Over at The Film Experience, Michael C of Serious Film has posted his thoughts on Only God Forgives, the latest from Nicolas Winding Refn. While I agree that it's no Drive, the general reaction against the film has me concerned, particularly the consensus concern Michael voices regarding the
violence. As he puts it:
There are no human beings to be found in Only God Forgives. Only meat bags, useful as far as they can be posed in bullshit macho scenarios and then eviscerated. The film opens with child prostitution, rape, bludgeoning, and mutilation and that is only warm up for the various stabbings, beatings, scaldings, and eye gougings that follow. I should point out that any of these things I’ve listed can be redeemed in the execution. Context matters. Here they are thrown out haphazardly, in the hopes that the potency of the violence will obscure the fact that the film has not a thought in its head, nor any viewpoint on the material beyond “Isn’t this cool?”
And here is where I disagree with him and other critics (though, please, read his comments -- I think they are reasonable ones, and we definitely agree on the problem of Kristin Scott Thomas). I commented on the page itself, but just so I have my thoughts on my own space, here it goes:
Best Dramatic or Comedic Score - Leonard Bernstein
Best Art Direction/Set Decoration - Richard Day (WON)
It's strange to me that the same people can praise On the Waterfront yet condemn its director, Elia Kazan, for naming names to the House Un-American Activities Committee. Naturally, when he got his Honorary Oscar years later, there were some boos, and some in the audience, like Ed Harris, refused to applaud, or stand. Yet On the Waterfront is the story of the necessity of naming names, and how the stigma of being a rat is a silly notion; sometimes, it is necessary to name names. (Kazan's own reasoning was the insistence by members of the Communist party that there be no paper trail or list of members. To Kazan, an innocent organization would not operate in such a fashion, and naming names shouldn't threaten them anyway if there's nothing to hide.)
This probably explains why my grandfather called me a "pinko commie" over Thanksgiving, for not having seen the film. Naturally, as soon as I returned to university, I picked up the VHS from the library. And, as so often happens, I was impressed. It's a story that never dates: the rights of the people, the myth of not squealing, the nobility of the working-man, the beauty of Eva Marie Saint. It's cinema at it's finest, with an ending that had me cheering and tearing. Clearly, the Academy of 1954 felt the same way, awarding the film eight wins out of its twelve nominations.
I think it's interesting to think about these films in the context of now. Certainly, with the current economic crisis caused by greedy corporate bosses, we can identify with the dock workers trying to keep their jobs at any cost and the greedy boss who takes advantage of their desperation. We all want a Terry Malloy, the ex-prizefighter who realizes he was used as bait to lure a childhood friend to his murder, to fight for the disenfranchised.
But who would be worthy of taking up those reins? And who is worthy of the moral Father Barry, or even the villainous Johnny Friendly? Some possible answers after the cut:
Cabaret is probably the best depiction of Germany in the days approaching World War II. The director of the production I was in once went on a rant after a sloppy rehearsal for "Telephone Song", explaining how if our characters didn't get carelessly drunk, then the show doesn't work. We have to not care about tomorrow or today or five seconds from now, we have to want to just party and have a good time and escape from the world. Because it was not anti-Semitism or desperation alone that led to the rise of the Third Reich, but a careless, apathetic people who couldn't oppose a terrifying new power because they were drunkenly ogling girls at a cabaret. And that's what the Cabaret is: the greatest distraction the Nazis had. Which is why the ending of Sam Mendes's revival does not completely work; in trying to humanize the MC and make him a Jew, the symbolism is lost.
So, yes, it is the greatest depiction of this era because it does not rely on sobbing children or alarums or a rabid Hitler or dead Jews to portray the sickness, but musical numbers. The audience gets caught up in the whirly fun of it all, with the sexy Sally Bowles and the charming MC, and before we know it, the Nazis have taken over. It's a devastating show, and the film works it just as effectively.
Sometimes I can't believe it took me until November to see Cabaret. I knew several people who owned it. I owned the Broadway Cast Recording in high school. And my junior year of high school, I played Clifford Bradshaw (Brian Roberts to fans of the film) in a stage production, probably my personal favorite performance from my theatre days. A good chunk of my teen years were spent with the show, yet something in me avoided the film for years.
I think it comes down to knowing I was ready for it. People had already told me it was almost nothing like the stage version, so I needed some years to separate myself on that front. Even then, it needed to be a moment where I knew I had to see it, that there was no going back, that the planets were all in alignment. It's just such a respected piece of cinema, I wanted to be sure that I was properly cleansed and open to its gifts. In the end, I made the right decision, because when I finally did see it...oh man.
