Elba's Casting CONFIRMED?!!
- Thread starter OldDarth
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Ah MadDog 20/20 . -- we had our moment.....Hiya Mad Dog!.....
....that was the closest thing to death you'll know without the whole fatality thing....
Agree. That and Sch*ttzzz. (schlitz)....that was the closest thing to death you'll know without the whole fatality thing....
....Hiya Mad Dog!.....
Thanks for the welcome everybody. I've been lurking on this board for about a year.
I was pondering on what to use as an avatar.....@GNTLGNT....lol perfect.
First, I am kinda stumped by this statement. I guess I am one of those people who was confused by the casting choice despite loving Idris Elba and still wanting to give the film a chance. But the only person I thought would be ideal casting choice among today's crop of actors would of been someone like Timothy Olyphant, but that's probably just because of my love for his work in Deadwood and Justified.
Second, as a writer myself (screenplays), I am usually not one to question how anyone envisions their own characters. Recently in my writing group a friend was shocked that the main character of my current sci-fi script was always intended to be African American. I was surprised that he envisioned the character as just some dark skinned 'other' or 'mixed' race. I finally had to show him concept art I had made several years ago to prove it to him. He just couldn't shake the way he envisioned the character in his mind despite the way I even described him. Part of writing compelling characters is being clever with your descriptions and letting actions speak louder. If I were to describe the character blatantly as "30, African American" then I am shooting myself in the foot because I forcibly told a potential producer that the lead can only be that race.
Anyways, the reason I am confused that Sai King would make this statement to his fans, is that I didn't really remember anything in Rita Hayworth reading this way. I am fairly certain that Red narrates the whole thing, so I don't remember him really describing himself at all. I get that Redding surname could be Anglo-saxon descent, but it could've also been a given name carried over from slavery era relatives. I also don't see any references of Red describing himself as 'white.' I do see a lot of misinformation on the internet claiming he was a 'ginger-haired mick.' Maybe I am missing something, but considering how descriptive Sai King usually is with everything in his stories, and especially good with painting a picture of his characters, I am pretty sure I would not have missed that detail. If anyone knows what page in the story this is on, please share. Probably will need to re-read it, but I have even done a search on my Kindle version. Nope. Not one single line of anyone referring to themselves or to Red as a ginger-haired mick. In fact, the only reference in the entire book (Different Seasons) to anyone possibly being a Ginger, is in The Breathing Method.
Furthermore, the way he describes Andy is hardly "fat and dumpy" to me at all:
"When Andy came to Shawshank in 1948, he was thirty years old. He was a short, neat little man with sandy hair and small, clever hands. He wore gold-rimmed spectacles. His fingernails were always clipped, and they were always clean."
"As it turned out, it was fortunate that Norton got someone of Andy’s approximate height and build to go in there; if they had sent a big-assed fellow—as most prison guards seem to be—the guy would have stuck in there as sure as God made green grass... and he might be there still."
Can someone please tell me what I am missing in this description, because I do not envision this guy as "fat and dumpy" at all.
Obviously, Sai King knows what was in his own mind better than I would, but part of me feels that he is just politely saying what he needs to in support of Hollywood's decision to cast who they wanted, rather than who he originally envisioned for the DT.
I think this casting is also more difficult to justify to people because unlike a lot of his other books and short stories, the DT books actually have a lot of artwork in them and even a comic book series that make it very clear who Roland is and what he was intended to look like. If SK had intended Roland to be any other race, I am sure he would have communicated that to Michael Whelan and all the other artists that were involved over the years with the many illustrations of the characters in the DT universe.
Regardless, I hope the films turn out really good. I think Idris is an awesome actor and worthy of going up against McConaughey. Definitely will try to keep an open mind, but I am inclined to believe that this will not be "The" definitive adaption most of us would have wanted to see.
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I totally see what you are saying, but why is it hard to think that another
I totally see what you are saying, but why is it hard to think that another
go round to the Tower would keep our beloved characters in the story we know the same? Just like the Doctor keeps changing in Dr. Who, why can't we just accept that maybe THIS time on his journey, he's a black man?
Regarding Red.....it's been a while since I read Shawshank Redemption (Rita Hayworth), but I remember Red describing himself as an Irishman. The movie pokes fun at this in a tongue in cheek way when Morgan Freeman's Red tells Andy that his name is Red because he's Irish.
You're correct....Andy was never supposed to be fat and dumpy. I got him confused with the unfortunate feller from the movie who got beat up by the CO at the very beginning. My mistake.
I'm more worried about the actual script and rating of the movie than the casting. I admit.....I went into a mini rage when I found out that Idris was portraying Roland. I've read the DT series at least ten times, and the characters are etched onto my brain. I need Hollywood to capture the essence of this series, and it does seem they dropped the ball with the casting.
