And, finally, after much waiting, the conclusion of my 1973 Hollmann Awards! Once again, all categories are presented in the exact order of the original Oscar Ceremony, held on April 2, 1974. There's only one category here not awarded by Oscar: Ensemble, awarded to the casting director, and here in place of the Honorary Oscar awarded to Groucho Marx.
Winners are encased in Gold. And now, with no more ado.....
Showing posts with label Max Von Sydow. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Max Von Sydow. Show all posts
Thursday, June 13, 2013
Monday, February 7, 2011
Casting Coup Month: Grand Hotel
NOMINATIONS
Best Picture (WON)
When MGM first conceived of adapting Vicki Baum's 1929 Menschen im Hotel as an all-star vehicle, people thought it crazy. An all-star cast would mean more money spent on the cast, on trailers, on production itself! Then director Edmund Goulding and cinematographer William H. Daniels, working with the production designers, of course, made a 360-degree shooting area, the better to see the hustle and bustle of the hotel as its ensemble worked its way through the narrative. This, too, was unheard of at the time, and revolutionized filmmaking; no longer did they have to depend on a stagebound mise-en-scene. Directors could direct! Oh, and despite sound still being in its relative infancy, the production features pre-Altman overlapping dialogue. Again, it's a hotel. There's stuff going on.
The gamble paid off. Yes, it was one of the studio's biggest grossers.Yes, it won the Academy Award for Best Picture. More importantly, though, it was -- ahem, is -- an artistic triumph. It is as fine a comedy as it is a drama, as much a valentine to opulence as it is a defender of the working-class. When the wounded war vet Dr. Otternschlag claims that "nothing ever happens" at Grand Hotel, we feel sorry for him -- he does not see the romance and redemption, the crime and punishment, the sexy and saintly. Where else but the Grand Hotel would a dying accountant strike up a friendship with a debonair jewel thief? Where else would a stenographer and prima ballerina vie for that jewel thief's affections? Where else would a Dr. Otternschlag even be?
What's unusual about Grand Hotel is not that it won Best Picture, but that it was only nominated in that category. I suppose things would have been different were this not in the days of wacky nomination numbers: eight in Picture, three in the acting categories, four in writing, five in sound...and we were still five years away from supporting categories. Maybe the actors all canceled each other out, because I would say there are four deserving nominees: John and Lionel Barrymore, Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford. Director? Cinematography? Art Direction? SCREENPLAY? All, I'm sure, would have received nominations in a five-wide field. Alas.
Oh-ho, but if this was remade? You can bet there would be a hell of a campaign for the stars! A hell of a one! And the nominees could be (after the cut, of course):
Monday, August 17, 2009
Shutter Island: The Novel
It took me twenty-four hours, but I finished Shutter Island. Great read. I never finish books in a day. This is only the third instance of such (the others being Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None and Ian Fleming's Dr. No). It's one of those you cannot put down. After the first chapter (which is dull and expository), it just takes you by the shoulders and demands to be read.
This is what an ass-kicking looks like
Of course, it is also the subject of Martin Scorsese's latest film, to be released October 2nd.
A perfect release date, by the way. I remember last year being curiously short of horror films for October. Except for Saw XCIX, of course. Shutter Island, though, is pure William Castle. The role Ben Kingsley plays is so Vincent Price. And Max Von Sydow creeps me the hell out.
OH FUCK.
As far as Oscar goes, I ain't optimistic. This is pure genre, and we know the Academy prefers their movies to be feel-good indies and IMPORTANT dramas. Maybe in the acting categories? Certainly Leonardo DiCaprio and Ben Kingsley have juicy stuff to work with.
As does the marketing team. Look at that!
Ah, but what use is speculating on a film that is still a month and a half away? (One month. And a half. So near, yet so far.) The book is phenomenal, a jaw-dropper. I cannot wait to see what Scorsese and his gang have done.
This is what an ass-kicking looks like
Of course, it is also the subject of Martin Scorsese's latest film, to be released October 2nd.
A perfect release date, by the way. I remember last year being curiously short of horror films for October. Except for Saw XCIX, of course. Shutter Island, though, is pure William Castle. The role Ben Kingsley plays is so Vincent Price. And Max Von Sydow creeps me the hell out.
OH FUCK.
