Law or Order: Murder on the Orient Express, 2010

With the new Murder on the Orient Express in theaters this Friday, we're taking a look at every adaptation of Agatha Christie's infamous novel. Each version has its own unique spin on the story. We've talked about the all-star cast of the original cinematic version and the updated setting of the 2001 TV Movie. Today, the definitive Poirot takes it on, with a much more dour tone...

Agatha Christie's Poirot: Murder on the Orient Express (2010)

dir: Philip Martin

Casting Coup Tuesday: Young Frankenstein

One Sunday -- third grade, perhaps? -- I came home from a friend's house to see my parents watching a horror movie on TV. I was into old school horror for a while (still am): if it was black-and-white and had a Frankienstein or a vampire or a Chaney, I was in.

My parents seemed a trifle wary about my joining them...but my dad had a certain rule for even the most risque films: if it was awesome, it was the exception. So it was that I sat down and prepared to enjoy some creature feature thrills and chills.

But this Frankenstein movie seemed different. This one seemed....funny. And why were Mrs. White and Willy Wonka in this?

Well, you better believe by that Christmas I had Young Frankenstein on VHS. It was a favorite of mine, perfect for a rainy day. And as the years went by, I found more and more people who felt as I did. Imagine my excitement when, studying the original novel in high school, the teacher chose the Mel Brooks version as the finest cinematic execution of the conflict and themes Mary Shelley first portrayed. And even if it wasn't, it was entertaining enough to keep us quiet for a bit.

Since I was already a fan of the Universal films, Young Frankenstein offered more to me than just laughs. I appreciated Mel Brooks' affectionate homage on a technical level, from the sets to the cinematography to the acting to the music to...I mean, you get it. I was also surprised by the emotional depth: the Monster's climactic appeal for love and understanding for himself and his creator is beautifully written and performed, but it's Frederick's own acceptance of both the Monster and his family in the middle that has always struck me as the most moving scene in the film.

Young Frankenstein was equally successful with critics and audiences. At the box office, it was bested only by The Towering Inferno and Mel Brooks' other genre parody, Blazing Saddles. Gene Wilder and Mel Brooks found themsleves nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, while co-stars Cloris Leachman and Madeline Kahn earned Golden Globe nominations of their own. Richard Portman (who would eventually win for The Deer Hunter) and Gene Cantamessa (ditto for ET) were nominated for their sound work, but all the nominations in those "prestigious" awards bodies came to naught. Still -- when you're a black-and-white horror-comedy, going up against The Godfather: Part II on Hollywood's biggest night ain't bad.

Naturally, we can never let a good thing go, so it was inevitable that, following the success of his Broadway adaptation of The Producers, Brooks would choose Young Frankenstein as his follow-up. Actually, I think Young Frankenstein would be ripe for a musical transfer, but Brooks' music here is similar to that of The Producers. And let's face it, what's good for the satire about show business is not good for the homage to horror classics. But I bring this up not just to note the film's continued influence, but to mention that there is precedence for re-casting the roles of this classic comedy.

And here's mine:

ELIZABETH

Who is She: Frederick's fiancee, a high-maintenance city gal who surprises her love with an impromptu visit. She is kidnapped by the lustful Monster Frederick created....but finds herself not entirely displeased.

Originally played by: Academy Award Nominee for Best Supporting Actress (Paper Moon, Blazing Saddles), Golden Globe Nominee for Best Supporting Actress (Paper Moon, Young Frankenstein), SAG Award Nominee for Best Ensemble (Nixon)

Madeline Kahn (What's Up, Doc?, Clue)

My Choice: Hollmann Award Winner for Best Supporting Actress (Doubt), Academy Award/SAG Award Nominee for Best Supporting Actress (Junebug, Doubt, The Fighter), BAFTA Award/Golden Globe Nominee for Best Supporting Actress (Doubt, The Fighter), Golden Globe Nominee for Best Actress - Musical/Comedy (Enchanted), SAG Award Nominee for Best Ensemble (Doubt, The Fighter)

Amy Adams (Trouble with the Curve, The Master)

She should play bitchy more often. And comedy.

INSPECTOR KEMP

Who is He: Transylvanian police inspector with the false arm, one eye and limp. Visits Frederick to assuage the village's fears, but later feels that it's about time to riot. His accent is so thick as to be barely comprehensible.

Originally played by:

Kenneth Mars (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, We're Back: A Dinosaur Story)

My Choice:

Matt Berry (Moon, Snow White and the Huntsman)

He of the distinctive voice, from the television shows "Garth Marenghi's Darkplace" and "The IT Crowd". Could bring the authority that comes with being a police inspector, and certainly capable of executing the ridiculous.

FRAU BLUCHER

Who is She: Loyal housekeeper of Castle Frankenstein, she lures Frederick to Victor's diary, tempting him to also play God and create the Monster. In the past, she helped Victor...loved Victor...he was her boyfriend!

Originally played by: Hollmann Award Nominee for Best Supporting Actress (Young Frankenstein), Academy Award/BAFTA Award Winner for Best Supporting Actress (The Last Picture Show), Golden Globe Nominee for Best Actress - Musical/Comedy (Charley and the Angel, Young Frankenstein) and Best Supporting Actress (The Last Picture Show), SAG Award Nominee for Best Supporting Actress (Spanglish)

Cloris Leachman (Sky High, The Oogieloves in: The Big Balloon Adventure)

My Choice:

Catherine O'Hara (Penelope, Away We Go)

One of the very best comic actresses in the business, so effective because she doesn't play comic characters, but people who happen to be amusing or funny or embarrassing. She's a master of voice-work: witness her playing multiple parts in Nightmare Before Christmas and Frankenweenie. Can't you just see her climbing up those stairs, fiddle in hand, screaming, "He vass my BOYFRIENNNNN'!"?

INGA

Who is She: Frederick's beautiful assistant, fiercely loyal, often up for a roll in ze hay.

Originally played by: Academy Award/BAFTA Award Nominee for Best Supporting Actress (Tootsie)

Teri Garr (Oh, God, Pret-a-Porter)

My Choice:

Malin Akerman (Watchmen, Rock of Ages)

Her work with the alum of The State on "Children's Hospital" and Wanderlust, and with Lisa Kudrow on "The Comeback", showcase her comic chops. Never playing down her beauty, yet never relying on looks alone, Akerman's one of the more exciting comediennes the decade's offered us. I'm pretty sure she can do the accent -- I know she's Swedish, which isn't the same at all as Transylvanian, but I feel like she could probably do a good German voice. And she's just so lovely!

IGOR

Who is He: Frederick's hump-backed assistant, grandson of the original Ygor. Eager to please, almost child-like, one of my favorites.

Originally played by: Hollmann Award Nominee for Best Supporting Actor (Young Frankenstein), Golden Globe Nominee for Best Supporting Actor (Silent Movie)

Marty Feldman (The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins, The Last Remake of Beau Geste)

My Choice: SAG Award Nominee for Best Ensemble (Frost/Nixon)

Toby Jones (Finding Neverland, City of Ember)

The man deserves every possible chance to prove himself. Although he gets funny bits in some of his roles, he has yet to really showcase his comic talents on film. Now is the time.

THE MONSTER

Who is He: Frederick's creation, blessed with a talent for Irving Berlin and an enormous schwanz.

Originally played by:

Peter Boyle (Taxi Driver, The Adventures of Pluto Nash)

My Choice:

Jason Segel (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, The Five-Year Engagement)

FREDERICK FRANKENSTEIN

Who is He: The American grandson of the Dr. Victor Frankenstein, seeking to distance himself from Grandpa's reputation by offering a different pronunciation of his name (Fronk-en-steen). Inheriting his grandfather's estate, he travels to Transylvania and finds himself caught in the same madness that haunted Victor: the creation of human life.

Originally played by: Hollmann Award Winner for Best Adapted Screenplay (Young Frankenstein), Academy Award Nominee for Best Supporting Actor (The Producers) and Best Adapted Screenplay (Young Frankenstein), Golden Globe Nominee for Best Actor - Musical/Comedy (Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Silver Streak), WGA Award Nominee for Best Adapted Comedy (Young Frankenstein)

Gene Wilder (Haunted Honeymoon, The Woman in Red)

My Choice: SAG Award Nominee for Best Ensemble (The Cider House Rules)

Paul Rudd (Clueless, Wanderlust)

His understated delivery works for him as much as it did Gene Wilder. But his more laid-back, everyman approach, even when playing prude, would guarantee a new interpretation that would still kill.

It's Here! It's Finally Here!

It happened. After about nine months or so of anticipation, worry, second thoughts -- it's here. Oliver Stone's W. has arrived at the cinema.

And what a movie it is. Much like Nixon, it confuses the word "fair-minded" with "crying, pitiable protagonist." But fuck me, Nixon was great. And I have to say, I loved W. Not the same way I love the Nicolas Cage version of The Wicker Man, either. This is love Speed Racer style.

Yeah, the first quarter is a little shaky. Like Nixon. The cutting back-and-forth chronologically does not always work. But once Laura (a perfect Elizabeth Banks) steps into the ring, the movie finally finds its footing runs with it. We get a fascinating study of a cool guy who was put in a position he was not ready for. And it works. It's just absolutely incredible the way Oliver Stone and Stanley Weiser have crafted this thing. For a story told too soon, it feels just right.

Josh Brolin is incredible. He does Bush just enough to avoid caricature, or a mere imitation. He gives us a Man, not a Character. We want to shoot the shit with him. We sympathize with his daddy issues. We like the guy, we care about him. Yet at the same time, we shake our heads at his arrogance, his ignorance, his -- dare I say it? -- stupidity. It's pretty powerful, I must say.

Okay, so maybe it was fair-minded. But if so, only to the few. Brolin's Bush is awesome, Banks' Laura is sweet, James Cromwell's Poppy is well-defined (if not always engagingly portrayed), Ellen Burstyn's Barbara is lovable (for me, at least), and Jeffrey Wright's Colin Powell is, well, the tits -- the only voice of reason, the sole soul. The rest of the gang -- Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rove -- are either hand-wringing Bond villains or just plain "out-of-touch with reality." In these respective roles, Richard Dreyfuss, Scott Glenn, and Toby Jones are, respectively, kick-ass, decent, and thumbs-up.

I'll tell you who isn't, though: Thandie Newton. Why does she get cast in movies? Why do people want to throw praise and awards on her? There must be something about her on-set manner that fools directors into thinking she's giving good performances. Her hammy Condi Rice impression is barely worthy of a MadTV sketch, much less a political drama. Sure, it's satire, and there are a few winks thrown here and there, but holy shit, did no one think to reign her in? Does Thandie Newton have a wrangler? Were Tracie Thoms, Anika Noni Rose, Sophie Okonedo, even Halle Berry -- were they all too busy? Good God, Stone, don't give me a great movie then force me to watch Miss Community Theatre almost single-handedly disembowel all the quality in the room.

Whew. Anyway. Newton notwithstanding, W. is great. Weiser's screenplay is spot-on, Stone's direction is superb, the score is beautiful, the actors fantastic. It's not for everyone. Mom, Grandparents, some aunts and uncles, and at least one of my sisters would not like it. Even some democrats I know probably wouldn't like it. For me, this is one of the best movies of the year. ***3/4

The T is for Thursday

We finally got Internet today, which means I can finally bring you the CCT you all so richly deserve!

Today's installment, a make-up from Tuesday, focuses on a highly-praised Pulitzer Prize-winning novel published in 2000. Numerous attempts have been made to get the work to the screen, but to no avail. Scott Rudin, Academy Award-winning producer of No Country for Old Men and The Hours, currently has the rights, and the original novelist worked on all the drafts. And yet - nothing.

For good reason, though. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay spans about fourteen years and 636 pages. Michael Chabon's opus centers on the rise, fame, and fall of two comic book artists finding life and love in the Golden Age of Everything - Comics, Radio, etc. Joseph Kavalier is a Czech artist, a refugee from the Nazis, hoping to earn enough money to get the rest of his family to America. Samuel Klayman - who eventually becomes the Sammy Clay of the title - is his Brooklyn cousin, an imaginative writer seeking his own escape. Together, they create popular characters like the Escapist, who gets his own radio series, and Luna Moth, inspired by Rosa Saks, the beauty of the avant-garde society.

Kavalier and Clay is a super book, absolutely exhilarating. Chabon is a masterful writer, conveying familiar emotions brimming with passion in just a few short sentences. And true, the ending is a little anticlimactic, but the pros definitely have it over the cons. You really get to know all about Kavalier and Clay, so that they become more friends than characters in a book. The supporting characters are colorful and unforgettable, and I've tried to capture that spirit in my casting coup. Which we may get to without further ado.

Passages marked in quotes are from answers.com.

SHELDON ANAPOL
Who is He: "...An owner of Empire Comics and Joe and Sam's boss for several years, is a businessman first and foremost and plays his historic role in cheating two naïve young men out of their multi-million dollar idea. But he is not without a conscience, having worked hard more than a decade at his own, less-successful novelty business."

My Choice: The book describes Anapol as a hefty man with sad eyes. I chose someone that both matches this description and is a phenomenal character actor.

Ken Davitian (Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, Get Smart)


JACK ASHKENAZY
Who is He: Anapol's brother-in-law and business partner, his "success results from the intelligence and talent of the people around him."

My Choice: I wanted to go for someone who was bulky, but younger and smoother-looking than Anapol. He may be a worse businessman, but Ashkenazy has an opinion of himself that is disproportionate to his abilities.

Mark Addy (A Knight's Tale, TV's Still Standing)


TRACY BACON
Who is He: The voice of the Escapist on the radio, and the face of him in the movies. Bacon is handsome, charming, and full of life. He strikes up a friendship with Sammy that concerns many.

My Choice: Tracy is supposed to be the very image of the handsome American male, of football and hot dogs. And he is also supposed to be beautiful and blond. So...yeah.

Chace Crawford (The Covenant, TV's Gossip Girl)


GEORGE DEASEY
Who is He: "The editor of Empire Comics and a mentor to Sammy, [Deasey] is harsh but sincere...[giving] Joe and Sammy hints on how to effectively negotiate their contracts so they will not get short-changed."

My Choice: Ginger-haired and mustachioed, Deasey needed someone who could convey the cynicism, sophistication, and disenchantment that Deasey possesses. I went with one of my favorite actors of all time. He's an Academy Award Nominee for Best Supporting Actor (Fargo).

William H. Macy (Seabiscuit, Wild Hogs)


CARL HENRY EBLING
Who is He: "A mentally unstable Nazi-sympathizer whom Joe runs afoul of." Having read every issue of the Escapist, he imagines that Joe is the hero in living color, while Ebling himself is the villainous Saboteur.

My Choice: Someone young, I felt, would be suitable. A little older than Kavalier and Clay, but young enough so that we may shake our heads at his naivete and insanity. The actor I chose is versatile and amazing.

Hugh Dancy (The Jane Austen Book Club, Savage Grace)


RUTH EBLING
Who is She: "Carl's older sister...a housekeeper at James Love's beach house estate in Pawtaw, New Jersey. ...She calls the police to raid Love's house after she finds a copy of the Escapist in Sammy's room."

My Choice: Another Brit, another character actor. Her work is impeccable, and to be quite honest, it would be more or less something she's done before.

Catherine Tate (Marple: A Murder is Announced, TV's Doctor Who)


JULIUS GLOVSKY
Who is He: "A childhood friend of Sammy's and also a comic book illustrator. Julie is the first artist Joe and Sammy hire to help them create the inaugural issue of the Escapist."

My Choice: It's a small role, but an important role nevertheless, I feel. A best friend type was needed, one who could take on the awkward paunch of Julie Glovsky.

Jonah Hill (Accepted, Forgetting Sarah Marshall)


LONGMAN HARKOO
Who is He: His real name is Siegfrid Saks, but whatever. Harkoo is "a wealthy surrealist art dealer...cheerful, quirky, and supportive." He becomes a bizarre sort of father figure to Kavalier, I guess. Anyway, he's pretty awesome.

My Choice: Harkoo is a pretty bizarre guy, but you need someone who can ground that into some sort of reality. I chose an Academy Award Winner for Best Supporting Actor (Iris).

Jim Broadbent (Moulin Rouge!, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe)


ETHEL KLAYMAN
Who is She: Sammy's mother, "a very practical, no-nonsense woman." She may seem tough, but she's got a heart of gold, and a lot of love in it.

My Choice: She has played the quintessential housewife/mother on television for twenty years. She is a marvelous actress that has long been under-appreciated in live action films. Only Woody Allen really knew how to utilize her properly, especially as the quintessential Jewish mother in Radio Days.

Julie Kavner (The Simpsons Movie, Awakenings)


BERNHARD KORNBLUM
Who is He: "A retired performing illusionist who mentors the teenage Joe in escape tricks, [he] helps smuggle Joe out of Prague when Nazi restrictions threaten to trap the boy."

My Choice: An actor who can convey wisdom. An actor who can convey weariness and tragedy. Kornblum is a man of many secrets, only a few of which are divulged. This Academy Award Winner for Best Supporting Actor (Ed Wood) could nail it.

Martin Landau (Sleepy Hollow, Crimes and Misdemeanors)


JAMES HAWORTH LOVE
Who is He: A businessman who brings the Escapist to the radio and young men to his house in Pawtaw.

My Choice:

Toby Jones (Ever After, the upcoming W.)


HERR MILDE
Who is He: "The adjutant at the German consulate in New York City. Joe visits him weekly, trying to find a way to get his family out of Prague. Milde is polite but unhelpful."

My Choice: The man's German, so I chose a German. Chabon describes him as a good-looking, decent enough kind of guy, so I chose someone who was a good-looking, decent enough kind of guy.

Sebastian Koch (Black Book, The Lives of Others)


ROSA SAKS
Who is She: "Rosa Saks is salvation and muse. She and Joe fall madly in love in the way young people do. Rosa becomes indispensable to the cousins as she helps them with domestic affairs and with rescuing Thomas Kavalier from Prague. Rosa also inspires Joe to create the sexy superhero, Luna Moth."

My Choice: From the very first, there was no other person that could play this role. I've always pictured Rosa as attractive, but not obviously so. She's not quite the pixie, but there is something mysterious and magical about her. A relative unknown was necessary, I feel, someone who has yet to be utilized as a true female lead.

Lizzy Caplan (Cloverfield, Mean Girls)


SAMMY CLAY
Who is He: "Sammy Clay, the everyday hero of Chabon's novel, is a quiet Jewish boy from Brooklyn who chases his dreams — to publish comic books — and catches them. Sammy's bravery and pluck are seen in his initial pitch to Anapol and later in how he stands up to Anapol, Ashkenazy, and Deasey to get what he feels he and Joe deserve for their talent." Despite that strength, Clay has some secrets that he is afraid to get out, urges that he denies despite others' own recognition of them.

My Choice: A star, yes, but someone who is (a) Jewish, (b) scrappy enough to play plucky Broolynite, and (c) a phenomenal actor. I think he would even do well as a man approaching middle age. He has the kind of face, I feel, that could be changed accordingly.

Shia LaBeouf (Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, the upcoming Eagle Eye)


JOE KAVALIER
Who is He: "Trained as an escape artist by one of the profession's unsung masters, Joe is incredibly adept at any task he takes on, making him somewhat larger than life. He is also a gifted artist and half of the genius behind the book's popular comic book superhero, the Escapist. Joe works closely with his cousin Sammy to create this superhero, which is inspired in equal parts by the unique backgrounds of these cousins. Despite Joe's repeated ability to escape and survive, he is incapable of saving even one of his family members from the war in Europe...Joe's great love is Rosa Saks, and their affection for each other is not diminished though time, guilt, shame, and anger must separate them for twelve years."

My Choice: Another young actor, a virtual unknown here in the States. In a few films, though, he has shown himself to be remarkably versatile, a superb actor, with the most intense eyes I've seen. That fish-out-of-water intensity that is vital to playing Kavalier - he's got it. In spades.

Ben Whishaw (I'm Not There, Brideshead Revisited)

To those who have yet to read the book, do it. It is a modern American classic. To those who have: who do you have in mind for Kavalier and Clay?

OMG W. TEASER TRAILER!

It. Looks. CLASSIC.

Casting Coup: The Day of the Locust

Summer vacation has begun for me and most of my fellow college students. This means more time to lolligag, less things to do (everything around here closes at 11), summer jobs, and summer reading. Of course, I don't actually have any assignments from the school, but my grandfather insisted I give some books of his choice a try.

He started me off with The Day of the Locust by Nathaneal West.

It's a Hollywood tale, and we know how much I love those! But it's also about inhumanity and anger, with Los Angeles becoming a place where people come to die. The characters scoot around in claustrophobic boredom, drinking and holding cock-fights. But nothing will deter the time of violence, the hour of brutality, the day...of the locust!

