IDRIS ELBA, YES YES YES

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muskrat

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Nov 8, 2010
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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.

Well, sure, but you have to remember, Liz Taylor's performance sucked in Cleopatra, The Lone Ranger sucked, and anything with Keanu in it suuuuux.

Having said that, I'm gonna give Elba a chance. Oh, the movie is probably gonna suck, but I'm sure it won't be his fault!
 

SHEEMIEE

Well-Known Member
Nov 15, 2010
1,315
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Can I just say that I am 3 episodes into Luther, and although I still cannot see any similarities to Long tall and ugly at all, I am coming around to this guy giving it a go. His character John Luther does have a lot of screen presence, and a menacing air of desperation in his methods, so hell- why not. It's a good show btw , give it a watch.
 

champ1966

Well-Known Member
Dec 3, 2011
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Wakefield Yorkshire England
Can I just say that I am 3 episodes into Luther, and although I still cannot see any similarities to Long tall and ugly at all, I am coming around to this guy giving it a go. His character John Luther does have a lot of screen presence, and a menacing air of desperation in his methods, so hell- why not. It's a good show btw , give it a watch.
I keep meaning to watch Luther. I'm rewatching The Wire, for the third time.
 

muskrat

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Nov 8, 2010
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Liz Taylor had the right colouring to play a Greek. And her acting was that wooden she could have played the Trojan Horse in that other film about Greeks.

Can't really blame Liz for her bad performance in Cleopatra, though. She'd had a serious illness and throat surgery right before she began shooting, and that whole production was beset with problems. Love her in lots of other films, like Giant and Virginia Wolf.

Just saying.
 

Robert Gray

Well-Known Member
I'm still peeved about the idiotic costume they have this version of Roland "duded" up in... which was not required at all. While I think Elba was wrong for the part, I will concede he can do intense and intimidating with gusto. In short, Roland is best represented not by his outfit but by the man himself... three things define the gunslinger:

1. Intensity
2. Stoic, matter of fact manner
3. Guns

In short, the outfit only takes away from Elba. It does nothing to enhance. They found an actor who can do intense and scary and for some reason dressed him up in some Steam Punk leathers. He looks more like a gambler from the Firefly series than anything out of Midworld.
 

OldDarth

Well-Known Member
Jul 10, 2006
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Fascinating at people can look at the same images and come away with 180 perspectives, no doubt influenced by our expectations for the movie.

Elba's look in the pics is excellent. A cross between a cowboy and a knight that seems of this world yet not. Can't wait to see clips of him in motion. It screams gunslinger to me.

Not a gun expert but the barrels look pretty damn big to me.
 

muskrat

Dis-Member
Nov 8, 2010
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He's totally NOT what I got in mah head when I read the books. Too pretty, too steampunky, and aye, guns too small. I always invisioned the guns to be like them big ol Walker .44s what Clint slung in Josie Wales.

But...I'll give the flick a shot, just to dig all the Easter eggs. Won't be the first time I've been let down by a King adaption. Us connies are used to these sorta things.
 

not_nadine

Comfortably Roont
Nov 19, 2011
29,655
139,785
Behind you
Saw this, I don't know if has been posted anywhere.

tumblr_oajl4enlgt1uwe8gdo1_1280.jpg
 

Ebdim9th

Dressing the Gothic interval in tritones
Jul 1, 2009
6,137
22,104
Idris is cool, but by now you know my arguments about the lesser of two tales involving race and gender ...robbing Susannah to pay Roland, no clash of white male privilege with the woman who suffers many afflictions of prejudice, for her handicap, her mental illness, her race, and her gender... takes a lot of the potency away from this morality play to make Roland a black male, even leaves Susannah with half or less of her own story to tell.....
 

Nomik

Carry on
Jun 19, 2016
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Derry, NH
Idris is cool, but by now you know my arguments about the lesser of two tales involving race and gender ...robbing Susannah to pay Roland, no clash of white male privilege with the woman who suffers many afflictions of prejudice, for her handicap, her mental illness, her race, and her gender... takes a lot of the potency away from this morality play to make Roland a black male, even leaves Susannah with half or less of her own story to tell.....
I am way out of my element here. Far be it from me to blindly agree with something I don't fully understand, but it sounds like you are asserting that the old biblical/Miltonesque paradigm juxtaposition overrides racial equality for the purposes of casting.
If that is the case (I'm wrong so don't even read that again) I would normally argue that individuality supersedes ethnicity, gender, etc. I see your point. Good one too.