The movie is markedly different from the stage production. Sally is American, Cliff is British and renamed Brian, his friendship with a Nazi is cut out in favor of a subplot involving a very rich German and the menage a trois that follows. The romantic subplot between the landlady and a Jewish tenant is replaced by one between a student of Brian's and a wealthy Jewish girl. The landlady and the prostitute are reduced to cameos. Most notably, the song score is greatly reduced, leaving only the songs performed in the cabaret and the Nazi recruitment song, "Tomorrow Belongs to Me". There are eleven songs cut in all, though two are replaced by newer songs; in addition, "Maybe This Time" is added to the proceedings, becoming one of the most recorded and recognizable song from the film.
But all these changes are fine: Bob Fosse is at the helm. And Fosse, from what I've seen, only knew how to make masterpieces. Apparently, the Academy agreed, awarding him the Oscar for Best Director over -- wait for it -- Francis Ford Coppola for The Godfather. I know!
Actually, Cabaret only lost two of its ten nominations, both to The Godfather: Adapted Screenplay (Jay Allen losing to Coppola and Mario Puzo) and Best Picture of the Year. Of its eight wins, four were directly up against the mob epic. In addition to Fosse, Robert Knudson and David Hilyard won for Sound, and David Bretherton won the Film Editing trophy. As for number four, the trifecta of Pacino-Duvall-Caan lost the Supporting Actor Oscar to Joel Grey, whose legendary portrayal of the Master of Ceremonies made him the sixth of nine actors to win the Tony Award and the Academy Award for the same role. Anyone who's seen it knows why.
Liza Minnelli won Best Actress, of course. Her Americanized Sally Bowles is a hurricane of energy, a real livewire, one of the most deserved wins in Oscar history. Composer Ralph Burns won back when the score category was separated, his winning for Original Song Score/Adaptation. Geoffrey Unsworth's spectacular cinematography won -- though, remarkably, The Godfather wasn't even nominated. Finally, Rolf Zehetbauer, Hans Jurgen Kiebach and Herbert Strabel won for Art Direction/Set Decoration. And the accolades don't stop there: three Golden Globes, seven BAFTA Awards, and #63 on AFI's 2007 list of the 100 Greatest Movies Ever Made.
So, yeah, a little intimidating. How does one improve on one of the most respected, renowned, perfect adaptations of a musical?
You don't. Instead, you go back to square one. Forget the subplot with Marisa Berenson. Put Schneider and Schultz back in. Let everyone else have their musical numbers. Turn British Brian Roberts back into American Clifford Bradshaw. And Sally Bowles...keep her English.
ERNST LUDWIG Who is He: A German Clifford meets on the train to Berlin. Ernst is likable, humorous, a pleasure to be around. He is also a devoted Nazi, warning Clifford and Sally not to mix with people like Schultz.
Sings: The Telephone Song, Tomorrow Belongs to Me The sun in the meadow is summery warm The stag in the forest runs free But gather together to greet the storm Tomorrow belongs to me
My Choice:
Joe Anderson (Control, Amelia) Young, likable, blond. He can probably do a German accent. His American one is impeccable, and he's from England.
FRAULEIN KOST Who is She: A prostitute living at Schneider's boarding-house. She, too, becomes a member of the Party.
Sings: Tomorrow Belongs to Me (Reprise) The babe in his cradle is closing his eyes The blossom embraces the bee But soon says a whisper, "Arise, arise, "Tomorrow belongs to me"
Originally played by: Helen Vita (Rosemary, What Tour Guides Can't Tell You)
My Choice:
Carice Van Houten (Black Book, Valkyrie) Yes, yes, I know she's Dutch, not Deutsch. She's still the only person in this cast that's actually from continental Europe. She can sing, too, which is good because Kost leads the reprise.
HERR SCHULTZ Who is He: A fruit shop owner who lives at Schneider's boarding-house, he falls in love with his landlady. The two pursue a romance, but it becomes difficult when his Jewishness is attacked by the rising party.
Sings: It Couldn't Please Me More, Married, Meeskite Meeskite, meeskite Once upon a time there was a Meeskite, meeskite Looking in the mirror He would say What an awful shock, I've got a face That could stop a clock.
My Choice: Philip Bosco (Shadows & Fog, The Savages) A great character actor with equal abilities in comedy and drama. I love his voice, too. Imean, I've never heard him sing, but I love his speaking voice.
FRAU SCHNEIDER Who is She: A widow who runs the boarding-house where Clifford and others stay. Schneider tries to make the best of things, but finds herself falling in love with her Jewish tenant as the Nazis rise to power.
Sings: So What, It Couldn't Please Me More, Married, What Would You Do? With the storm in the wind, What would you do? Suppose you are unafraid and wise, Being told what the choice must be. Go on, tell me... I will listen... What would you do?... If you were me!
Originally played by: Elisabeth Neumann-Viertel (The Odessa File, The Little Drummer Girl)
My Choice: Golden Globe Nominee for Best Supporting Actress (The Hospital)
Start at 8:17 Diana Rigg (On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Theatre of Blood) A magnificent singer and an actress who never got her due. Not as much as she sh0uld have, at any rate. I know she can do accents, and she can certainly bring the funny for the first song and gravitas for the last one.
