The One Ring Forums: Tolkien Topics: TV Discussion: The Rings of Power:
Casting



thursday_next
The Shire


Oct 3 2022, 12:32pm


Views: 493
Casting
The casting director's role is meant to be invisible. You are meant to look at Fellowship of the Ring and Game of Thrones and think 'Oh, how marvellous it is that they have managed to make all the right people fit the right roles', except that you don't think that, it's part of your subconscious mind. It helps to bring believability into otherwise unbelievable situations.

I think that the only casting distraction I can find in the whole LOTR trilogy is that of Treebeard, in which PJ went fully into Ray Harryhausen mode and built a whole full-scale model of him and then provided him with Gimli's voice. I don't know why that is. Any other director in the world would have used CGI, and quite rightly too. Can anybody think of an occasion when having a full-scale model of Treebeard was better than CGI? It leads to a situation where Merry and Pippin are trying to cling on to him when travelling through the forest in a scene that's reminiscent of some apocalypse movie made with £300,000 by some director you've never heard of before and will never hear of again. I'm sorry, but there it is.

As for Game of Thrones, the casting was impeccable. The only major TV series I can think of in recent years where the casting caused me major problems was the BBC/HBO series of 'His Dark Materials' where I felt it was too woke and that I was being preached to. It felt like the casting was being handled by some diversity committee whose word was law, which is most satisfactory to people who really like diversity committees and think there should be more of them. Good luck to them. I gave up after one episode, which is a shame because I really like Ruth Wilson.

I don't get any feeling of wokeness about ROP, that's fine. The difficulty is Galadriel, Halbrand, Elrond, Gil-galad, Celebrimbor, Elendil and Isildur. I don't think that any of these people are remotely like any version that I carry around in my head, except for Halbrand who is a non-Tolkien character and who I dislike anyway because he's too dislikeable. Same goes for Galadriel, which is a major potential difficulty when they're trying to build the whole series round her. They needed somebody like Emilia Clarke who you instinctively like and feel you have to root for. I couldn't give a toss whether Galadriel survives the explosion of Mount Doom or not, really.

I described Elrond in one of my earlier posts as 'an Elf whose been to Eton and Glib College Cambridge' and I stand by that. Their efforts to build a back-story about Isildur, who doesn't look anywhere near right, are quite frankly pitiful.

It says something about the whole thing that Lenny Henry, 'decaravanning' apart, is one of the casting successes. I like Adar, Arondir, Bronwyn, Theo, Miriel, Disa and Nori, and I suppose Durin (although he doesn't look as good as Gimli). That's not enough.

This is a strange series, and I don't know what to make of it. I want so much for it to be a success. It looks marvellous. I know many people will
disagree with me, but for the amount of money these people have at their disposal they ought to have found the right people a lot better than they have done.

'There are older and fouler things than Orcs in the deep places of the world'


Arannir
Valinor


Oct 3 2022, 2:02pm


Views: 450
OK...
... have to highly disagree on several fronts ;) Especially Treebeard. I am sure these scenes wouldn't look nearly as good today had they used CGI.

Anyway, as for RoP. I in particular disagree on the following:

Clark: I think she absolutely has the gravitas for Galadriel. But she is far away as a character from the Galadriel we know both from books and films. She will most likely have the biggest arc. The actress imho is perfect for that. I hope the writing will deliver her the necessary material. I especially don't agree when compared to Emilia Clark. She imho never filled the shoes of Daenerys and her casting and acting was one of the weak point of GoT all the way through (it became unbearable when she was teamed up with another actor who was out of his leak with the role he was given: Harrington as Jon Snow).

Elendil: Imho the most perfect casting of the known characters, tbh.


For the others, I will need to see more, especially Gil-galad. Halbrand as a lost king of men is quite good for me... If he turns out to be Sauron that would be the moment of truth for me whether he can really carry that. I would have my doubts.

I kind if agree on Celebrimbor, though, I can see the potential there. I liked some if his scenes, though, he seemed a bit too quirky in others.


"I am afraid it is only too likely to be true what you say about the critics and the public. I am dreading the publication for it will be impossible not to mind what is said. I have exposed my heart to be shot at." J.R.R. Tolkien

We all have our hearts and minds one way or another invested in these books and movies. So we all mind and should show the necessary respect.



Otaku-sempai
Immortal


Oct 3 2022, 3:33pm


Views: 424
CGI Treebeard
Weta did use CGI for Treebeard. The Ent was a combination of practical effects and CGI (primarily for his facial expressions I believe).

The casting that seems the most at odds with my head-canon is Charles Edwards for Celebrimbor, but Tom Budge wasn't working any better for me (except for being closer in age for what I envision).
#FidelityToTolkien
#ChallengeExpectations

(This post was edited by Otaku-sempai on Oct 3 2022, 3:36pm)


dormouse
Half-elven


Oct 3 2022, 4:11pm


Views: 406
I agree on Celebrimbor....
... He seems more Numenor than elf to me.