As far as Oscar goes, I ain't optimistic. This is pure genre, and we know the Academy prefers their movies to be feel-good indies and IMPORTANT dramas. Maybe in the acting categories? Certainly Leonardo DiCaprio and Ben Kingsley have juicy stuff to work with.
As does the marketing team. Look at that!
Ah, but what use is speculating on a film that is still a month and a half away? (One month. And a half. So near, yet so far.) The book is phenomenal, a jaw-dropper. I cannot wait to see what Scorsese and his gang have done.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Casting Coup: Moonraker
It's interesting, the things that can go wrong in an adaptation. Take, for instance, Moonraker.
Ian Fleming's third novel in the James Bond series is my favorite. The villain is debonair and colorful; the girl is an actual, developed human being; the plot is spectacular, leaning more on suspense than on action and sex; and there's a bridge game. It is the finest of the SMERSH-era Bonds, yet it is also the first one that has no connection whatsoever to the Soviets. Both exciting and mature, Moonraker is where Fleming finally got comfortable with the work, and it is here that we first see what he is capable of.
The film version, of course, is notorious for its awfulness. Retaining the book's title and the name of the villain, the 1979 Moonraker is a walking blunder that fails as a Bond film, a suspense thriller, an adventure movie, a sci-fi flick, etc. It's watchable in the same way rubberneckers watch car accidents. It's just...ugh. I cannot believe they turned such a classic novel into such dreck.
When they finally decided to use some of the plot in a Bond film, it was for Number 20 -- Die Another Day, which surely deserved better than what it became. Rosamund Pike and Toby Stephens aside, the film is a mess, but at least it retains certain plot elements of the book: A knighthood bestowed on a British citizen who is actually a foreign menace. Said villain using the device that made him a national hero to destroy his enemies (the good guys). A duel between hero and villain at a country club called Blades (bridge in the book, fencing in the film). Hell, Miranda Frost (the aforementioned Pike) was even named Gala Brand in the original draft! Alas, the film came quite short of hitting the mark.
I guess the problem is the source novel. It just doesn't match the established Bond formula. If they had gone with it before You Only Live Twice, it might have worked, but once insane things like kidnapped space capsules started happening, where else was one to go? While the title refers to Britain's first nuclear missile that Drax is developing, the book is short on action sequences or that sort of intrigue, with Bond and Gala mostly sleuthing about. There are a number of memorable sequences, of course. For instance, Bond fights off Drax's henchman Krebs with a bottle in his room. And, of course, there is the explosion on the beach that sends chalk collapsing on our heroes in an attempt to smother both them and the investigation. As well as the fact that the villain's plan is to send a rocket with an atomic warhead straight into the heart of London. Balls.
But there is no final fight with the villain. All the deaths happen off-screen. Even the juicy details -- the villain's identity revealed to the world, the launching and deflection of Moonraker, the comeuppance -- are all related via a radio broadcast. Yet this actually builds the suspense, since we're right there with Bond and Gala, only knowing through what we hear whether their plan actually worked.
Oh, and how memorable is that final sequence, by the way? Gala and James kidnapped and taken to the radio station powering the Moonraker -- in the heart of London! Escaping in time to deflect the nuclear missile to Drax's private boat in the middle of the ocean! Just as Drax raises the Swastika, revealing himself to be a Nazi agent all along! Not knowing if the plan has worked until the next chapter! God, what a novel!
I'd contemporize the piece, of course, but I like the idea of Drax being a Nazi who has passed himself off as a British POW all these years. Sixty years of formulating a plan, collecting resources, rounding up others sympathetic to his cause. Brilliant. And it would still be a test rocket headed for the heart of London. And it would still focus on the characters, possibly one of the best example sof Fleming's ability to write fully-developed three-dimensional character arcs. More action would be thrown in, of course, but it would remain mostly faithful to the original novel.
Featured in Moonraker: James Bond, M, Bill Tanner, Miss Moneypenny, Loelia Ponsonby, May Maxwell (more on these characters).
RONNIE VALLANCE
Who is He: Assistant Commissioner of Scotland Yard, responsible for the Special Branch, Gala Brand's boss. Down-to-earth and trusting of Bond, the two become friends and allies.