CLIFFORD BRADSHAW/BRIAN ROBERTS Who is He: Clifford Bradshaw is a writer from Philadelphia. He arrives in Berlin to teach English, and winds up meeting and falling in love with Sally Bowles. While she is content with forcing her head in the clouds, Clifford becomes increasingly uncomfortable with the Nazis and jealous of Sally's profession.
Sings: The Telephone Song, Perfectly Marvelous, Why Should I Wake Up? Why should I wake up? Why waste a drop of the wine? Don't I adore you And aren't you mine? Maybe I'll someday be lonely again, But why should I wake up... Why should I wake up 'til then?
Originally played by: Michael York (Murder on the Orient Express, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen)
My Choice: Academy Award/Indie Spirit/SAG Award Nominee for Best Actor (Half Nelson), Golden Globe/Hollmann Award Nominee for Best Actor [in a Musical/Comedy] (Lars and the Real Girl)
Ryan Gosling (Fracture, Blue Valentine) He's a trained singer and a fine actor.
THE EMCEE Who is He: The Master of Ceremonies at the Kit Kat Club, the cabaret club where Sally performs. The emcee is a showman first and last, representative of pre-war Germany. He seems so cool and fun, but there is also a strange, sinister edge to him.
Sings: Willkommen, Two Ladies, The Money Song, If You Could See Her, Finale If you could see her thru my eyes, You wouldn't wonder at all. If you could see her thru my eyes, I guarantee you would fall (Like I did) When we're in public together, I hear society moan, But if they could see her thru my eyes, Maybe they'd leave us alone.
Originally played by: Academy Award/Golden Globe Winner for Best Supporting Actor (Cabaret) Joel Grey (Buffalo Bill and the Indians, Choke)
My Choice: Golden Globe Winner for Best Actress in a Musical/Comedy (Pennies from Heaven)
Bernadette Peters (The Jerk, Annie) Weirdly enough, this was my immediate choice. She's a hell of a performer, commanding a stage the way few people can. The role has been played by women on stage in a number of places (or so I've read). Alan Cumming's performance in the revival transformed the Emcee into a being that was not asexual so much as he was omnisexual. Why, then, can a performer of Peters' caliber not play this role? Because of the male-specific songs? That in itself could be part of the challenge, one that I'm sure Peters is more than able to make her bitch.
SALLY BOWLES Who is She: The star of the Kit Kat Club, a larger-than-life English beauty who knows she's going to be a big star one day, right? She has a string of lovers, but becomes involved with Clifford. The two fall in love, but Sally is a free-spirited sort.
Sings: Don't Tell Mama, The Telephone Song, Perfectly Marvelous, Cabaret You can tell my grandma, suits me fine Just yesterday, she joined the line But don't tell mama what you know!
Originally played by: Academy Award/BAFTA Award/Golden Globe Winner for Best Actress [in a Musical/Comedy] (Cabaret) Liza Minnelli (The Sterile Cuckoo, New York, New York)
My Choice: Academy Award/Golden Globe Nominee for Best Actress [in a Musical/Comedy] (Pride & Prejudice), BAFTA Award/Golden Globe Nominee for Best Actress [in a Drama] (Atonement)
Keira Knightley (Love Actually, The Duchess) Keira has proven herself to be an actress formidable, both as a dramatic performer and as a spunky comedienne. She is a capable singer; not effing spectacular, but great enough for a job at a cabaret like the Kit Kat Club. And she's a young English girl, like in the original stage production.
My love affair with Mame came by chance. In fifth grade, I had the honor of being Ms. Turner's student for a second year. She approached me one morning, and it was the first time she told me about her sister. She, too, was a teacher, at a high school down the street from Joe's Crab Shack. This teacher, a fiery red-head, was participating in the school's musical, and they needed a ten-year-old boy to play a very crucial role. Ms. Turner sent me off to audition: I was the first to arrive, and after that they canceled auditions. I was IT. I've never had an easier audition, and it was one of the proudest moments of my life.
Due to an unmotivated ensemble, however, the show was canceled before I was scheduled to start rehearsals with them. Fortunately, Virginia--not just my sister, but my soul sister--had the soundtrack. It was as though rehearsals never stopped. I continued listening to the CD, memorizing the songs and falling for this Angela Lansbury character. The more I got to know about the musical, the more I learned of the original stage play, Auntie Mame.
When Patrick Dennis is orphaned, he is taken by his nanny Agnes Gooch to the home of Auntie Mame, his eccentric aunt who lives in a plush penthouse in Beekman Place. In ten years, Mame takes Patrick through the Depression, his college years, marriage to a Southern Gentleman, his engagement to a college girl, an unplanned pregnancy, and on into the future.
