Dreamcasting # 4: The Authority

Dr.Strangefate

He Sees You When You're Sleeping. He Knows When Yo
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The rules are:

1) The winner of the last round becomes the moderator of the round, and thus gets to choose the property or story in question to be adapted. Winner may also declare whether this property is an animated film, or a live-action one. He must also name the core characters to be cast, which should be at least 4, but no more than 9.

2) You may not use actors who have played the role before in the same medium before. Voice talents may not reprise their role, nor can film ones.

3) After two weeks, the round is declared closed. People will vote via PM and send it to the moderator, who will count the votes and declare winner. Like the Ultimatization Game, you CANNOT vote for yourself.

4) The winner declared gets to choose the property in the next round. And so the cycle continues.

The property for this round is:

The Authority

You Must Cast:

Jenny Sparks
Apollo
Midnighter
Jack Hawksmoor
Jeroen Thorndike - The Doctor
Angela Spica - The Engineer
Shen Li-Min - Swift

It is approximately 1 AM Eastern Standard Time - April 2, 2007
This round concludes at 1 AM EST - April 16, 2007
 
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Jenny Sparks - Angelina Jolie. I'm thinking of her character in Sky Captain when I do this.
Apollo - I'll come back to this.
The Midnighter - Christian Bale. He's Batman.
Jack Hawksmoor - Nathan Fillion. This pick is out of nowhere, but they're both really damn cool.
The Doctor - Jude Law. I think he looks a bit like him and could probably play him well.
The Engineer - The Engineer would be CGI. As for Spica, I've got no idea.
Swift - Maggie Q. Just because.

Actually, I think these are quite bad. But I can't think of anyone.
 
I have a couple now (yeah, the girls), but I'll fill in the rest in a bit.

Jenny Sparks: Kiera Knightly. She's British, has the same figure, and can work a sassy attitude. Plus she's no stranger to action movies.

Engineer: Selma Hayek. She's got the perfect body for how I envision Engineer to look, short, big chest, she's got a fun attitude and she was very convincing as a scientist in the Spy Kids movies. And by convincing I mean sexy.

Swift: Kelly Hu. I know it's kind of a cliche choice, but give her short hair and wings and I think she'd look the part perfectly. Also has action movie experience.
 
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Ooh, Selma Hayek is a good choice. I'll steal her. :D

I'm rethinking my Hawksmoor decision... maybe Matthew Fox.

I've still got no clue for Apollo.
 
Okay, so here's my picks for the rest:

Jack Hawksmoor - Clive Owen. He has a deep, diturbed look, just like a guy raped by aliens and transformed into the God of Cities. He can play dark and light equally well, which is important in an Authority movie.

The Doctor - James Spader. He can play distant, like he knows something no one else does. He can play eccentric, which is important for someone on a lot of drugs. The Doctor enjoyed his fame from being on the team more than anyone and Spader is a guy that looks like he loves being famous. Just muss up his hair and slap some goggles on him. You'll see.

Midnighter - Jason Stathan. I didn't want someone to play Batman. Stathan can fight and is used to way crazy action. He has a good voice for the kind of dialogue Midnighter usually has and he could look threaten standing in the back with his hands in his trenchcoat pockets.

Apollo - Matthew McConaughey. This was the hardest role to cast, in my mind, and the weirdest of my choices. I think McConaughey has a lot of charm and can light up the screen with a smile, which is important for Apollo. He has a good body and can play someone who likes fighting, as he showed in Reign of Fire. He can do dark, like Apollo gets when Midnighter gets hurt, and he can play the sissy-nancy soft crying side too.

Swift - Qi Shu. Looking up Stathan I saw she was in The Transporter. She looks perfect, short hair and everything. I don't know if she speaks English, but her look alone has me changing from my original choice of Kelly Hu.

And here's my previous choices in case anyone's too lazy to look back for them:

Jenny Sparks: Kiera Knightly. She's British, has the same figure, and can work a sassy attitude. Plus she's no stranger to action movies.