My Choice:
Jack Davenport (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Marple: The Body in the Library)
Davenport has both the authoritative look and the loosey-goosey manner. John Cleese's choice for James Bond, he could certainly fit the suit and demeanor.
LORD BASILDON
Who is He: Chairman of Blades, the private club of which M and Drax are members. Basildon and M become concerned when they suspect that national hero and member in good standing Hugo Drax may be cheating at cards. It is Basildon who suggests M bring someone in, and it is eventually up to him to clear Bond for visitation into the Holy Sanctum.
My Choice:
Frank Thornton (Gosford Park, Are You Being Served?: The Movie)
A veteran British actor who has been a part of my life since I was a child. Thornton has that old-fashioned British stiff upper lip, the reserve, the snobbery. He and Michael Gambon could have a ball together playing the members of an exclusive, uptight club. The concern for publicity and protecting his members would be executed perfectly with Thornton.
DR. WALTER
Who is He: A physicist working on the Moonraker project. Walter is but another henchman working for Drax.
My Choice:
Udo Kier (Armageddon, Andy Warhol's Dracula)
Kier is creepy. Like a creepy effing Nazi scientist. Like Dr. Walter. Case. Closed.
WILHELM KREBS
Who is He: Drax's "muscle". Distrusting anyone from the outside, Krebs snoops through the rooms and luggage of both Bond and Gala. He and agent 007 get into a fist fight, but Bond uses a bottle to get out of it. Krebs takes great pleasure in torture, especially when it involves a blowtorch and a beautiful girl.
My Choice:
Armin Rohde (Run Lola Run)
A pudgy fellow, Rohde fits the description we are given of Krebs, who mostly seems to be a Peter Lorre type. Rohde isn't too bad of an actor, though I notice he doesn't seem to have done any English-speaking roles. This is fine, though, as Krebs is mostly silent and a German.
GALA BRAND
Who is She: The Bond Girl. A Special Branch agent working undercover as Drax's secretary. Gala is a fine policeman, engaged to be married, and able to resist Bond's advances (not that he makes many). It is Gala who discovers Drax's plan to bomb London, Gala who deflects the missile to kill Drax, Gala who manages to keep her dignity even as her clothes are blown off by an explosion. Gala, actually, is one of the kick-assiest Bond Girls in history, which just adds to the puzzle of her not being used in a film yet. Bond doesn't always have to get the girl, you know. Example: Quantum of Solace.
My Choice:
Amanda Holden (Marple: 4.50 from Paddington)
In that one program I watched with her, she embodied Gala Brand. Take-charge and professional, but also humorous and sexy. And she never let a man get under her feathers. She did a bango job of it, and she could do very well as Gala.
DR. HUGO DRAX
Who is He: A POW during the Second World War, Drax suffered through amnesia before being identified by his dogtags. Though he remembers little before the war, he has built a name and fortune for himself through savvy investments and overall business skills. A national hero, he is bestowed a knighthood as he prepares completion on the Moonraker rocket. In reality, Drax is Hugo von der Dreiche, a Nazi who stole a British citizen's dogtags on the battlefield. He has been planning his vengeance on England all these years, culminating in the launching of Moonraker with an atomic warhead attached, straight into the heart of London.
Originally played by: BAFTA Award Nominee for Best Supporting Actor (The Day of the Jackal)
Michael Lonsdale (The Remains of the Day, Munich)
My Choice: Academy Award Nominee for Best Actor (Pelle the Conqueror), Golden Globe Nominee for Best Actor in a Drama (Hawaii) and Best Supporting Actor (The Exorcist)
Max Von Sydow (Minority Report, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The Seventh Seal, Awakenings, the upcoming Shutter Island)
Yes, he's old, but isn't it time we have Bond square off someone intellectually? Ejiofor vs. Von Sydow would be kick-ass! Besides, Von Sydw is a wonderful actor, multi-lingual, able to give us various accents. I thought for the longest time he was British or German, but he is Swedish, though he lives in France. Able to give us both the menacing Nazi and the charming intellectual. Von Sydow was a Bond villain before -- he played Blofeld in Never Say Never Again, a non-canon Bond film from 1983 -- and it's time he returned in a bigger, juicier role.
Ian Fleming's third novel in the James Bond series is my favorite. The villain is debonair and colorful; the girl is an actual, developed human being; the plot is spectacular, leaning more on suspense than on action and sex; and there's a bridge game. It is the finest of the SMERSH-era Bonds, yet it is also the first one that has no connection whatsoever to the Soviets. Both exciting and mature, Moonraker is where Fleming finally got comfortable with the work, and it is here that we first see what he is capable of.
The film version, of course, is notorious for its awfulness. Retaining the book's title and the name of the villain, the 1979 Moonraker is a walking blunder that fails as a Bond film, a suspense thriller, an adventure movie, a sci-fi flick, etc. It's watchable in the same way rubberneckers watch car accidents. It's just...ugh. I cannot believe they turned such a classic novel into such dreck.
When they finally decided to use some of the plot in a Bond film, it was for Number 20 -- Die Another Day, which surely deserved better than what it became. Rosamund Pike and Toby Stephens aside, the film is a mess, but at least it retains certain plot elements of the book: A knighthood bestowed on a British citizen who is actually a foreign menace. Said villain using the device that made him a national hero to destroy his enemies (the good guys). A duel between hero and villain at a country club called Blades (bridge in the book, fencing in the film). Hell, Miranda Frost (the aforementioned Pike) was even named Gala Brand in the original draft! Alas, the film came quite short of hitting the mark.
I guess the problem is the source novel. It just doesn't match the established Bond formula. If they had gone with it before You Only Live Twice, it might have worked, but once insane things like kidnapped space capsules started happening, where else was one to go? While the title refers to Britain's first nuclear missile that Drax is developing, the book is short on action sequences or that sort of intrigue, with Bond and Gala mostly sleuthing about. There are a number of memorable sequences, of course. For instance, Bond fights off Drax's henchman Krebs with a bottle in his room. And, of course, there is the explosion on the beach that sends chalk collapsing on our heroes in an attempt to smother both them and the investigation. As well as the fact that the villain's plan is to send a rocket with an atomic warhead straight into the heart of London. Balls.
But there is no final fight with the villain. All the deaths happen off-screen. Even the juicy details -- the villain's identity revealed to the world, the launching and deflection of Moonraker, the comeuppance -- are all related via a radio broadcast. Yet this actually builds the suspense, since we're right there with Bond and Gala, only knowing through what we hear whether their plan actually worked.
Oh, and how memorable is that final sequence, by the way? Gala and James kidnapped and taken to the radio station powering the Moonraker -- in the heart of London! Escaping in time to deflect the nuclear missile to Drax's private boat in the middle of the ocean! Just as Drax raises the Swastika, revealing himself to be a Nazi agent all along! Not knowing if the plan has worked until the next chapter! God, what a novel!
I'd contemporize the piece, of course, but I like the idea of Drax being a Nazi who has passed himself off as a British POW all these years. Sixty years of formulating a plan, collecting resources, rounding up others sympathetic to his cause. Brilliant. And it would still be a test rocket headed for the heart of London. And it would still focus on the characters, possibly one of the best example sof Fleming's ability to write fully-developed three-dimensional character arcs. More action would be thrown in, of course, but it would remain mostly faithful to the original novel.
Featured in Moonraker: James Bond, M, Bill Tanner, Miss Moneypenny, Loelia Ponsonby, May Maxwell (more on these characters).
RONNIE VALLANCE
Who is He: Assistant Commissioner of Scotland Yard, responsible for the Special Branch, Gala Brand's boss. Down-to-earth and trusting of Bond, the two become friends and allies.
My Choice:
Jack Davenport (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Marple: The Body in the Library)
Davenport has both the authoritative look and the loosey-goosey manner. John Cleese's choice for James Bond, he could certainly fit the suit and demeanor.
LORD BASILDON
Who is He: Chairman of Blades, the private club of which M and Drax are members. Basildon and M become concerned when they suspect that national hero and member in good standing Hugo Drax may be cheating at cards. It is Basildon who suggests M bring someone in, and it is eventually up to him to clear Bond for visitation into the Holy Sanctum.
My Choice:
Frank Thornton (Gosford Park, Are You Being Served?: The Movie)
A veteran British actor who has been a part of my life since I was a child. Thornton has that old-fashioned British stiff upper lip, the reserve, the snobbery. He and Michael Gambon could have a ball together playing the members of an exclusive, uptight club. The concern for publicity and protecting his members would be executed perfectly with Thornton.
DR. WALTER
Who is He: A physicist working on the Moonraker project. Walter is but another henchman working for Drax.
My Choice:
Udo Kier (Armageddon, Andy Warhol's Dracula)
Kier is creepy. Like a creepy effing Nazi scientist. Like Dr. Walter. Case. Closed.
WILHELM KREBS
Who is He: Drax's "muscle". Distrusting anyone from the outside, Krebs snoops through the rooms and luggage of both Bond and Gala. He and agent 007 get into a fist fight, but Bond uses a bottle to get out of it. Krebs takes great pleasure in torture, especially when it involves a blowtorch and a beautiful girl.
My Choice:
Armin Rohde (Run Lola Run)
A pudgy fellow, Rohde fits the description we are given of Krebs, who mostly seems to be a Peter Lorre type. Rohde isn't too bad of an actor, though I notice he doesn't seem to have done any English-speaking roles. This is fine, though, as Krebs is mostly silent and a German.
GALA BRAND
Who is She: The Bond Girl. A Special Branch agent working undercover as Drax's secretary. Gala is a fine policeman, engaged to be married, and able to resist Bond's advances (not that he makes many). It is Gala who discovers Drax's plan to bomb London, Gala who deflects the missile to kill Drax, Gala who manages to keep her dignity even as her clothes are blown off by an explosion. Gala, actually, is one of the kick-assiest Bond Girls in history, which just adds to the puzzle of her not being used in a film yet. Bond doesn't always have to get the girl, you know. Example: Quantum of Solace.
My Choice:
Amanda Holden (Marple: 4.50 from Paddington)
In that one program I watched with her, she embodied Gala Brand. Take-charge and professional, but also humorous and sexy. And she never let a man get under her feathers. She did a bango job of it, and she could do very well as Gala.
DR. HUGO DRAX
Who is He: A POW during the Second World War, Drax suffered through amnesia before being identified by his dogtags. Though he remembers little before the war, he has built a name and fortune for himself through savvy investments and overall business skills. A national hero, he is bestowed a knighthood as he prepares completion on the Moonraker rocket. In reality, Drax is Hugo von der Dreiche, a Nazi who stole a British citizen's dogtags on the battlefield. He has been planning his vengeance on England all these years, culminating in the launching of Moonraker with an atomic warhead attached, straight into the heart of London.
Originally played by: BAFTA Award Nominee for Best Supporting Actor (The Day of the Jackal)
Michael Lonsdale (The Remains of the Day, Munich)
My Choice: Academy Award Nominee for Best Actor (Pelle the Conqueror), Golden Globe Nominee for Best Actor in a Drama (Hawaii) and Best Supporting Actor (The Exorcist)
Max Von Sydow (Minority Report, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The Seventh Seal, Awakenings, the upcoming Shutter Island)
Yes, he's old, but isn't it time we have Bond square off someone intellectually? Ejiofor vs. Von Sydow would be kick-ass! Besides, Von Sydw is a wonderful actor, multi-lingual, able to give us various accents. I thought for the longest time he was British or German, but he is Swedish, though he lives in France. Able to give us both the menacing Nazi and the charming intellectual. Von Sydow was a Bond villain before -- he played Blofeld in Never Say Never Again, a non-canon Bond film from 1983 -- and it's time he returned in a bigger, juicier role.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Casting Coup: The Jungle
*Oh, wow. Pre-Oscar noms, clearly, as I call Viggo Mortensen a "potential" nominee. Ah, the days of Livejournal, when I still had to call a Globe/SAG/BAFTA nominee a potential Oscar one as well. This is also the last time I put pictures before the "My Choice" label. The ones there now are new, by the way. I was quite the hot-linking fan back in the day. My God, and did I really misspell Von Sydow's first name? *
It's CASTING COUP TUESDAY!!!
Today, let's honor Paul Thomas Anderson's latest film, There Will Be Blood, by visiting the world of Upton Sinclair. His novel Oil! inspired the first half of the Daniel Day-Lewis flick. Yet Sinclair is more famous for the high school required reading: The Jungle. In fact, until There Will Be Blood came out, The Jungle was the only Sinclair book available at Borders and Barnes and Noble.
