I hated the entire Burtonesque envisioning of the movies), and it was Christian Bale who was much better suited for the role.

I'm trying to think of adaptations of actual books, but none are coming to mind that I thought were jarring good or bad choices... And of course, I'm still waiting for a number of books I want to see adapted...

I credit the Burton Batman movie with beginning to move Batman away from the campiness of the TV series (something that badly hampered the character for years). One of the best things he did was move Batman back to being a darker character and it suits him well.

I agree that Christian Bale is excellent as Batman. Not only did we get into the mind of Batman, but we also got into the mind of Bruce Wayne. One of the best points of the movie is that Batman is the real person, and Bruce Wayne is the costume he wears.