Engineer: Selma Hayek. She's got the perfect body for how I envision Engineer to look, short, big chest, she's got a fun attitude and she was very convincing as a scientist in the Spy Kids movies. And by convincing I mean sexy.
 
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Jack Hawksmoor - David Boreanaz - Boreanaz has the look. And he's got the acting skill to cover both dark/serious tones and the charm to pull off some of Hawksmoor suaveness.

Apollo - Gerard Butler - You need big, intimidating and all around acting skill. After Butler's performance in 300...how slap a wig on him and voila.

Midnighter - Karl Urban - Another intimidating role. But...since he's always in a mask...the only way to express any emotion is thru powerful eyes. Urban's got that in spades. The guy's got skills....too bad he gets crappy roles to portray them. Look at his role in "Doom" and you'll understand why I chose him.

Engineer - Emily Deschanel - Here's one of the toughest roles to cast. You need a female character who despite being naked all the time is in fact brilliant and tough. Deschanel's role on "Bones" makes her my choice. Now I know several people could think of others to fill this role....but I'm imagining a shot of Emily screaming with tears in her eyes as she opens fire on an alien army with her giant hand-cannon. It works....trust me.

Jenny Sparks - Sienna Miller - Another tough choice. The masses would like to go with Kiera Knightley.....but despite her role in Domino...I can't really buy her as a "tough as nails" Brit who fancies a smoke and is in desperate need of a shag. I know it seems like an unlikely casting---but I think Miller has a bit more serious tone about her than Keira.

Swift - Maggie Q. - Another difficult choice. I know many would like to see Lucy Liu or Kelly Hu....but I see them as too obvious or just thrown in there due to their Americanized looks. That doesn't exactly exclude my choice of Maggie Q....but I like her and would like to see more of her. I still love you Kelly.

The Doctor - James Spader - The Doctor....despite his profession....is a junkie dick. And who do you get to play a junkie dick? Hollywood's professional dickman. Spader has been playing this role for years. Why? Because he's good at it. If it ain't broke...don't fix it.



And for shiggles---I casted the latter cast.

Jenny Quantum - Ashley Scott - I'm thinking her with her hair cut short like when she was on "Birds of Prey". The look is perfect. I know there are semantics like her age and whatnot. But she can pull the role off for what little there is.

The New Doctor - Kal Penn - Now I admit that I'm drawing a blank on middle-eastern actors....but Kal Penn is the only one I can think of. His performance in the upcoming "Namesake" convinces me that he can pull a role like this off.






Now there were a couple other choices I had for certain people:

Midnighter - I too thought Jason Statham. Why? Because when you think kick-***...you think Midnighter. And you think The Transporter. 2+2=4 right? And while yeah he could work....he seems a bit to monotone for me.

Hawksmoor - Another excellent choice I had was Justin Theroux. To be honest I like him more than my current choice. But the problem is I haven't seen him in too many roles that make me believe he has the chops to take a heavy role like this and also give the character some charm. Now you might be asking "Who is Justin Theroux?"....he was the bad-*** Irish thug from Charlie's Angels 2.
 
Jenny Sparks - Billie Piper - I'm a total Doctor Who freak, but that's not why I'm casting her. A bisexual British blond smoking alcoholic - Billie can do that. She has the looks, and if you've seen her acting, she can do the badass.

Apollo - Josh Duhamel - Burly and emasculine with a magnificent jawline, Josh is perfect for it. Honestly, if you put that long platinum blond hair on him, he would look EXACTLY like Apollo would...if he were real and all.

Midnighter - Karl Urban - Grizzled badass with just the right amount of stubble. And he beat a demon Rock. Come on!

Jack Hawksmoor - Nicolas Cage - This was the role Nic was born to play. Not Ghost Rider, not Fu Manchu (ha), but this. A dedicated, brooding, womanizing, and somewhat messed-up-in-the-head anti-hero is perfect for him. I can't see anybody else who could make a role involving jumping around rooftop bare foot believable, serious, and just plain awesome.