I read the book of the musical and the script to the play. I saw the film with Rosalind Russell, and the musical with Lucille Ball. I've yet to read Patrick Dennis's original novel, but I'm in the middle of Chapter Two right now.
What concerns me about Mame is that the Lucille Ball version is the only musical adaptation we got on film. It's not atrocious. Bea Arthur and Jane Connell reprise their Broadway roles as Vera and Gooch, respectively. Robert Preston is a great Beauregarde Jackson Pickett Burnside. But Lucy...I don't love Lucy. Not in this one. She can't sing. She's just not a singer. She does a rhythmic talking through each song, and when she does sing, it's AWFUL. Why should one of the greatest musicals be subjected to a sub-par rendering? Why remake a perfect musical adaptation (My Fair Lady) instead of revisiting an oldie but goodie?
Well, I'll remake that movie. Right now. With this damn cast. Click Read More! to get the D.L.
MRS. BURNSIDE
Who is She: Mother Burnside is the matriarch of the Burnsides. A large, intimidating Southern woman surrounded by vultures waiting for her to die so that they can collect on her will. Mother Burnside is Mame's future mother-in-law, and that's fucking terrifying.
Awesome Quote: "Mother of jefferson Davis! She's passing the fox!"
My Choice: An Academy Award Winner for Best Actress (Misery), she has played a Southern woman a number of times (Fried Green Tomatoes, for example). She also has musical experience (TV movie of Annie), and while Mother Burnside doesn't actually have a song, she could do background vocals.
Kathy Bates (Rat Race, Titanic)
PEGEEN RYAN
Who is She: Near the end, Patrick brings his fiancee to meet Mame and her friends. He meets this gal, who Mame hires as either a maid or an interior decorator. I forget how close the musical is to the original. Anyway, she's smarter, cooler, and much less of an uptight bitch. She's the right girl, but does he know it?
Awesome Quote:
Patrick: "Marriage is a great institution."
Pegeen: "Yeah, but who wants to be in an institution?"
My Choice: Pegeen is Irish, so its only natural that a redhead be chosen. This is a non-singing role, so it can be anyone, no matter what their vocal talents are. And it should be a babe.
Jenna Fischer (Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, Blades of Glory)
CLAUDE & DORIS UPSON
Who Are They: Gloria's parents, upper-class WASPs who own a nice piece of land called "Upson Downs." Get it? The Upsons are scandalized by unmarried preggos, poor people, and Jews.
My Choices: They must look comfortable in period WASP garb, and look wholesome. By which I mean, bred. One of them is an Academy Award Nominee for Best Supporting Actress (Pieces of April)
Bill Irwin (Across the Universe, Lady in the Water) as Claude Upson
Patricia Clarkson (Married Life, Jumanji) as Doris Upson
SALLY CATO
Who is She: A Southern belle who's after Beau, and Beau's money to go with it. She jump-starts the fox hunt in an attempt to kill Mame, Sally's greatest threat to Southern blue-bloodedry.
Awesome Quote:
Sally Cato: "Oh, Mame, I'm so excited! I'm just gonan hold my breath 'til dawn!"
Mame: "Do that, honey."
My Choice: I chose a Southern belle who oozes sensuality and gentility, someone who can play both wholesome and bitchy.
Kristin Chenoweth (TV's Pushing Daisies, Bewitched)
GLORIA UPSON
Who is She: A rich girl who Patrick meets at university. Gloria is spoiled, prejudiced, vain and stupid.
Awesome Quote: "Bunny Bixler and I were in the semi-finals - the very semi-finals, mind you - of the ping-pong tournament at the club and this ghastly thing happened. We were both playing way over our heads and the score was 29-28. And we had this really terrific volley and I stepped back to get this really terrific shot. And I stepped on the ping-pong ball! I just squashed it to bits. And then Bunny and I ran to the closet of the game room to get another ping-pong ball and the closet was locked! Imagine? We had to call the whole thing off. Well, it was ghastly. Well, it was just ghastly."
My Choice: She's played spoiled, prejudiced, vain and stupid people before. She's also young and looks well-bred.
Kirsten Dunst (Spider-Man, Drop Dead Gorgeous)
DWIGHT BABCOCK
Who is He: The trustee left in charge of Patrick's inheritance, it means he also has a hand in Patrick's future. Babcock is a friend of the Upsons, meaning he shares their same views on the un-rich and the non-Protestant. He is a true snob, and tries to break Patrick free from Mame's grasp throughout his life.
Awesome Quote: "For nine years, Mame Dennis Burnside, I have done everything in my power to protect this boy from your idiotic, cockeyed nincompoopery."
My Choice: I wanted someone who looks professional, and can pull off that snob effect. He did this especially well in an episode of "The Nanny" in which he played CC's brother, DD. Their family name on the show: Babcock.
