American Beauty

My Rating: 4 Stars

Doing a similar post to my last one, and am taking an older movie, and casting it as if it were being made today.  I re-watched American Beauty the other night, and thought it would be interesting to re-cast for today.  American Beauty won all kinds of awards for acting, as well as many other awards.  The casting for it is practically perfect.  The story, if you haven't seen it, talks about how beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  The script is amazing, and was a very important and different movie during the time it came out.  As I said earlier, the cast is pretty ideal, but here is how I would cast it, if I would cast it today. 

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The first character to cast would be for Lester Burnham.  Lester is the husband of the two main characters, and is emotionally/sexually frustrated in his marriage with his wife. When he sees one of his daughters female friends at a basketball game, he has fantasies about her and becomes obsessed with her.  He isn't taken serious by his wife and daughter, and he finally starts to stand up for himself.  He works out to impress his daughters friend, he starts smoking pot, and quits his job.  The role of Lester is played by the great Kevin Spacey.  I have chosen to go with Robert Downey Jr.  He would do well with a character that is sarcastic, and a little cynical.  

 
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The next character to cast would be for Lester's wife, Carolyn Burnham.  Carolyn tries to pull off the perfect housewife persona, and she tries to convince others that her family life is perfect. She is a realtor but is having a hard time at selling houses.  She is unaware that both her husband and her daughter hate her; or at least she pretends to not know.  She decides to start standing up for herself more as well, but also has an affair with a different man at the same time.  She is clueless to Lester's infatuation with their daughters friend.  The role of Carolyn is played by Annette Bening.  I have chosen to go with Marisa Tomei.  I think the chemistry between her and Robert Downey Jr. would work very well.

    
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Next to cast would be for the Burnham's daughter, Jane Burnham.  Jane is described perfectly in the movie as a typical teenage girl, who is confused and has typical teenage angst.  She doesn't like either of her parents, and is really put off by the fact that her dad is so obsessed with her friend.  She has one friend, but her friend doesn't really make her feel better about herself.  Jane is one of the few characters who has a happy ending when it all comes down to it.  The role of Jane is played by Thora Birch.  I have decided to go with Abigail Breslin.  Breslin is very much an up and coming actress, and she would play this troubled teen well.
 

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The next character to cast would be for the role of Angela Hayes, who is Jane's friend.  Angela brags of how she is going to be a model, and also brags about the amount of sex that she has.  She is pretty and she knows it, and definitely loves to have attention on her.  This is why she responds positively when Lester hits on her, which Jane is disgusted by.  Angela believes that you have to be pretty in order to be happy.  But in the end, Angela isn't all she is cracked up to be.  The role of Angela is played by Mena Suvari.  I have chosen to go with Katie Chang.  Chang was recently in The Bling Ring, and was very good.  It would be interesting to see her play the bitchy teen. 

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Next to cast would be for the role of Ricky Fitts.  Ricky comes from a very strict home, and is perceived as a little weird by everyone in his school.  He has a job, but it is a cover up because he actually sells marijuana as his main source of income.  Lester and Ricky become somewhat friends, but Ricky is more interested in Jane.  Jane and Ricky become romantically involved, but Angela judges her for it, because she thinks he is a lunatic.  Ricky plans to leave his corrupt home, and has a very estranged relationship with his dad.  The role of Ricky Fitts, is played by Wes Bentley.  I have chosen to go with Ezra Miller.  I saw Miller first in We Need to Talk About Kevin, and figured he would be perfect for this off-beat character.

 

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One last main character to cast, and that would be for the role of Colonel Fitts.  Colonel Fitts is ex-marine, and never fails to mention that when he introduces himself.  He plays off the masculine role well, and is not the sharpest tool in the shed.  He does not trust his son, and keeps his family on a very short leash.  As most characters in this movie, he has a secret he would rather not share either.  The role of Colonel Fitts is played by Chris Cooper.  I have chosen to go with Willem Dafoe.

     

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I hope you enjoyed who I would have picked to play the characters in the great American Beauty.  If you haven't seen this movie, I strongly suggest watching it.  It is very original, and the acting is terrific.  Thanks for reading my choices for American Beauty.

The Crucible

My Rating: 2 1/2 stars

So, this casting will be a little different than the rest of my typical posts.  I have decided to take an older movie, and re-cast it as if I was casting it in 2014.  The Crucible is an interesting movie in that it somewhat pulled away from the Arthur Miller script.  While this movie was excellently cast, it still had some issues with critics for its' writing.  However, I have been a huge fan of this play ever since I read it in middle school, and was also in the play myself in high school.  I have always had a dream that a director like Tim Burton or someone of that nature would take this script and remake it into something that is relevant for our generation.  Don't worry, I did not cast Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter, like Burton typically would.  However, I have found my own cast that might prove to be somewhat argumentative, but is my personal choices for who I think would do best.  If you know this script, there are a lot of characters, so I'm just going to stick with the most prominent characters.
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The first character to cast would be for the role of John Proctor.  Proctor is respected in the town and is known also for not necessarily agreeing with the rest of Salem's ideals.  He has been unfaithful to his wife with Abigail, but he has been forgiven by his wife and wishes to put all of that behind him.  However it comes back to haunt him when Abigail cries witch on everyone in town.  John Proctor is played by Daniel Day-Lewis, who is one of my all time favorite actors, and of course did phenomenal in this role.  I have chosen to go with Michael Fassbender.  Fassbender has certainly proven himself, racking up several Oscar nominations, and I believe he would definitely take another nomination in this role.
  
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Next important character to cast is the source of most of the problems in Salem, and that is Abigail Williams.  Abigail is extremely jealous of John Proctor's wife, and will stop at nothing to get back with him after their fling.  When things don't go her way, she takes the matter in her own hands, which as we know is a very dangerous path.  The role of Abigail is played by Winona Ryder, who also does a great job in this role.  I have chosen to go with someone that maybe some people would strongly disagree with.  I am going with Kristen Stewart.  I don't much care what people say about Stewart, because I have seen her in some great acting roles such as Welcome to the Riley's.  And even if people don't like her that much, it'll be perfect considering that Abigail is very much a hated character.
  
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Elizabeth Proctor is the next character to cast, who is John Proctor's wife.  She is very similar to John in that she doesn't necessarily agree with the ideals of the people in Salem.  She is a very strong woman, and deals with more than a typical person could handle and she makes a lot of difficult choices in the movie.  She is one of the last ones to be accused of witch craft by Abigail, all with the intention that she be hanged.  The role of Elizabeth Proctor is played by Joan Allen, who I wish I would see more of today.  I have chosen Jennifer Connelly.  Connelly has also been an actress that has played strong women, and she and Fassbender would work together well.
   
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The next character does not come into play until about half-way through the movie, but is equally as important to the plot of this movie.  The character is Judge Thomas Danforth.  While Danforth's character is somewhat frustrating sometimes, because you just want him to stop believing that Abigail is telling the truth, he is a very fair judge in that he goes for the argument that is most convincing.  The role of Judge Danforth is played by Paul Scofield.  I have chosen to go with Bill Nighy.  Nighy is an actor that is renowned for his work, and would be perfect playing a judge in a tough situation.
  
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Reverend Hale would be most important to cast next.  Reverend Hale was asked to come to Salem by the main Reverend in Salem in order to see if there are indeed signs of witch craft. Hale comes in confident that he can help this town, as he has helped many other towns.  However, when he starts to become more connected to the people of Salem, he starts to realize the ulterior motives of Abigail, but also doesn't want to turn away from his duty to God.  Reverend Hale is played by Rob Campbell.  I have chosen to go with Peter Sarsgaard, who would be perfect for this conflicted Reverend.

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One of the last main characters to cast would be for the role of Mary Warren.  Mary is friends with Abigail, but mainly because she is scared of her.  She is very timid, she doesn't like breaking the rules, and is strongly against all that Abigail is doing.  She almost becomes brave in the end when she accuses Abigail of lying, but then she takes a turn for the worst, and saves her own skin.  She works for the Proctor's, but she eventually stabs them in the back, which is influenced by Abigail.  The role of Mary is played by Karron Graves. I have chosen to go with Shailene Woodley.  Woodley has really broken out of her shell and proven herself as an actress, and would play this timid girl well.
  