The Doctor - Jake Gyllenhaal - Look at it from this point of view. The Doctor is a recovering heroin addict who spent weeks playing Sonic the Hedgehog, he's completely insane, and he has the power to do anything. Look at Jake, possibly dye his hair red, and you tell me that he can't do it.

The Engineer - Eva Mendes - I know, I know, Engineer's Mexican, but I think Eva can do it. She's been in plenty of action movies before, but she's never really been in the action. This is her chance to shine.

Swift - Sandra Oh - She's quite a versatile actress, and she's never done this type of role before. I think she could play the balls-to-the-wall bisexual birdy quite nicely and loyally.
 
The difference between how I cast Watchmen and and how I cast The Authority, is that I opted for performers with a 'widescreen' sensibility (as vague as that sounds) who would welcome the opportunity to play *******s. Because let's face it, The Authority are essentially really nasty people whose chief opponents are only 'bad guys' by virtue of being far worse than they are and they just happen to smarter, tougher and better looking than we ordinary people will ever be.

I also took into consideration the overall marketability of the film, and in cases where candidates did not fit the character perfectly to a T, I imagine the character shaping itself around the natural traits of the performer in question to create a hypothetically better film. Because let's face it, Millar and Ellis tend to write the characters with very broad strokes (on purpose, I suspect).

07-authority.jpg


From left to right: Scarlett Johansson, Robert Downey Jr., Zooey Deschanel, Jason Flemyng,
Rufus Sewell, Lucy Liu and Jason Statham

Jenny Sparks, Spirit of the Twentieth Century - To play the bossy, commanding and smart-mouthed leader of the new superhuman order, Scarlett Johansson will have to call on the sweet-natured yet snarky mannerisms she displayed in Ghost World and the headstrong performance she displayed in A Love Song for Bobby Long. To sum it up, Johansson has frequently combined surprising maturity with her fresh young looks, something that is demanded of the twentieth century's avatar --- a 100 year old woman who never aged past 19.

Jack Hawksmoor, The God of the Cities - The perpetually bubblyperformances of Robert Downey, Jr. in movies like Heart and Souls and [i[Wonder Boys[/i] seem ill-suited to a havoc wreaking urban warrior, I'll admit. But consider that with his capacity for mixing dramatic seriousness with a comical sensibility, then he makes perfect sense as a man with not only improbable street smarts, but the affable sense to take the ill-natured joke of being experimentally abused and genitally deformed in stride.

Angela Spica, The Engineer - It's an ironic twist that the least biologically human member of the Authority is the most psychologically human. Unused to taking orders let alone giving them to a small universe-powered engine, Angela Spica fights for the little things --- cruising over the mind barrier reef and making orange juice in the morning. Who better to play her then than Zooey Deschanel whose ingenue likeability has made her a prime choice to play a heart-strung stewardess in Almost Famous and the wanderlust-ridden Tricia McMillian in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy?

Jeroen Thorndike, The Doctor - Multibillionaire by twenty. Space-case by twenty-one. This interesting combination of wastoid insecurity and precocious genius should be played by British thesp Jason Flemyng. Although most people recognize him as wannabe toughies and street cons in films like Snatch and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, its his turn as the patently insecure and perpetually fearful Dr. Jekyll in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen that makes him an easily likeable choice for Earth's Shaman --- a man blessed with nigh-omnipotence, but still in perpetual need to consult with thousands of phantom mentors.

Apollo, The Sun King - With classically masculine good looks that evoke a vague resemblance to Rudolph Valentino, Dark City's Rufus Sewell should play the majestic ubermensch by drawing upon both his cultural cache as a European lust object and his ability to invest randy ne'er-do-well mannerisms in his characters from Cold Comfort Farm and Carrington. However, he has also shown an ability to display a menacing demeanor, most evident in his recent performance as a sinister aristocrat in The Illusionist.