Duhn-duhn-DUUUUHHHHHNNNNN!

MRS. SCHWARTZEN
Who is She: A guest at one of the Hollywood parties who adores talking of smutty things. When intruding on a conversation some of the men are having, she is shocked and disappointed to find that they are talking shop, not sex. An outrageous, outlandish female.

My Choice: And who better to play an outrageous, outlandish female than....


Molly Shannon (Wet Hot American Summer, Osmosis Jones)


CALVIN
Who is He: One of the cowboys, he sits in front of the saddle store and pokes fun at Earle. And...that's about it.

My Choice: We haven't seen him play too many bright boys lately, but apparently he can do it.


Garrett Dillahunt (The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, No Country for Old Men)


MARY DOVE
Who is She: A high-priced call girl who also happens to be a friend of Faye's.

My Choice: Why has no one played up the unconventional hotness yet?


Lizzy Caplan (Cloverfield, Mean Girls)


MS. JOSEPH
Who is She: The landlady at the Bernadine Hotel, she arranges for funerals and guilt-trips.

My Choice: She excels in these parts.


Margo Martindale (The Riches, that yogurt commercial where she plays a laundress)


MRS. AUDREY JENNING
Who is She: A former screen siren who lost her job with the talkies, she is now the Madam for the most expensive call girls in California. Catering only to the rich and privileged, she makes the deals in her mansion, though it is never used as a rendezvous spot. She also screens pornographic films there.

My Choice: A beauty with a voice the talkies wouldn't allow?


Fran Drescher (Life with Fran, The Nanny)


ABE KOSICH
Who is He: A hot-tempered dwarf, he acts as a bookie for anything and everything--horses, chickens, you name it. He drinks too much, though, and is subject to mood swings. Occasionally, he uses his head as a battering ram. It's funny.

My Choice: Oh, the dwarf pool is so small in Hollywood. Get it?


Jordan Prentice (In Bruges, Howard the Duck)


CLAUDE ESTEE
Who is He: A successful screenwriter, he has an odd sense of humor--such as the surprise at the bottom of his pool. He befriends Tod and takes part in the cock-fight, but knows enough to get out when he can.

My Choice:


Toby Jones (Ever After, The Mist)


MIGUEL
Who is He: A Mexican friend of Earle's. He doesn't speak much, but he does have tequila. He dances and sings, seduces women, trains roosters, holds cock-fights. He's a fun-and-games man.

My Choice: I'm thinking someone bad-ass.


Freddy Rodriguez (Bobby, Grindhouse)


EARLE
Who is He: A self-proclaimed cowboy, he limits his western ways to standing by mysteriously and sitting in front of the saddle store. Goes out to dinner broke, so someone else has to pick up the tab. A wee bit of a temper: thrice does he strike out at people, twice over a girl.

My Choice: God, I would love to see him parody the brooding.


Christian Bale (I...seriously? You know him)


HOMER SIMPSON
Who is He: Yes, that's his name. A quiet man who tries to remain celibate, he winds up living with Faye after falling for her. But no sex. You always got to be careful of those quiet types, and he's no exception.

My Choice: Good-looking enough to please Faye, yet awkward enough to be Homer.


Peter Sarsgaard (Jarhead, Rendition)


HARRY GREENER
Who is He: Father to Faye. A former vaudevillian, he can never break the habit of performing. Meets Homer while selling polish. A sickly man, he spends much of the book laid up in bed, reminiscing on old times.

My Choice: Established actor who can clown around.


Academy Award Winner Dustin Hoffman (Kramer vs. Kramer, Rain Man)


FAYE GREENER
Who is She: A beautiful blonde, she wants to break into show business. Trouble is, she's no good. Like her father, she is always putting on a performance, so it's hard to tell when she's being honest or not. Uses her looks to get what she wants.

My Choice: The only one I can think of for this role: beautiful, yet gritty. And a finer actress than given credit for.


Brittany Murphy (Little Black Book, Clueless)


TOD HACKETT
Who is He: An artist being trained in sketching costume and production designs. He falls for Faye, but she makes it clear that there will never be anything between them. Imagines Los Angeles as a wasteland whose inhabitants will one day burn it to the ground.

My Choice: Looks like the book's description, and golly could he play it.


Tobey Maguire (The Cider House Rules, Seabiscuit)