Michael McKean (Clue, The Producers: The Movie Musical)
LINDSAY WOOLSEY
Who is He: A progressive schoolteacher and friend of mame's, he finds the Montessori school to be old-fashioned and fuddy-duddy. His school holds classes completely nude, in order to strip repression off of his charges. Patrick's lessons there last a day, but Woolsey forever remains by Mame's side.
My Choice: I went with an Academy Award Nominee for Best Actor (Chaplin) who looks like a sexy Bohemian.
Robert Downey, Jr. (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Iron Man)
AGNES GOOCH
Who is She: Patrick's nanny, an introverted Catholic woman. Mame opens her up to new horizons with a new makeover. Gooch opens up her blouse and winds up getting pregnant.
Songs: St. Bridget, We Need a Little Christmas, Gooch's Song
Awesome Quote:
Gooch: "I'm a bachelor girl. My baby is going to be a little bas-"
Mame: "Agnes!"
My Choice: What I like about her features is that she can pass for both beautiful (as she needs to be for one scene) and frumpy (for most of the film). She can do it. Her voice has the proper range for Gooch.
Idina Menzel (Enchanted, Rent)
PATRICK DENNIS
Who is He: Mame's nephew, a writer. A good-looking young man, Patrick learns all there is about life from his Auntie Mame. As he gets older and meets more of Babcock's crowd, however, he becomes more snobbish and disapproving. It's up to Mame, Pegeen, and a few stiff drinks to save the day!
Songs:
YOUNGER PATRICK: St. Bridget, My Best Girl, We Need a Little Christmas, The Letter
OLDER PATRICK: The Letter
Awesome Quote:
"And if, some day, when everything turns out wrong
You're through with the human race
Come running to me
For you'll always be
My best girl."
My Choice: I've decided to keep Younger Patrick up to the unknown brigade. But older Patrick can be played by someone known, someone who can sing.
That's a video of a young Academy Award Nominee for eBest Actor (Half Nelson), but he also sang recently:
He's also a Hollmann Award Nominee for Best Actor (Lars and the Real Girl)
Ryan Gosling (The Notebook, Remember the Titans)
VERA CHARLES
Who is She: Mame's best friend, an actress from Pittsburgh who affects a British accent to sound more posh. Vera is a lush and a brat, but is always ready with a quip here and a smoke there. She's so delightfully bitchy sometimes.
Songs: It's Today, The Man in the Moon, Bosom Buddies
Awesome Quote:
Vera: (to Pegeen) "Congratulations."
Patrick: "No, Vera, this is Gloria."
Vera: "Pity."
My Choice: True, she already played Mame on Broadway. But she's much more perfect for the role of Vera. A great singer, she's demonstrated her vocals in such films as Chicago and Mamma Mia!. It's a part she could play in her sleep, sure, but she always delivers. It's just too much fun.
Christine Baranski (The Birdcage, The Ref)
BEAUREGARDE JACKSON PICKETT BURNSIDE
Who is He: Beau is a Southern gentleman who meets Mame while Christmas shopping in New York. Mame is fired due to her inability to properly look after his needs, but Beau is charmed and takes her home to Georgia. They marry and travel the world.
Songs: Mame
My Choice: A handsome actor who can sing, dance, and do a Southern accent. He's an Academy Award Winner for Best Supporting Actor (The Usual Suspects) and Best Actor (American Beauty)
Kevin Spacey (TV's Recount, Superman Returns)
MAME DENNIS
Who is She: Everyone's favorite aunt, a force of nature with skin. Mame is a free spirit, always changing outfits, interior decorators, hair color, etc.
Songs: It's Today, Open a New Window, My Best Girl, We Need a Little Christmas, Bosom Buddies, That's How Young I Feel, If He Walked Into My Life Today, Finale
Awesome Quote: "Life is a banquet, and most poor sons-of-bitches are starving to death."
My Choice: She doesn't do musicals often, but when she does, she's a natural. And she LOOKS like Auntie Mame. She SOUNDS like Auntie Mame. She's the perfect person to carry on the Rosalind Russell tradition of class and cool. She is an Academy Award Winner for Best Actress (Dead Man Walking) and a Hollmann Award Nominee for Best Supporting Actress (In the Valley of Elah).
Susan Sarandon (Speed Racer, The Rocky Horror Picture Show)
Attention Mame fans: Any problems that you see? Or did something strike your fancy to the point of praise? Tell me about it!
When your first exposure to anything is through an oddly enjoyable but nonetheless pretty lame 80s dance flick, you don't expect to fall in love with whatever it is. At least, not without irony. Yet Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five is more than just a random example of Kevin Bacon's rebellious flouting of small-town conventions (take that, church and state!). Mind-bending and time-bending, witty and woeful, Vonnegut combines fact and fiction in telling the story of Billy Pilgrim, who is unstuck in time.
To go along with our reading, Ms. Arena decided to show us the film version. Directed by George Roy Hill (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid), the film was even approved by Vonnegut himself, and is said to be the best possible adaptation possible. Unfortunately, we did not get to finish the film. I think Ms. Arena taped over it accidentally or something. Anyway, I never got to finish watching it, so all I could do was imagine what it must have been like.
And then I decided, Hey! Why not do a Casting Coup of it! That, plus Gemma requesting it on the Request Post, made it worth my time--AND YOURS--to do CCT.
Quotes from SparkNotes. BILLY'S PARENTS
Who Are They: Dad tries to teach Billy to swim by throwing him into the pool. Mom nails a crucifix to the wall, but never goes to church due to her inability to choose a denomination. One demonstrates "the illusory nature of free will".
My Choices: One is an Academy Award Nominee for Best Actor (The Killing Fields)
Sam Waterston (TV's Law & Order, Hannah and Her Sisters)
Kathy Baker (Edward Scissorhands, The Jane Austen Book Club)
LILY RUMFOORD
Who is She: A young trophy wife who meets Billy as he rooms with her husband in hospital. Lily is scared of him, and she silently in the room.
My Choice:
Natasha Lyonne (Everyone Says I Love You, Party Monster)
BERTRAM COPELAND RUMFOORD
Who is He: Laid up by a skiing accident, he occupies the hospital bed next to Billy's. A history professor, he refuses to believe Billy's less-than-heroic accounts of the Dresden experience, as they do not gel with his own presumptions.
My Choice: Academy Award Winner for Best Actor (Amadeus)
F. Murray Abraham (Scarface, Finding Forrester)
ROBERT PILGRIM
Who is He: Billy's son, a young delinquent who finds order in Vietnam when he joins the Green Berets. Billy is unable to effectively communicate with him.
My Choice:
Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Brick, 10 Things I Hate About You)
BARBARA PILGRIM
Who is She: Billy's daughter, a young bride who becomes frustrated with her father's war trauma and mental breakdown.
My Choice:
Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Bobby, Black Christmas)
WERNER GLUCK
Who is He: During the War, Werner is a guard at the prison camp where Billy is held. He and Billy get a first glimpse of naked female together, and the two opposing soldiers find a common bond.
My Choice:
French actor Gaspard Ulliel (Hannibal Rising, Paris je t'aime)
HOWARD W. CAMPBELL, JR.
Who is He: An American soldier at the prison camp, he has become sympathetic toward the Nazis. He tries to recruit people in fighting alongside the Germans against Russia, seeking to claim new recruits to his ideology.
My Choice:
Anthony Michael Hall (The Breakfast Club, Edward Scissorhands)
ELIOT ROSEWATER
Who is He: Like Rumfoord, he occupies a bed beside Billy in a hospital. In this case, it is the mental ward of a veterans' hospital. He introduces Billy to the work of Kilgore Trout.
My Choice: Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor (Chicago)
John C. Reilly (Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, Magnolia)
VALENCIA MERBLE
Who is She: Billy's pleasant, fat wife. She adores her husband, but he remains distant.
My Choice:
Lori Beth Denberg (TV's All That, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story)
EDGAR DERBY
Who is He: A handsome, likable soldier in Dresden who is sentenced to die. Instead of sorrow, Billy feels that it was inevitable.
My Choice:
New favorite actor John Krasinski (Leatherheads, TV's The Office)
WILD BOB
Who is He: A delusional colonel who has lost his entire regiment, Wild Bob befriends Billy en route to the prison camp.
My Choice:
Bruce Willis (The Sixth Sense, Hudson Hawk)
PAUL LAZZARO
Who is He: A bloodthirsty POW who avenges the death of Roland Weary by assassinating Billy Pilgrim later on. In the middle of the book. Because time is nonlinear.
My Choice:
Giovanni Ribisi (Lost in Translation, The Fast and the Furious)
ROLAND WEARY
Who is He: "A stupid, cruel soldier" who sees war as his chance to be heroic. Delusional and hungry for glory, Weary "heroically" toughs out the gangrene that later claims his life.
My Choice:
Ethan Suplee (TV's My Name is Earl, TV's Boy Meets World)
MONTANA WILDHACK
Who is She: An "actress" in "independent" films, Billy mates with her in the zoo on Tralfamadore. Young, sexy, and trusting, Billy fathers a son with her.
My Choice:
Drew Barrymore (Lucky You, Batman Forever)
KILGORE TROUT
Who is He: "A bitter, unappreciated author of several cleverly ironic science-fiction novels that have a great influence on Billy."