Shen Li-Men, Swift - Unlike Janet Van Dyne from The Ultimates, Shen Li-Men is far from vulnerable and insecure. Lucy Liu is best known for her Dragon Lady stereotype performance that allmovie.com calls "the raging force of political incorrectness" on TV's Ally McBeal, though she also turned in a likeable performance as the murderous vixen Kitty Baxter in Chicago. In any case, she's a natural fit to play the fiery personality and unrelenting predator that is the Winged Huntress.

Midnighter, Night's Bringer of War - The Midnighter knows that fighting is not about honor or glory, or proving yourself. Fighting is about WINNING. I'd hazard a guess that most people dislike the idea of casting an conventional member of the action pantheon but if most people look past his leading man good looks by hiding it under a half-mask, then I'd guess that Jason Statham is the best bet to portray the Midnighter. With his capacity for ferociously efficient yet surprisingly strategic fighting scenes, and gravely intense demeanor in movies like Crank, Statham could play the dark cowl effectively like no one else.

I tried to choose actors who would hypothetically relish the performance, even if it may not necessarily be consistent with past performances. Let's just say I dream of the day when Robert Downey Jr. beats the crap out of a blue-skinned tauren-like rapist dictator and Zooey Deschanel points a fricking arm-cannon at a bunch of Asian super-soldiers and says, "Whatever."

B-Side Bonus! Alternate Cast: Sienna Guillory (Resident Evil: Apocalypse) as Jenny Sparks, Clive Owen (Children of Men) as Jack Hawksmoor, Jennifer Connelly (Dark Water) as Angie Spica, Adrien Brody (Hollywoodland) as Jeroen Thorndike, Rufus Sewell (Dark City) as The Midnighter, Heath Ledger (The Brothers Grimm) as Apollo and Kelly Hu (X-2: X-Men United) as Swift)
 
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The difference between how I cast Watchmen and and how I cast The Authority, is that I opted for performers with a 'widescreen' sensibility (as vague as that sounds) who would welcome the opportunity to play *******s. Because let's face it, The Authority are essentially really nasty people whose chief opponents are only 'bad guys' by virtue of being far worse than they are and they just happen to smarter, tougher and better looking than we ordinary people will ever be.

I also took into consideration the overall marketability of the film, and in cases where candidates did not fit the character perfectly to a T, I imagine the character shaping itself around the natural traits of the performer in question to create a hypothetically better film. Because let's face it, Millar and Ellis tend to write the characters with very broad strokes (on purpose, I suspect).

07-authority.jpg


From left to right: Scarlett Johansson, Robert Downey Jr., Zooey Deschanel, Jason Flemyng,
Rufus Sewell, Lucy Liu and Jason Statham

Jenny Sparks, Spirit of the Twentieth Century - To play the bossy, commanding and smart-mouthed leader of the new superhuman order, Scarlett Johansson will have to call on the sweet-natured yet snarky mannerisms she displayed in Ghost World and the headstrong performance she displayed in A Love Song for Bobby Long. To sum it up, Johansson has frequently combined surprising maturity with her fresh young looks, something that is demanded of the twentieth century's avatar --- a 100 year old woman who never aged past 19.

Jack Hawksmoor, The God of the Cities - The perpetually bubblyperformances of Robert Downey, Jr. in movies like Heart and Souls and [i[Wonder Boys[/i] seem ill-suited to a havoc wreaking urban warrior, I'll admit. But consider that with his capacity for mixing dramatic seriousness with a comical sensibility, then he makes perfect sense as a man with not only improbable street smarts, but the affable sense to take the ill-natured joke of being experimentally abused and genitally deformed in stride.

Angela Spica, The Engineer - It's an ironic twist that the least biologically human member of the Authority is the most psychologically human. Unused to taking orders let alone giving them to a small universe-powered engine, Angela Spica fights for the little things --- cruising over the mind barrier reef and making orange juice in the morning. Who better to play her then than Zooey Deschanel whose ingenue likeability has made her a prime choice to play a heart-strung stewardess in Almost Famous and the wanderlust-ridden Tricia McMillian in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy?

Jeroen Thorndike, The Doctor - Multibillionaire by twenty. Space-case by twenty-one. This interesting combination of wastoid insecurity and precocious genius should be played by British thesp Jason Flemyng. Although most people recognize him as wannabe toughies and street cons in films like Snatch and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, its his turn as the patently insecure and perpetually fearful Dr. Jekyll in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen that makes him an easily likeable choice for Earth's Shaman --- a man blessed with nigh-omnipotence, but still in perpetual need to consult with thousands of phantom mentors.

Apollo, The Sun King - With classically masculine good looks that evoke a vague resemblance to Rudolph Valentino, Dark City's Rufus Sewell should play the majestic ubermensch by drawing upon both his cultural cache as a European lust object and his ability to invest randy ne'er-do-well mannerisms in his characters from Cold Comfort Farm and Carrington. However, he has also shown an ability to display a menacing demeanor, most evident in his recent performance as a sinister aristocrat in The Illusionist.

Shen Li-Men, Swift - Unlike Janet Van Dyne from The Ultimates, Shen Li-Men is far from vulnerable and insecure. Lucy Liu is best known for her Dragon Lady stereotype performance that allmovie.com calls "the raging force of political incorrectness" on TV's Ally McBeal, though she also turned in a likeable performance as the murderous vixen Kitty Baxter in Chicago. In any case, she's a natural fit to play the fiery personality and unrelenting predator that is the Winged Huntress.

Midnighter, Night's Bringer of War - The Midnighter knows that fighting is not about honor or glory, or proving yourself. Fighting is about WINNING. I'd hazard a guess that most people dislike the idea of casting an conventional member of the action pantheon but if most people look past his leading man good looks by hiding it under a half-mask, then I'd guess that Jason Statham is the best bet to portray the Midnighter. With his capacity for ferociously efficient yet surprisingly strategic fighting scenes, and gravely intense demeanor in movies like Crank, Statham could play the dark cowl effectively like no one else.

I tried to choose actors who would hypothetically relish the performance, even if it may not necessarily be consistent with past performances. Let's just say I dream of the day when Robert Downey Jr. beats the crap out of a blue-skinned tauren-like rapist dictator and Zooey Deschanel points a fricking arm-cannon at a bunch of Asian super-soldiers and says, "Whatever."

B-Side Bonus! Alternate Cast: Sienna Guillory (Resident Evil: Apocalypse) as Jenny Sparks, Clive Owen (Children of Men) as Jack Hawksmoor, Jennifer Connelly (Dark Water) as Angie Spica, Adrien Brody (Hollywoodland) as Jeroen Thorndike, Rufus Sewell (Dark City) as The Midnighter, Heath Ledger (The Brothers Grimm) as Apollo and Kelly Hu (X-2: X-Men United) as Swift)



I'm admitting this openly.....I live for Ourchair's casting choices. Period.

There are obvious big-name stars that could be thrown in and be cast perfectly. Such as Clive Owen as Hawksmoor. Like you in previous castings, I opted for the lesser known.

Engineer - I find it funny that for The Engineer, we picked siblings. I just chose the older, tall one. I also like your substitute Engineer. Connelly would be an outsanding choice as well. I like her over you original choice.

Jenny Sparks - Another coincidence? While she is written to have not aged since 19---her "look" in the book is much older. That's why I opted for Miller. But while chosing I did consider Scarlett. While young, she seems to have an old soul which is perfect for the role.

Hawksmoor - As stated earlier....Clive Owen could fill the role physically to a T. But his accent is a bit of a problem. I love Downey as much as the next film fan....yet I still remain skeptical about casting his in something like this. I'm still wary of him as Stark.

The Doctor - Another great choice.

Apollo - This one I'm not too keen on. While an excellent actor, I'm just not much of a fan. I could see him as maybe Bendrix.....but not so much as Apollo. And I wish I could say I approve of your alternate....but I just can't.

Midnighter - There's really no going wrong with this one. You've chosen a fine choice. And popular too. It could have much to do with Jason's look. He looks like he was born to fight. And I actually buy Sewell as Midnighter as well.

Swift - Another logical and popular choice. I assume that many wouldn't have casted her because of her Americanized looks.....and as one of the bigger asian Hollywood names....she'd be a guaranteed go-to. I opted to leave her out just because she was too obvious. Same with Hu.




Still......another fine selection brought to you by Ourchair. The round continues to 16 Apr.....I just can't wait to see whose next and who you cast.
 
I'm admitting this openly.....I live for Ourchair's casting choices. Period.
Your support and approval is always appreciated. :)

Victor Von Doom said:
There are obvious big-name stars that could be thrown in and be cast perfectly. Such as Clive Owen as Hawksmoor. Like you in previous castings, I opted for the lesser known.
Watchmen is a film that demands dramatic angsty stuff. I tend to favor TV actors for such characters. Also, most of them have been so used to civilian life that I expect their physical features to look more mundane. Basically they are as unglamorous as we are. With The Authority, I wanted to go THE OPPOSITE direction. I wanted MOVIE stars. I wanted the people who are 'perfection' in our image-soaked society.

The other important thing that I've mentioned once or twice on the site before within the last year or so is that when I do dreamcasting --- I literally pick out one or two scenes, and not to sound like a total psycho, I have them AUDITION in my head. They read lines once or twice, sometimes I ask them to give an alternate reading. In my head. I then try to redress them as the character LATER in a second 'dress' audition. In my head. I'm SO not kidding.

In cases like Hawksmoor and Thorndike, I made my decision on Downey, Jr. and Flemyng because I felt they could wrap the part around their unique performance style without sacrificing the character's core attributes, and create a more likeable personality overall.

The alternate cast isn't so much a case of whether I favored one actor over another, but rather meant to illustrate the idea that sometimes when you change the cast, the movie completely changes. For example, Owen's Hawksmoor would be more teeth-gritted and quietly resolute than Downey's chatty smarmy one, while Heath Ledger's Apollo would be a bit more comical than Sewell's.

Victor Von Doom said:
I find it funny that for The Engineer, we picked siblings. I just chose the older, tall one. I also like your substitute Engineer. Connelly would be an outsanding choice as well. I like her over you original choice.
Yours was the only cast I read before working on mine, but this was a complete coincidence!

I forgot about it but made my decision after watching snippets of Almost Famous on HBO, upon which I decided to watch Hitchhiker's, because I realized that I had had the DVD for too long without watching it. The scene I had candidates audition for was Spica was her first conversation with Hawksmoor in "Circles" and her first scene in "Shiftships" on The Carrier as it crosses the mind barrier reef.

I don't think I've ever seen Emily Deschanel in anything outside of Bones, so I'd hesitate to cast her based on one performance. Let's just *pretend* she didn't make it to the auditions. In my head.

Victor Von Doom said:
Jenny Sparks - Another coincidence? While she is written to have not aged since 19---her "look" in the book is much older.
What I like about The Authority-era Hitch to some extent, and all the other 'widescreen' books of its era is that there's a lot less pencil-casting, which I think permits some flexibility of interpretation. I tend to bear in mind the idea is that art is an ABSTRACT representation, that doesn't necessarily reflect the reality inside a person's head. That means big eyes don't make a character 'American' in manga, nor do small eyes make them Chinese in an American comic strip.

That said, the only important physical consideration is that Sparks is a tad bit smaller in stature than her fellow authorities. She also needs to express some degree of vulnerability before finally dying in the arms of Hawksmoor, a kind of chemistry I think that can be expressed between Johansson and Downey.

Victor Von Doom said:
That's why I opted for Miller. But while chosing I did consider Scarlett. While young, she seems to have an old soul which is perfect for the role.
I've never seen any of Sienna Miller's movies, so like Deschanel it's harder to have her audition --- in my head --- unless I've committed to memory her performance style. I am however, eagerly looking forward to getting a DVD of Factory Girl since there is a fat chance in hell it'll get a decent release here in the Philippines.