Despite its popularity, there is only one film version of The Jungle, a lost silent made in 1917. Perhaps it's Sinclair's socialist leanings. Perhaps the concerns of foreign workers at the turn of the century has no modern day equivalent. And perhaps people just don't want to see a film version of The Jungle.
Well, I know I would.
THE CORRUPT CAPITALISTS
MIKE SCULLY
Who is He: A corrupt politician. Jurgis actually works for him for a time, but that's before the socialist thing. Scully "owns the festering dump in which...children forage for food."
My Choice: Sam Neill (Jurassic Park, Dead Calm)
MISS HENDERSON
Who is She: The forewoman where Ona works, she also sells girls into prostitution. Ona won't, so Miss Henderson gives her hell.
My Choice: Conchata Ferrell (Edward Scissorhands, "Two and a Half Men")
PHIL CONNOR
Who is He: The foreman where Ona works. He sexually harasses her, destroys Jurgis's work in politics, and is generally evil.
My Choice: Academy Award Nominee Danny Aiello (Do the Right Thing, Leon)
THE SOCIALISTS
NICHOLAS SCHLIEMANN
Who is He: Near the end of the book, there is about a chapter's worth of dialogue explaining the ideals of socialism and why it's a practical alternative to capitalism. This is the guy who gives the speech.
My Choice: Academy Award Nominee Judd Hirsch (Ordinary People, A Beautiful Mind)
OSTRINSKI
Who is He: He first educates Jurgis on Socialism, introducing him to Nicholas Schliemann. He's a Pole, fluent in Lithuanian, and he gives rousing speeches on politics.
My Choice: Jesper Christensen (Casino Royale)
TOMMY HINDS
Who is He: Owner of a small hotel, he hires Jurgis, making the them a pair of hospitable socialists.
My Choice: Old favorite Richard Schiff
CHICAGO PEOPLE
JOKUBAS SZEDVILAS
Who is He: A kind deli-owner now fallen on hard times thanks to his move to America.
My Choice: Academy Award Nominee Michael Lerner (Barton Fink, The Missiles of October)
JACK DUANE
Who is He: My favorite character. And also, a charming criminal who inducts Jurgis into his trade.
My Choice: Academy Award Nominee/Playwright Sam Shepard (The Right Stuff, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford)
GRANDMOTHER MAJAUSZKIENE
Who is She: A socialist as well, but before she came to America. She lives in Packingtown and, having seen a number of families try to make it, she knows the score.
My Choice: Academy Award Winner Olympia Dukakis (Moonstruck, Away from Her)
THE FAMILY
JONAS
Who is He: Elzbieta's brother, it is he who convinces everyone to come to America. He's also the first to book it when the going gets tough.
My Choice: Mark Boone Junior (Batman Begins, Memento)
DEDE ANTANAS RUDKUS
Who is He: Jurgis's elderly father, forced to work in deplorable conditions to support his family. And did you know, there is no happy ending for any of the characters?
My Choice: Academy Award Nominee Mac Von Sydow (Pelle the Conqueror, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly)
MARIJKA BERCZYNSKAS
Who is She: Ona's cousin, more adept at kicking ass and taking names most other immigrants. For a while, anyway.
My Choice: Academy Award Nominee (for writing!) Nia Vardalos (My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Connie and Carla)
TETA ELZBIETA LUKOSZAITE
Who is She: Ona's stepmother, she cares for the children and the rest of the family despite all their troubles. She is a strong woman who never forgets her heritage.
My Choice: Julie Kavner (Awakenings, The Simpsons Movie), a wonderful character actress
ONA LUKOSZAITE
Who is She: Jurgis's wife, "a kind, lovely, optimistic girl...ruined by the forces of capitalism".
My Choice: Ayelet Zurer (Munich)
JURGIS RUDKUS
Who is He: The novel's protagonist, an optimistic Lithuanian immigrant who becomes disillusioned with America, eventually turning to socialism.
My Choice: Potential Academy Award Nominee (please?) Viggo Mortensen (Eastern Promises, A Perfect Murder)
Agree? Disagree? Tell me what y'all think.
It's CASTING COUP TUESDAY!!!
Today, let's honor Paul Thomas Anderson's latest film, There Will Be Blood, by visiting the world of Upton Sinclair. His novel Oil! inspired the first half of the Daniel Day-Lewis flick. Yet Sinclair is more famous for the high school required reading: The Jungle. In fact, until There Will Be Blood came out, The Jungle was the only Sinclair book available at Borders and Barnes and Noble.