I feel rather the same about Gil-galad: I really want to like him because I love the poem, but so far he seems a bit ponderous (and it doesn't help that he occasionally has lines that make him sound more like the head of a large US corporation than a Noldorin elf). But I'm giving him a lot of leeway and hoping he'll improve when he has more to do...
For still there are so many things
that I have never seen:
in every wood and every spring
there is a different green. . .


Hopefull Harfoot
Rivendell


Oct 3 2022, 5:45pm


Views: 386
Very subjective I think
In Reply To
Can anybody think of an occasion when having a full-scale model of Treebeard was better than CGI?
Not sure I understand this question. Treebeard has only been attempted in film once before, and that was an animated film.



But on casting none stands out to me as a horrible mismatch. No Edward G. Robinson as Dathan in The Ten Commandments.



There is bound to be differing opinion in more generic 'likes and dislikes' For instance I like what Galadriel, Halbrand, Elrond and Elendil are doing in their roles. And I haven't written off the others yet. There is still much to come.

As far as comparing Clark to Clarke. I wonder if they are related? ;)

50th year anniversary since I first read The Lord of the Rings


thursday_next
The Shire


Oct 4 2022, 8:52am


Views: 273
Well, it's bound to be subjective...
The only reason I put Treebeard in the post was (a) being gently ironic because there were no other casting problems in LOTR, the nearest was David Wenham as Faramir who does seem to have a problem when he's asked to play anybody who isn't Australian and (b) because I really hate what PJ has done with Treebeard, and I will go on and on about it till somebody gets a rifle and shoots me.

The person who no doubt would have created casting problems never made the cut in the film, i.e.Tom Bombadil, and I ask you just to have a minute's silence and ask yourself what Peter Jackson would have done to bring him to life. It fills you with dread, doesn't it :-)

I will give you Elendil and Kit Harington. Elendil could no doubt grow into the person who leads the Last Alliance against Sauron, although the film-makers will surely go off-canon, not for the first time, and give that particular role to Galadriel.

Kit Harington - I know what you mean, he does feel like a Poundland Aragorn to some extent, but to be fair he does what it says in the book, and the book is boring anyway. I think Emilia Clarke is first-class at portraying Daenerys and I think you are in the minority :-)

'There are older and fouler things than Orcs in the deep places of the world'


(This post was edited by thursday_next on Oct 4 2022, 8:54am)


fantasywind
Rivendell

Oct 5 2022, 5:59pm


Views: 156
Casting choice for Celebrimbor
To me peronally this is one of the worst casting choices, actor may be good, but for the role of Celebrimbor he does NOT fit at all, I would sooner see him playing Cirdan Shipwright, if he had to play an elf at all, THE oldest living elf who already may show signs of age and still they would have need to work more on the appearance for what we got wouldn't work, give him more aetherial look, long silver/white hair, beautify him a little and show him in general as badass, old but strong sailor type. NOT this grandma robe :). Other character portrayal that was probably one of the laziest in the show...is Arondir, lackluster costume, stupid armor, and that buzz haircut that constantly reminded me he is just a modern man cosplaying, he doesn't even look believable as a Ranger type, the Rangers of Ithilien looked better in PJ films! AS for Gil-galad, well if he wasn't emperor of Rme with this laurel wreath :) maybe it would work better, also showing him... doing stuff more, like showing him engaging in managing the elven realm, training with his weapon Aeglos, even if they simply would copy the scene of spear training of prince Nuada from Hellboy 2 haha. Or show him riding out to hunt or other business, engaging in the meetings of the council anything really. And one would think that we should see his private chambers, activities he would do in free time or glimpse more of his plans etc, So far the crucial key figures of Second Age like Celebrimbor, Gil-galad, Elendil even, are all in the background more than anything else.

Gil-galad's portrayal also may seem questionable, in how they show him being a bit manipulative, with ulterior motive, but he should be bold, and energetic king, the most successful ruler of the elven realm, the longest reigning High King of the Noldor!! But hey hobbit films introduced the trend of putting elven kings in bad light! Which I always opposed :). Show me them from likeable side more! Even the dinner scene was err...and one would think that at a feasting scene he could be waming up to others! Elven joy and all that,


Eldy
Tol Eressea


Oct 5 2022, 6:53pm


Views: 151
Gil-galad
In Reply To
Gil-galad's portrayal also may seem questionable, in how they show him being a bit manipulative, with ulterior motive, but he should be bold, and energetic king, the most successful ruler of the elven realm, the longest reigning High King of the Noldor!! But hey hobbit films introduced the trend of putting elven kings in bad light! Which I always opposed :). Show me them from likeable side more! Even the dinner scene was err...and one would think that at a feasting scene he could be waming up to others! Elven joy and all that,
I'm not fond particularly fond of show!Gil-galad thus far, either. I wouldn't automatically mind him being wily and manipulative, but he's just ... openly unpleasant in most of his scenes. Some of the most unpleasant Elvish kings and princes of the First Age were at least smooth talkers, but not this Gil-galad so far. Maybe they're modeling him on Turgon? Tongue