Victor Von Doom said:
Hawksmoor - As stated earlier....Clive Owen could fill the role physically to a T. But his accent is a bit of a problem. I love Downey as much as the next film fan....yet I still remain skeptical about casting his in something like this. I'm still wary of him as Stark.
I actually dislike Clive Owen, even if I've felt that he's never a negative asset to a film. My fundamental beef with Clive Owen is that he can't do an American accent to save his life. In Sin City all he did was mumble his words through gritted teeth. But I figured if he played Hawksmoor, he'd do a tired and lonely take on him.

I like Downey but like you, I don't like him as Stark. However, the scenes I felt he fit perfectly as Hawksmoor was when he complains, "Apollo falls over and everyone wants to know why. I get sliced up so fine you could make sandwiches out of me and does anyone run to my rescue?" and when a Sliding Albion vessel is about to crash into Los Angeles and he declares, "The Midnighter and I have plans. We're going to beat it up." (I tried to imagine that line punctuated with Statham saying, "Yes." but I don't do group auditions)

Victor Von Doom said:
Midnighter - There's really no going wrong with this one. You've chosen a fine choice. And popular too. It could have much to do with Jason's look. He looks like he was born to fight. And I actually buy Sewell as Midnighter as well.
I actually watched a few action films before settling on this one. The thing of it is that characterization is almost secondary to nailing the part. In the Transporter movies, he makes fighting look like a monkish discipline that he doesn't consciously think about. He doesn't just fight dirty --- many action stars can do that --- he fights with a very calculating sensibility that does Midnighter justice.

Victor Von Doom said:
Swift - Another logical and popular choice. I assume that many wouldn't have casted her because of her Americanized looks.....and as one of the bigger asian Hollywood names....she'd be a guaranteed go-to. I opted to leave her out just because she was too obvious. Same with Hu.
I already used Maggie Q for Wasp. I wanted the anti-Wasp. Someone so far completely opposite of her and fitting the quasi-fascist nature of the group that she could hardly be Maggie Q, since she doesn't play enough of a mean **** to qualify.

Also, it might just be me but I can hardly see what's so Americanized about Lucy Liu. She's pure Chinese according to more than one website, and she looks it too. I suspect people tend to regard her as 'Americanized' because of the windburned cheeks and her freckles, when in truth freckles are not a Caucasian-exclusive trait (in addition to speaking English without an accent).

Again, your support and approval is always appreciated.
 
on the 16th Where will winner post there's? Unless this one gets edited to just Dreamcasting in a self contained thread or like I think Doom said it gets put in movies thread as it's about films too.
 
Watchmen is a film that demands dramatic angsty stuff. I tend to favor TV actors for such characters. Also, most of them have been so used to civilian life that I expect their physical features to look more mundane. Basically they are as unglamorous as we are. With The Authority, I wanted to go THE OPPOSITE direction. I wanted MOVIE stars. I wanted the people who are 'perfection' in our image-soaked society.

Genius. Makes sense.

The other important thing that I've mentioned once or twice on the site before within the last year or so is that when I do dreamcasting --- I literally pick out one or two scenes, and not to sound like a total psycho, I have them AUDITION in my head. They read lines once or twice, sometimes I ask them to give an alternate reading. In my head. I then try to redress them as the character LATER in a second 'dress' audition. In my head. I'm SO not kidding.

That's pretty much how I do it as well. Or at least part of it. I envision the panels actually moving. So I see it animated. Then I go back and I see the panels with actors I've already pre-screened.

I'll have their scene down as the audition. Then my placing them in the panels is kinda like a dress rehearsal. If I don't like it---I change the character.

The big thing I try do (which I know you do as well) is to try and not go for the actor who most looks like the character---but the actor who embodies the character. I mean sometimes it's dead on fate like Patric Stewart playing Xavier.

I know I used to make some ametueristic casting back when I first started. My USM casting is the perfect example of that. Granted I still stand by my choice for Ultimate Peter Parker and MJ. But now I'm going for less big names and more substance.

I mean it's only logical.