My Choice:
Frank Langella (Superman Returns, Good Night, and Good Luck)
BILLY PILGRIM
Who is He: "A World War II veteran, POW survivor of the firebombing of Dresden, prospering optometrist, husband, and father. Billy Pilgrim is the protagonist...who believes he has 'come unstuck in time.' He walks through a door at one moment in his life and suddenly finds himself in another time and place. His fragmented experience of time structures the novel as short episodic vignettes and shows how the difficulty of recounting traumatic experiences can require unusual literary techniques."
My Choice: Academy Award Nominee for Best Actor (Half Nelson), Hollmann Award Nominee for Best Actor (Lars and the Real Girl)
Ryan Gosling (Fracture, The Notebook)
*The very first entry in the very first Casting Coup Month. I know it's heresy to recast Gone with the Wind. Looking at it now, I really don't know if this was the best cast I could have come up with. But hey, it was my first time, it was 2008, and hullabaloo. I have replaced all the pics used then with new ones, since I only hot-linked back in the day. I also didn't use screencaps then, for some bizarre reason. Enjoy.*
CASTING COUP MONTH begins now, with a remake I've been planning for ages.
I am speaking of the romantic Civil War/Reconstruction epic, Gone with the Wind (in glorious Technicolor!)
It was quite a landmark film. Though Victor Fleming won the Oscar for directing duties, everyone knows that it's really David O. Selznick's picture. Besides, Fleming was, what, the fourth or fifth director to work on the film? He was much busier with a film of his own; The Wizard of Oz.
Gone with the Wind is worthy of note, if just for the number of Oscars it garnered. Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress (you better believe it) for the great Vivien Leigh, Best Screenplay for Sidney Howard's single-handed adaptation of the 1024-page tome, Best Cinematography (Color--Ernest Hailer/Ray Rennahan), Best Film Editing, Best Art Direction. Most significant, of course, was the Best Supporting Actress win lobbed at Hattie McDaniel, the first black actor ever honored with such an honor. Thomas Mitchell, who played Scarlett's dad, also won Supporting Actor, but that was for another movie--Stagecoach. And the immortal score somehow lost out to the cringe-inducing Wizard of Oz.
So, why a remake? That's a fair question. Let me explain. Actually,
THE TARLETON TWINS
Who Are They: Hopeful suitors of Miss Scarlett, important mainly to show how desirable she is.
Originally played by: George Reeves (you know, Superman?) played Brent, while Fred Crane played Stuart.
My Choices: I, too, can get jock-types who vaguely look alike to play twins. And Walter only makes all-star extravaganzas. Channing Tatum (She's the Man, Step Up) as Brent (or Stuart)
Chad Michael Murray ("One Tree Hill"[?], House of Wax) as Stuart (or Brent)
JONAS WILKERSON
Who is He: The overseer over at Tara, until he knocks up Emmy Slattery. After the war, they lord it over the fallen Southern aristocrats, but who cares? They'll always be trash.
Originally played by: Victor Jory (just add mustache)
My Choice: Come on. Like there's any doubt? Josh Brolin (No Country for Old Men, American Gangster, In the Valley of Elah, Grindhouse)
EMMY SLATTERY
Who is She: No good piece of white trash impregnated by the overseer. Trash.
Originally played by: Isabel Jewell
My Choice: There is this one actress I admire. She could do this role. Heather Graham (Boogie Nights, From Hell)
BELLE WATLING
Who is She: A Woman of the World, if you know what I mean. She knows her way around town, if you get my drift. She's pals with Rhett Butler, if you catch my meaning. But she's got a heart of gold, and actually winds up being one of the five best characters in the film.
Originally played by: Ona Munson
My Choice: La Muse Drew Barrymore (Music and Lyrics, Lucky You)
DOLLY MERRIWETHER
Who is She: An old Atlanta gossip.
Originally played by: Academy Award Winner Jane Darwell (The Grapes of Wrath)
My Choice: To the left. Kathy Lamkin (No Country for Old Men, Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning)
DR. MEADE
Who is He: An awesome Atlanta doctor who does not suffer fools gladly. Number Four of the Awesome Five.
Originally played by: Harry Davenport
My Choice: In keeping with the 1939 tradition of having Brits play Southerners... Alan Rickman (Truly Madly Deeply, Something the Lord Made)
AUNT PITTYPAT HAMILTON
Who is She: Scarlett's aunt by marriage, Melanie's aunt by blood, Pittypat is a flighty woman who insists on wearing shoes way too small for her ample figure. Says one of my favorite lines in the movie: "Yankees in Georgia!"
Originally played by: Laura Hope Crews, who should just come back from the dead and replay the part.
My Choice: But since that's impossible, we have... Margo Martindale (Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, The Hours)
FRANK KENNEDY
Who is He: Captain Hugo P. Sideburns himself, his muttonchops are a force to be reckoned with. Suellen's intended, but he winds up being the second Mr. Scarlett O'Hara. And, to be honest, he's kind of a pushover.