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One of the last characters that I will cast will be for the role of Reverend Parris.  Parris is the one who catches Abigail and the girls in the village, dancing in the woods around a fire naked.  He is the main Reverend in town.  He cracks under pressure, and is even at one point called, "a brainless man." The role of Reverend Parris is played by Bruce Davison, and I have chosen to go with Jason  Isaacs.
  
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I hope you enjoyed me changing it up a little from what I am used to doing, by taking an old movie and casting it as if it was being made today.  I am a big fan of this play, and I hope that someday a director will take this script and put it back up on the screen.  Thanks for reading who I would have cast, for The Crucible.

Prisoners

My Rating: 3 1/2 stars

As some may have guessed, I am a big fan of dramas, dark comedies, and similar genres.  I watched Prisoners the other night after hearing a lot of good things about it, and decided to check it out.  It was definitely a suspenseful and very difficult movie to sit through.  It's long running time, and twists made it seem like the movie was never going to end.  However, I really enjoyed it in the end, and liked that it didn't have a clear and concise ending.  The acting of course was fantastic, and while it didn't get any nominations for acting it is certainly an interesting character study.  This film really makes you stop and think what you would do in this awful situation, and it shows just how far someone will go to rescue their child.  These roles are hard to play, and while they were acted well, this is the cast that I would have gone with.
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The first character to cast would be for Detective Loki, who plays the detective in charge of the case of finding the two missing girls.  Loki is very stern and looks like he has had a hard life, and he also has a nervous tick.  He is very dedicated to his job, but of course he runs into issues with the parents of the daughters, because they feel as if he is not doing all that he can do.  He wraps himself in his work, and comes very close to solving the case the entire time, but always narrowly misses it, which makes his character that much more frustrated.  The role of Detective Loki is played by Jake Gyllenhaal.  I have decided to go with Tom Hardy.  Hardy has been a favorite of mine ever since I saw him in Bronson.  He would play this hardened detective well, and it would really show off his acting chops.

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The next character to cast would be for the role of Keller Dover.  Keller is the father of one of the daughters captured.  As any father would be in this situation, Keller will do anything to find his daughter.  It's all he thinks about, he rarely gets sleep and obsesses over every detail in what happened the day his daughter was captured.  He drives himself crazy trying to find out who committed this act, and it leads him to capture the man who is believed to have captured his daughter. He does not think very clearly and he tends to lean more towards violent methods of trying to get the suspect to talk.  The role of Keller is played by Hugh Jackman.  I have decided to go with Bryan Cranston.  Of course we all know Cranston was great in Breaking Bad, and he would be able to do equally as great in the troubled father role.
  
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The next important character to cast would be to cast Keller Dover's wife, Grace Dover.  Grace grieves her child's disappearance much like any other mother would, but she also gets to a point where she can't handle it anymore.  She starts to take pills to sleep, and is extremely moody, going from somewhat hopeful to completely hopeless and a wreck.  She tries to keep it together in front of her son, but finds it hard to focus on anything else except for their missing daughter.  She is a little oblivious as to what is going on with her husband, and she feels like they are slipping away in a time when they truly need each other.  The role of Grace is played by Maria Bello.  I have decided to go with Connie Britton.  I have been a fan of Britton since I've seen her on American Horror Story, as well as Friday Night Lights, and she would be a good match with Cranston as well.

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So this next character is a pretty important character to the plot.  The character is Alex Jones, and he is the young man who is suspected to have captured the two little girls.  He is very troubled, and it seems as if he has some type of mental problem or maybe a social disorder.  He drives around in his mom's camper, and gives off a very uncomfortable vibe anytime he arrives on scene.  He even starts to hang his own dog by it's leash at one point, but releases it before it dies.  He doesn't have a very good home life, and his mother doesn't really help with the crazy.  Alex is played by Paul Dano, and I have decided to go with Evan Peters.  Don't mean to go on an American Horror Story kick here, but he is great at playing a troubled young man, and his acting talents are a little over looked currently.  This role would be a great chance for him to show off his talent.

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The next character to cast would be for the role of Franklin Birch.  Franklin plays the father of the other girl captured and him and his wife are very close friends with the Dover's.  Franklin is very kind hearted and deals with his daughter's capture in a much different way than Keller does.  Franklin is not at all for capturing Alex, and truly believes that what they are doing is wrong.  However, he is similar to Keller in that he will stop at nothing to find his daughter.   Franklin is played by Terrence Howard.  I have chosen to go with Idris Elba.  I believe he can play the type of character that is afraid to speak his mind on what is wrong with the situation, and would be good at playing more of an ignorant character.

