Casting Coup Tuesdays: The Right Stuff

The Right Stuff

Best Picture - Nominated

Best Supporting Actor, Sam Shepard - Nominated

Best Original Score, Bill Conti - WON

Best Cinematography, Caleb Deschanel - Nominated

Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Geoffrey Kirkland/Richard Lawrence/W. Stewart Campbell/Peter R. Romero/Jim Poynter/George R. Nelson - Nominated

Best Editing, Glen Farr/Lisa Fruchtman/Stephen A. Rotter/Douglas Stewart/Tom Rolf - WON

Best Sound, Mark Berger/Thomas Scott/Randy Thom/David MacMillan - WON

Best Sound Effects Editing, Jay Boekelheide - WON

May I confess: I've never been one for space? Partly related to fear of the unknown, yes, as well as a natural instinct to not purposely venture forth into places devoid of oxygen. But I also never really got the Space Race in general. Closely related as it is to the Cold War, to me it's always seemed like peacetime dick-measuring, a way to show off our superiority without dropping another atomic bomb. So we made it to the Moon, we've seen evidence of water on Mars, we can tell the difference between a planet and a sub-planet -- so bloody what? What does it all mean? What was it all for?

That said -- I do get shockingly giddy -- awestruck, heart swelling with pride -- when I watch what the men of the Mercury 5 mission accomplish in The Right Stuff. It takes a genuinely interesting subject - don't get me wrong, it is fascinating what people went through to soar among the stars - and manages to make what should have been a documentary series work within a narrative feature. Do we get to know all of the astronauts? No, but you'd be surprised how many of them we do get to know, plus the men who tried but didn't make it, plus their wives, plus the men in Washington. The ego of politics, and the politics of scientific research, ground the proceedings with realism, a certain cynicism, lest we think this was all about virtuous intentions. And, of course, they make sure to address things like holding in a colonic and pissing inside your spacesuit.

Yet there is an appropriate awe about the undertaking. Even when we're earthbound, the majesty of the sunsets... And when Chuck Yeager flies up into the clouds, the endless billowing clouds, the sun blinding us, blinding him. Actual space entry takes on an almost psychedelic look, like Heaven exploding through a kaleidoscope. Even a watering hole like Pancho Barnes' Happy Bottom Riding Club is given its due, home as it was to the beginnings of the program.

The Right Stuff is good as it is. Folly to mess with it. But let's. Because after all, this is Casting Coup Tuesday.

Casting Coup Month: Forrest Gump

NOMINATIONS

Best Picture (WON)

Best Director - Robert Zemeckis (WON)

Best Actor - Tom Hanks (WON)

Best Supporting Actor - Gary Sinise

Best Adapted Screenplay - Eric Roth (WON)

Best Cinematography - Don Burgess

Best Editing - Arthur Schmidt (WON)

Best Original Score - Alan Silvestri

Best Art Direction

Best Makeup

Best Sound

Best Sound Effects Editing

Best Visual Effects (WON)

Now, I hope you've all seen Andrew's Casting series over at the LAMB Blog. Recently, we did Forrest Gump, the big champion of 1994. It's one of those beloved movies that has its fair share of vocal detractors -- I'm one of them. Now, I understand that it's well-directed, boasts powerful VFX, and the performances are quite good. Forrest Gump the character irritates me to no end, but there's no denying that Tom Hanks is 100% committed to the performance.

There's also no denying the popularity of the film. And Casting Coups shouldn't just be about what I like to see; I need to think about others, too. Consider this my gift to those of you who admire Forrest Gump, or love it, or wonder what a recent version would look like.

Of course, some of you may be wondering, "Hey, isn't this just the same thing that appeared on Andrew's LAMB Casting feature not too long ago? What's the point of giving this to us again?" Well, here I get to justify some of my choices, so you understand how my mind works. Many thanks to Andrew, by the way, for hosting that LAMB Casting, and for reminding me about the difficulty that comes in casting and making movies. No matter how I might feel about the film itself, you have to love something when you cast it. You don't want to dishonor the story, the audience, or yourself. Every film is a labor of love, even saccharine messes like Forrest Gump.

Without any more ado...after the jump: