I have not posted on this forum in YEARS, but I have to stick my nose in just this once. Yes, I think Idris Elba will be great in the role as Roland. I could argue that everyone is being racist, he is an amazing actor, blah blah blah, but here is my real reasoning...
Point #1: When has Hollywood ever cared if the actor playing a part is the same race as the character? Elizabeth Taylor played Cleopatra, Johnny Deep played Tonto, Keanu Reeves played Buddha… shall I bother to list how many white guys played Jesus Christ? **Unless you actually believe that Jesus looked like one of the BeeGees; if so, never mind.
Does an actor have to be white to play Hamlet? If your answer is "no" , then think about it. As long as an actor can make us feel the character and who he is, who cares what race he or she is?
Point #2: SHOULD the movie be 100% faithful to the novel? Sure, you can nitpick the plot and the physical description of Roland from the book, but I have to ask, why bother? A movie will never carry the entire story as presented in a novel, so some things will inevitably need to be changed. And if you have to change it, at least give the film makers some creative freedom to do something different. If I want the exact story in the novels, I will just read the novels. I actually prefer to have creative changes when a book is adapted for the big (or small) screen. Then the story becomes new for me again.
The Walking Dead series is a good example of this creative freedom. I read the comic books years ago, and with the TV version they made many changes. Other than just fleshing out the story and adding new characters (Daryl anyone?), original characters are picked up or knocked off at different times than the original comics, which keeps the series interesting. Shane was still running around in season two (drove me CRAZY!), and when Sophia DIED in season two I almost cried! I still have the thrill and tension of knowing anyone could go at any time, and that keeps me watching.
Point #3: Call me crazy, but I like to see something different. Looking forward to it.
Point #1: When has Hollywood ever cared if the actor playing a part is the same race as the character? Elizabeth Taylor played Cleopatra, Johnny Deep played Tonto, Keanu Reeves played Buddha… shall I bother to list how many white guys played Jesus Christ? **Unless you actually believe that Jesus looked like one of the BeeGees; if so, never mind.
Does an actor have to be white to play Hamlet? If your answer is "no" , then think about it. As long as an actor can make us feel the character and who he is, who cares what race he or she is?
Point #2: SHOULD the movie be 100% faithful to the novel? Sure, you can nitpick the plot and the physical description of Roland from the book, but I have to ask, why bother? A movie will never carry the entire story as presented in a novel, so some things will inevitably need to be changed. And if you have to change it, at least give the film makers some creative freedom to do something different. If I want the exact story in the novels, I will just read the novels. I actually prefer to have creative changes when a book is adapted for the big (or small) screen. Then the story becomes new for me again.
The Walking Dead series is a good example of this creative freedom. I read the comic books years ago, and with the TV version they made many changes. Other than just fleshing out the story and adding new characters (Daryl anyone?), original characters are picked up or knocked off at different times than the original comics, which keeps the series interesting. Shane was still running around in season two (drove me CRAZY!), and when Sophia DIED in season two I almost cried! I still have the thrill and tension of knowing anyone could go at any time, and that keeps me watching.
Point #3: Call me crazy, but I like to see something different. Looking forward to it.