In cases like Hawksmoor and Thorndike, I made my decision on Downey, Jr. and Flemyng because I felt they could wrap the part around their unique performance style without sacrificing the character's core attributes, and create a more likeable personality overall.

Yeah....pretty much what I just said. :D

What I like about The Authority-era Hitch to some extent, and all the other 'widescreen' books of its era is that there's a lot less pencil-casting, which I think permits some flexibility of interpretation. I tend to bear in mind the idea is that art is an ABSTRACT representation, that doesn't necessarily reflect the reality inside a person's head. That means big eyes don't make a character 'American' in manga, nor do small eyes make them Chinese in an American comic strip.

That said, the only important physical consideration is that Sparks is a tad bit smaller in stature than her fellow authorities. She also needs to express some degree of vulnerability before finally dying in the arms of Hawksmoor, a kind of chemistry I think that can be expressed between Johansson and Downey.

I've never seen any of Sienna Miller's movies, so like Deschanel it's harder to have her audition --- in my head --- unless I've committed to memory her performance style. I am however, eagerly looking forward to getting a DVD of Factory Girl since there is a fat chance in hell it'll get a decent release here in the Philippines.

I'm basing my choice of Sienna on a multitude of roles she's had. She's got the snarkish attitude from what I've seen on a now-defunct show called "Keen Eddie". And the grittiness I base on clips and interviews I've seen from "Factory Girl".

And well........pass me around the frat house and call me slut if she ain't bad on the peepers.

I actually dislike Clive Owen, even if I've felt that he's never a negative asset to a film. My fundamental beef with Clive Owen is that he can't do an American accent to save his life. In Sin City all he did was mumble his words through gritted teeth. But I figured if he played Hawksmoor, he'd do a tired and lonely take on him.

I love Clive's work. Have for a long time now. But your right----unlike so many other talented actors from across the pond---Clive can't cover his accent for ****. I mean if Colin Farrell can cover that Irish brouge of his---you'd think that Clive can muster something up.

Hell....I didn't even know that Hugh Laurie from House was British until he was on SNL on night.

But back to Clive---he can play dour and broody. He can even do charming. But his voice takes him out the running in the end.


I like Downey but like you, I don't like him as Stark. However, the scenes I felt he fit perfectly as Hawksmoor was when he complains, "Apollo falls over and everyone wants to know why. I get sliced up so fine you could make sandwiches out of me and does anyone run to my rescue?" and when a Sliding Albion vessel is about to crash into Los Angeles and he declares, "The Midnighter and I have plans. We're going to beat it up." (I tried to imagine that line punctuated with Statham saying, "Yes." but I don't do group auditions)

I actually watched a few action films before settling on this one. The thing of it is that characterization is almost secondary to nailing the part. In the Transporter movies, he makes fighting look like a monkish discipline that he doesn't consciously think about. He doesn't just fight dirty --- many action stars can do that --- he fights with a very calculating sensibility that does Midnighter justice.

I already used Maggie Q for Wasp. I wanted the anti-Wasp. Someone so far completely opposite of her and fitting the quasi-fascist nature of the group that she could hardly be Maggie Q, since she doesn't play enough of a mean **** to qualify.

Also, it might just be me but I can hardly see what's so Americanized about Lucy Liu. She's pure Chinese according to more than one website, and she looks it too. I suspect people tend to regard her as 'Americanized' because of the windburned cheeks and her freckles, when in truth freckles are not a Caucasian-exclusive trait (in addition to speaking English without an accent).

Again, your support and approval is always appreciated.

Meh....


Yeah...not what you were expecting from all that huh? :p

The real question here is whether Jason Statham would kiss Heath Ledger.

I think Jason is so serious about acting and so confident in his manly image that not only would he kiss him......but he'd do a full on butt sex scene just to prove how much of a man he is.
 
I need a winner now!

I'm currently watching Deadwood and I need something to cast Timothy Olyphant in.........and fast!
 
Shouldn't this round be closed by now?

In any case, I'm sending my vote to DSF now.

Remember, you can't vote for yourself. Just like the Ultimization Game.
 

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