Ok so you may or may not have heard that there is supposed to be a Wicked movie in 2010. Does anyone know anything about who they are thinking of casting and have any suggestions on who they should cast? Personally, I think the OBC would be great but I'm not so sure Hollywood would agree, sadly.
This wouldn't happen but I'd like: *Kate Shindle as Elphaba *Becky Gulsvig as G(a)linda *Cheyenne Jackson as Fiyero *Victor Garber as Wizard *Patti LuPone as Morrible *Leslie Mcdonel as Nessa *Hunter Bell as Boq
Let's think about this from a critical response/dollars and cents point of view...
RENT film with OBC got horrible reviews and bombed at the box office.
THE PRODUCERS film with OBC got mediocre reviews and bombed at the box office.
HAIRSPRAY with an entirely new cast got rave reviews and did well at the box office.
MAMMA MIA with an entirely new cast got rave reviews and did well at the box office.
See the pattern?
For that reason, I would be very surprised if Universal casts any of the Original Broadway Cast members in the film.
Here's my dream cast...
Amy Adams as Glinda Anne Hathaway as Elphaba Angela Lansbury as Morrible Zac Efron as Fiyero Christopher Walken as The Wizard Kristen Bell as Nessarose Unknown as Boq
Zac Efron and Amy Adams falling for each other would be pretty awk. If you cast either of them, you would have to cast someone age comparable. Judi Dench and Robin Williams are pretty great ideas.
I do like discussing this...but there seems to be a new thread about it each week, usually following the exact pattern from the previous threads.
Alas,
I don't have a problem with the OBC not being in it - we've got the recording and endless bootlegs - however having a nod here and there to the 'original' fans would be nice, a few OBC cameos or something.
I'd rather they give Elphaba to an extremely talented relative 'newcomer' - kind of a Jennifer Hudson in Dreamgirls, Nikki Blonskey in Hairspray, Amanda Seyfried in Mamma Mia!
The major names can be Glinda, Fiyero, Morrible, Wizard and Nessa.
I think the role of Elphaba is far too vital to get right to gamble it on 'star's pull.
Elphaba: Unknown Glinda: Amy Adams Fiyero: James Marsden The Wizard: Robin Williams Madame Morrible: Shirley MacLaine Nessarose: Rachel MacAdams Boq: Roger Bart
PiraguaGuy2, are you kidding? Roger Bart as Boq? I think he's great, but isn't he a bit too old for that part? Boq is a youngster studying at Shiz, Roger Bart is 46. Seems strange.
I honestly think that the majority of the criticism RENT received was for Chris Columbus' direction. Many reviews noted that the cast gave strong performances that tried to squeeze as much emotion and energy from what they were given, with particularly good notices for Wilson Jermaine Heredia, Jesse L. Martin, and Idina Menzel.
Sure, they noted that the cast did not look like their characters' ages, but I felt there was a willingness to overlook that. The downfall was the direction. The only really creatively re-imagined scene was "Tango Maureen." They waited too long to make RENT and when they had the chance to make it more current, they passed. Chris Columbus is also very sentimental. I can't even watch the first two Harry Potter movies because of it. In RENT, the gritty, darker, and complex issues were presented cursorily. So a combo of the right director and artistic vision could make it work.
For these reasons I don't really find the arguments about not using people from the various staged productions to be convincing (at least, not in the often cited case of RENT). I don't necessarily want the OBC to be in it, but I do have some favorites that I would like to see. Such people would most likely be "unknowns" to the vast majority of the public.
I really don't care if they cast movie stars for most of the roles instead of stage people (that would actually be exciting, of course), but I do care that whoever plays Elphaba has the vocal power for the role. Singing like Nicole Kidman did in Moulin Rouge, although nice enough, will not (or it shouldn't, imho) cut it for Elphaba. I personally don't feel that the popular suggestions so far do have that strength (and yes, I have listened to several of the clips of various people singing).
I also question the idea that Elphaba needs to look like a regular college-aged person. It is Nessa who is college-aged (18/19), not Elphaba. Thus, with the combination of an imaginary world, suspension of disbelief, the age difference between the sisters, the possibility that the movie will span different time periods, the make-up, and age-effects (eg. X-men, Benjamin Button), an older than college-aged looking actress could conceivably play Elphaba.
Also, many are assuming that stage actors cannot act on film. I agree that might be true, but I think its silly to dismiss all the actors related to the production for this reason. Several do have screen/film experience. I would think that casting would consider possibilities among the Wicked casts and perhaps do small tests. If they will do auditions rather than offer the roles to people they already have in mind, why not?
Again, I realize that it may not be likely and I actually don't favor the OBC, but I just think the arguments against stage actors in the film have some holes, or the arguments for them can be more nuanced than "so-and-so IS this character!" etc.
As for a suggestion that I don't think has come up, what about Brittany Murphy for Elphaba? She did do her own singing in Happy Feet and seems more suited to Elphaba's personality, but perhaps her vocals have the same issues I raised.
I LOVE THIS CAST... Amy Adams - Glinda Anne Hathaway - Elphaba Jake Gyllenhaal - Fiyero Natalie Portman - Nessarose Tobey Maguire - Boq Judi Dench - Madama Morrible Robin Williams - The Wizard