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Franklin's wife, Nancy Birch, is the next character to cast.  Nancy is also very apprehensive towards Keller's plans, and she plays more of the angel on her husbands shoulder.  Nancy is more inclined to rely solely on the help of the Detective, but when she doesn't get answers soon enough, she starts to get desperate.   She keeps in close contact with Grace, but like most of the relationships in this movie, their relationship starts to become strained due to the stressful situation.  The role of Nancy is played by Viola Davis.  I have chosen to go with Thandie Newton.  I really enjoyed her performance in Crash, and think that her role in that movie would carry over well for this movie.

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And the last character to cast would be for the character of Holly Jones.  Holly is the mother of Alex Jones, and is equally if not more crazy than Alex.  She kind of sets fuel to the fire, but also remains very under wraps during this entire predicament.  She supports her son, and convinces everyone that it truly is not her son doing this.  But then of course in the end, we find out she is just as guilty if not more guilty than her son ever was.  The role of Holly is played Melissa Leo, who at first I thought was unrecognizable because she did so great in this role.  I however have chosen to go with Sissy Spacek, who would play a great tormented mother.

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Thank you for reading who I would have picked for the movie Prisoners.  If you like extremely dark dramas with a lot of twists and a cliff hanger ending, than this movie would be perfect for you.  Plus the acting is well worth the watch.

Young Adult

My Rating: 3 1/2 stars

So, I had completely forgot about this movie until I was flipping through Netflix the other day trying to find something to watch.  I looked it up on IMDB, and realized that it was directed by Jason Reitman, the director of Juno and Up In The Air.  I also found out it was written by Diablo Cody, which made me equally as interested.  So I watched the movie and thought it was very well done, obviously because of the writing, but the casting for this movie also made me feel like these characters were made for these actors.  This underrated film did some success in the acting department though, especially with Patton Oswalt's role.  Here is how I might have done it a little differently though.

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The first character to cast would be Mavis Gary.  Mavis is a successful young adult author for a popular series that has gained her some success and minor fame.  The best way to describe Mavis would actually be through a line in the movie..."psychotic prom queen bitch."  At least, that's who she was in high school, but it has carried on into her adult years, but now she has problems with being an alcoholic and is very insecure about who she is.  She plans to go back home to rekindle the flame with her old high school boyfriend, who is now married and has a newborn daughter.  The role of Mavis is played by Charlize Theron, who does a fantastic job.  I have chosen to go with Elizabeth Banks.  Banks has gained much popularity recently, but has also proven to be an actress to watch out for especially in movies such as Our Idiot Brother and People Like Us. 

  

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Next to cast would be for the role of Matt Freehauf, who is someone that Mavis went to high school with as well.  He was described as a nerd in high school, but was also a victim of a hate crime which left him crippled in one leg.  Freehauf is still optimistic about his future, but is still haunted by his past.  While him and Mavis were not friends in high school, they form a bond when she returns, and he advises Mavis not to try and take back her ex-boyfriend.  The role is played by Patton Oswalt, and I believe that he should have gotten much more recognition for this role, because he was absolutely great.  For my cast I have decided to go with Charlie Day.  I have watched Day in It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia for a long time, and he would definitely be able to lock down this darkly comedic character. 

    

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The last character to cast would be for the role of Buddy Slade.  Buddy plays the guy next door type of character that probably was the popular jock back in high school, but now holds a respectable middle class job and is more of an average joe type of guy.  He is married and just had a baby as well.  He is a little oblivious to the fact of how much Mavis is trying to get back with him, and remains aloof up until the very end.  You can tell that he feels bad for Mavis, so he is nice to her and hangs out with her, which is a bad idea in the end.  The role of Buddy is played by one of my personal favorites, Patrick Wilson.  I have chosen to go with Josh Lucas.  Lucas would be able to play the hometown/new dad/still young at heart type of character that is portrayed.  

 

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I know that this one is a little shorter than my others, but this cast was really driven mainly by these three characters.  It was a good watch if you are into dark comedies, and I recommend checking it out.  Hope you enjoyed by picks for Young Adult.