Despite its popularity, there is only one film version of The Jungle, a lost silent made in 1917. Perhaps it's Sinclair's socialist leanings. Perhaps the concerns of foreign workers at the turn of the century has no modern day equivalent. And perhaps people just don't want to see a film version of The Jungle.
Well, I know I would.
THE CORRUPT CAPITALISTS
MIKE SCULLY
Who is He: A corrupt politician. Jurgis actually works for him for a time, but that's before the socialist thing. Scully "owns the festering dump in which...children forage for food."
My Choice: Sam Neill (Jurassic Park, Dead Calm)
MISS HENDERSON
Who is She: The forewoman where Ona works, she also sells girls into prostitution. Ona won't, so Miss Henderson gives her hell.
My Choice: Conchata Ferrell (Edward Scissorhands, "Two and a Half Men")
PHIL CONNOR
Who is He: The foreman where Ona works. He sexually harasses her, destroys Jurgis's work in politics, and is generally evil.
My Choice: Academy Award Nominee Danny Aiello (Do the Right Thing, Leon)
THE SOCIALISTS
NICHOLAS SCHLIEMANN
Who is He: Near the end of the book, there is about a chapter's worth of dialogue explaining the ideals of socialism and why it's a practical alternative to capitalism. This is the guy who gives the speech.
My Choice: Academy Award Nominee Judd Hirsch (Ordinary People, A Beautiful Mind)
OSTRINSKI
Who is He: He first educates Jurgis on Socialism, introducing him to Nicholas Schliemann. He's a Pole, fluent in Lithuanian, and he gives rousing speeches on politics.
My Choice: Jesper Christensen (Casino Royale)
TOMMY HINDS
Who is He: Owner of a small hotel, he hires Jurgis, making the them a pair of hospitable socialists.
My Choice: Old favorite Richard Schiff
CHICAGO PEOPLE
JOKUBAS SZEDVILAS
Who is He: A kind deli-owner now fallen on hard times thanks to his move to America.
My Choice: Academy Award Nominee Michael Lerner (Barton Fink, The Missiles of October)
JACK DUANE
Who is He: My favorite character. And also, a charming criminal who inducts Jurgis into his trade.
My Choice: Academy Award Nominee/Playwright Sam Shepard (The Right Stuff, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford)
GRANDMOTHER MAJAUSZKIENE
Who is She: A socialist as well, but before she came to America. She lives in Packingtown and, having seen a number of families try to make it, she knows the score.
My Choice: Academy Award Winner Olympia Dukakis (Moonstruck, Away from Her)
THE FAMILY
JONAS
Who is He: Elzbieta's brother, it is he who convinces everyone to come to America. He's also the first to book it when the going gets tough.
My Choice: Mark Boone Junior (Batman Begins, Memento)
DEDE ANTANAS RUDKUS
Who is He: Jurgis's elderly father, forced to work in deplorable conditions to support his family. And did you know, there is no happy ending for any of the characters?
My Choice: Academy Award Nominee Mac Von Sydow (Pelle the Conqueror, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly)
MARIJKA BERCZYNSKAS
Who is She: Ona's cousin, more adept at kicking ass and taking names most other immigrants. For a while, anyway.
My Choice: Academy Award Nominee (for writing!) Nia Vardalos (My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Connie and Carla)
TETA ELZBIETA LUKOSZAITE
Who is She: Ona's stepmother, she cares for the children and the rest of the family despite all their troubles. She is a strong woman who never forgets her heritage.
My Choice: Julie Kavner (Awakenings, The Simpsons Movie), a wonderful character actress
ONA LUKOSZAITE
Who is She: Jurgis's wife, "a kind, lovely, optimistic girl...ruined by the forces of capitalism".
My Choice: Ayelet Zurer (Munich)
JURGIS RUDKUS
Who is He: The novel's protagonist, an optimistic Lithuanian immigrant who becomes disillusioned with America, eventually turning to socialism.
My Choice: Potential Academy Award Nominee (please?) Viggo Mortensen (Eastern Promises, A Perfect Murder)
Agree? Disagree? Tell me what y'all think.
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