Originally played by: Carroll Nye (tiny pic, but look at those sideburns!)
My Choice: Maybe too old? Hugh Jackman ("Viva Laughlin", Someone Like You...) -- and look at those muttonchops!
CHARLES HAMILTON
Who is He: Melanie's dorky brother. Becomes the first Mr. Scarlett O'Hara; Scarlett does this to get back at Ashley for marrying Melanie.
Originally played by: Rand Brooks
My Choice: This is a tough one, and I still don't think I made the right call here. A.J. Trauth ("Evens Stevens", Happy Endings), who, in this photo, appears to be giving the "come hither" look to Joey Lawrence.
INDIA WILKES
Who is She: Ashley's sister, who seems to, shall we say, not have the best of friendships of Scarlett.
Originally played by: Alicia Rhett
My Choice: Jenna Fischer (Walk Hard, Blades of Glory), who may be way too hot for this role.
BIG SAM
Who is He: The foreman on Tara, he is a devoted servant both before and after the War and Reconstruction.
Originally played by: Everett Brown
My Choice: Academy Award Nominee Michael Clarke Duncan (The Green Mile, The Island), and holy shit he's a gorilla.
PRISSY
Who is She: A whiny servant who don't know nothin' 'bout birthin' no babies. She gets smacked around a lot.
Originally played by: How can anyone forget Butterfly McQueen?
My Choice: Sharon Leal (This Christmas, Dreamgirls)
PORK
Who is He: Another devoted slave, this one working in the house.
Originally played by: Oscar Polk
My Choice: Okay, it's another Dreamgirls star. Danny Glover (Gone Fishin', The Royal Tenenbaums)
ELLEN O'HARA
Who is She: The O'Hara matriarch, the beautiful Ellen is in control of her household affairs, ruling Tara with an iron, but lovingly matriarchal, fist.
Originally played by: Barbara O'Neil, and she was wonderful
My Choice: Speaking of powerful beauties... Academy Award Nominee Catherine Keener (Capote, Into the Wild)
GERALD O'HARA
Who is He: The Irish patriarch of the O'Hara clan, a horse-ridin' fellow who goes a little crazy post-Yankee victory.
Originally played by: Academy Award Winner Thomas Mitchell (Stagecoach)
My Choice: A writer/director/actor... Peter Mullan (Children of Men, On a Clear Day)
MAMMY
Who is She: The real head of the household. She's not afraid to give an open, honest opinion to Scarlett. Or anyone else for that matter. We know who's pulling the strings! Number One of the Awesome Five.
Originally played by: Academy Award Winner Hattie McDaniel (Gone with the Wind)
My Choice: The always reliable... JoMarie Payton ("Family Matters", "The Proud Family")
MELANIE HAMILTON
Who is She: The sweet and honest and selfless bride to Ashley, she is a weak creature. And the childbirth doesn't help. Come to think of it, I really don't like Melanie. Bloody do-gooder.
Originally played by: The STILL-LIVING Academy Award Winner Olivia de Haviland (To Each His Own, The Heiress)
My Choice: More Brits as Southerners... Emmy Award Winner Kelly Macdonald (The Girl in the Park, No Country for Old Men)
ASHLEY WILKES
Who is He: Though he seems slightly fey in the film, in the book, Ashley is a stand-up kind of guy. With a mustache. Married to Melanie, he is faithful and true, while totally aware of Scarlett's feelings for him. He's not bad.
Originally played by: British wuss/Academy Award Nominee Leslie Howard (Berkeley Square, Pygmalion). Seriously, Scarlett? Him?
My Choice: Doesn't he look sensitive? Like Ashley? Academy Award/Hollmann Award Nominee Ryan Gosling (Half Nelson, Lars and the Real Girl)
RHETT BUTLER
Who is He: You fucking know this guy. He's Number Two on the Awesome Five. He's the most quotable pre-Bond cinematic character. Hell, he's the most James Bond pre-Bond character.
Originally played by: Academy Award Winner/Bad-ass Clark Gable (It Happened One Night) No one eye-fucks like the original.
My Choice: I'm sorry, but George Clooney's too old for the rest of the cast. But how about Choice #2? Christian Bale (Newsies, Reign of Fire)
SCARLETT O'HARA
Who is She: The heiress of Tara, the heroine of the story, the bitch with the money.
Originally played by: Academy Award Winner Vivien Leigh (Gone with the Wind, A Streetcar Named Desire)
My Choice: Now this is a tough one. Someone unconventionally beautiful (the book says she was not, but everyone thought she was because of the way she carried herself). Someone with that dark hair/light eyes look. Someone that we could see chasing Ryan Gosling and getting chased by Christian Bale. Rachel McAdams (Red Eye, The Family Stone)
And there you have it: Walter Hollmann Presents Margaret Mitchell's Gone with the Wind.