My biggest question is why? Was Sai Elba the best actor for the job or did Sony intentionally cast Roland as a black man to get a buzz for the movie? I'm leaning toward the theory that Elba is being used to generate buzz for he movie.
When it comes to movies, I've always prioritized the script over casting. One of my favorite TV shows is Game of Thrones, and my favorite character is Jon Snow. Kit Harrington looks nothing like George R. R. Martin's Jon Snow (he's too attractive), but Kit does an excellent job with the character......and that is because the script is good....great even.
McConaghey is not how I envisioned The Man in Black either for that matter. But that character's features was always ambiguous, so we'll he to see how he does. Roland on the other hand....was basically portrayed as The Man With No Name. That is why people like us get so upset. I have faith in the director (he's more than competent), and I expect it to be good. I hope it's great.
In an ideal world, we would have the perfect cast with the perfect script. We all know that this world is far from perfect and if I have to choose.....I would choose a perfect script over perfect casting.
My Perfect cast would be Jeffrey Dean Morgan (with blue contact lenses) as Roland, Taraji Henson as Susannah, I would keep Tom Taylor as Jake, and I would keep McConaghuey as Flagg.
Well, like I said. I hope the films turn out good. I am absolutely willing to judge this film on it's own merits and regardless of his race. But just the fact that there even needs to be a "This time" is a problem to me. If the Harry Potter series was originally made with a completely different cast than any of the fans had imagined or that JKR herself had described in the books (such as making Harry asian) I am fairly certain of two outcomes. One - the films would have done very poorly without the massive fan base running to see them and buy them on DVD/BR. Two - there wouldn't be a next time anytime soon if they got it wrong the first time around. The same applies for LotR and any other adaptations of well established works.
Considering how long fans have clamored for a DT adaptation that is pretty sad. The only people that are familiar with DT are true and longstanding fans of SK and the Marvel series. So it seems like alienating that fan base is not a good business decision by the studios at all. Further than that, Idris doesn't even have a large enough box office draw to make the movie a blockbuster success like LotR. For comparison, if they had cast someone like Tom Cruise or Matt Damon, solely based on their box office draw - I would be equally disappointed (probably more angry).
I get that.
Just found the line you are referring to:
“Sometimes,” I said, “things just seem to come into my hand. I can’t explain it. Unless it’s because I’m Irish.”
I might be wrong, but to me this doesn't read at all like he is seriously Irish. It comes across like a sarcastic "I must have the luck of the Irish" type line. The next line with Andy's reaction is just as telling to me. "He smiled a little at that." If Red was a white guy with ginger hair, I don't think this reaction from Andy would make sense at all.
Totally agree. I believe this is a case of politics over any genuine effort to make an authentic adaptation. And considering Sony was hot to try and get Idris as new Bond, I am thinking that they have a time-sensitive contract with him for X amount of films to make, so when Bond fell through they had to use him or lose him.
I never thought about him until you brought it up. YES! Jeffrey Dean Morgan with contacts would have been a killer choice as Roland!
There's a difference between Harry Potter and LOTR....those franchises don't have the
time loop that DT has. DT is at its heart a Science Fiction story in which the antagonist goes through his journey in an seemingly infinite loop. At the end of DT book 7, Stephen king left it ambiguous as to how Roland looked on his resumption of his quest. As far as we know, Roland changes every time. One of DT's central themes is how there is an infinite amount of alternate worlds so it's perfectly plausible and within canon if there are alternate Rolands for these alternate worlds. Something like twinners in the Talisman books. I think that you and most people (including myself) would prefer a straight up adaptation than a sequel.
And I'm not too worried about Idris not being a box office draw. Rogue One did well with no well known actors. Idris and McConaguey have a large enough following to draw interest.
I have a suspicious feeling that all of this is a plot by Sony to draw a buzz for the movie. The DT books are not as well known as Potter, LOTR, or Star Wars. There isn't enough of us hardcore fans to carry it to box office success, so Sony is attempting to garner as much buzz for the movie as they can.
This is just my part of the touch....I could be wrong.
This makes me cringe just looking at the pic....uggghhhh. I helped drink a half gallon of this crap outside in the parking lot of Barton Coliseum in 1988 before seeing ZZ Top in Little Rock. I still remember the hangover....To be 16 and completely fearless again....or maybe not....
....you are most welcome!!.....have a snort on me.....
Yep it was the grape version....lol ZZ Top was awesome, at least I think they were. For all I know the whole thing could have been a Mad Dog induced alcohol delusion....blechhh!
still get the night terrors waking up to flashback blackouts of things that might have happened one weekend in Blackpool England while on leave from NI - we decided to mix orange 20/20 MD with the special of the night - Babycham!!!!
in pint glass chasers !
i lost that saturday sunday, but i'm sure it was a laugh .
