Chen G.
Gondor
Sun, 6:42pm
Post #1 of 2
(42 views)
Shortcut
|
|
The Hunt for Stunt Casting?
|
Can't Post
|
|
The announcement of the cast for The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, followed by the addition of Anya Taylor-Joy, has raised some concerns, most vividly expressed by my friend Lakhitia:
When The Hobbit was filmed, none of the new cast members were international stars. This time round, we have an Oscar winner and one of the most famous stars of the 21st century, a Golden Globe-winning and Emmy-nominated A-lister, an actor who headlined one of the most profitable non-comic book franchises (and also got a GG nomination) and a currently quite on-demand rising star.
I've given this some thought - especially in light of my dislike for the "gala" casts of Denis Villenueve and Sir Christopher Nolan's casts: Is it stunt casting? If so, why? and how it compares to previous entries into the film series? The easiest way is to go through the cast one by one:
Jaime Dornan: Aragorn
This is the only recast (as yet?) of this film and, indeed the entire series: Martin Freeman, like a couple of other actors in small parts in the Shire, is presented to us as a young version to the old Bilbo of Sir Ian Holm (notwithstanding two passing shots in Fellowship of the Ring, that is).
Much talk online is that Viggo Mortensen turned the role down, but I see little indication that that's the case: Mortensen, quite contrary to online rumour-mongering, had been quite game to return to the part for The Hobbit and seemed keen to get involved in this film, as well. Although early on he talked about it making "sense in term of the age I am now" he harped on this less in later interviews. The only source I could find that provides any indication to the recast is 3DVF, which claims the deaging was too costly. My understanding is the first attempts to look for a new Aragorn - at that point, with a view to casting a younger actor - were made just after they first did a pass at budgeting the film.
I'm a stickler for continuity: otherwise, why attempt a film series? But I think we can hopefully still enjoy a film with just one (I hope) glaring continuity hiccup. Apparently, the casting of Jaime gained some approbation from Mortensen himself, who was previously reticent to "let someone else finish the job for me." In terms of public profile, I wouldn't call Jaime a box-office draw (frankly, I'm not sure box-offices draws exist anymore) but he was the face of the highly lucrative Fifty Shades trilogy.
Sir Ian McKellen: Gandalf
Neither character nor actor need any introduction. Like many theatre legends, McKellen was slow to gain a footing in cinema and he never became a box-office draw, but he was already had a reputation before he was cast as Gandalf, unquestionably his signature role and THE icon of this film series.
McKellen's route to the part was quite circuitous:
although they met or considered many other actors, there's good grounds to take Jackson at his word when he says McKellen was his first choice for the part. Nevertheless, the studio asked him to talk to Sir Sean Connery first, in the interest of attracting a big movie star, but Connery felt the time commitment was too big and passed.
McKellen also had reservations about the same thing - at the time, all he read of Tolkien was The Hobbit - and though he accepted the part, he later realized he couldn't do it because of his commitment to X-Men. Luckily, Jackson knew Brian Singer (a big fan of the novel) who pledged to shoot McKellen's scenes early and deliver him on time for Jackson.
Elijah Wood: Frodo
It remains to be seen how Frodo - the lead of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, but also a memorable cameo in The Hobbit - would be integrated into The Hunt for Gollum: one guess is we'll drop back into the Farewell Party (obviously a meaningful event for this film) from Frodo's point of view.
Wood was also an established actor - more as in "Hollywood wunderkind" - by the time he was cast as Frodo. Since then, he had mostly picked off-the-wall parts to avoid getting type-cast in the shadow of Frodo. He remains one of the well-known faces of Hollywood. The idea of casting Wood as Frodo came from Harry Knowles who, having worked with Wood when he heard Peter was adapting the novel, told both that Wood should play Frodo.
He had applied via the casting channels, but he would have likely been passed on since Jackson wanted an English actor for the part - both Dominic Monaghan and Stuart Townsend read for the part - had he not made a bold move. He had read The Hobbit, and had a good recollection of the audition scripts, and based on this he shot an impromptu audition which he sent directly to Jackson.
Even at that, Jackson admits he might not have put the tape in if not for Fran Walsh, who said Wood had "a really interesting face." Although Jackson sometimes recalled he never saw Elijah in a movie before, he told Ian Nathan that he had seen him in the Flipper remake, and he certainly knew of his budding fame. They had went to Los Angeles to meet him (it was on this occasion that they met Jake Gyllenhaal, just in case) but generally had little reservations from the studio, given Wood's reputation.
Andrew Serkis: Gollum
Andy is pulling triple duty as director, executive producer and star in this film. It remains to be seen how the screentime and sense of agency will be divvied up between him and Dornan's Aragorn: compare to the greater significance afforded to Richard Armitage's Thorin over the nominal lead of The Hobbit trilogy, or to Mortensen's Aragorn in The Two Towers.
Although unrecognisable in much of his work, Andy had built his reputation after The Lord of the Rings trilogy. He has had some memorable turns in live action, but is mostly known for a string of motion capture roles: Reprising Gollum in An Unexpected Journey, but also as Snoke in the Star Wars sequels, and especially Caesar in the revamped Planet of the Apes films.
Andy also had a curious route to the part: like McKellen and Wood, he had only read The Hobbit as a kid. It was only at the urging of girlfriend Lorraine Ashbourne - Olwyn from The War of the Rohirrim - that he decided to take the part. Although they met him as a voice actor, Jackson already told fans in an online Q and A that the part will be motion-captured: it was only upon meeting Andy that they decided this would be done by the same actor who would provide the voice.
Lee Pace: Thranduil
Rounding out the "returning" cast (for now?) is Lee Pace's Thranduil. Like Serkis, Pace had gradually built his reputation after his appearance in The Hobbit through roles in franchises like Marvel and Foundation, usually not far off from the persona he channelled as Thranduil.
Jackson had seen Lee Pace in The Fall around 2009: The online rumours that he auditioned for Aragorn in Lord of the Rings have no authority. Jackson didn't seem to have pressed this casting choice on Guillermo del Toro, who had other actors in mind for the part, but once he took over as director he decided to cast Lee.
It argues commitment on Lee's part that before even meeting Jackson and Walsh - she played Tauriel for him on the audition - he not only rewatched the films but all the making-ofs. When Philippa Boyens was in London for the Rohirrim premiere, she had lunch with Pace, who was shooting Running Man there at the time.
Kate Winslet: Marigol
The first of the new additions was a head-turner. Playing Smeagol's fabled grandmother, Kate Winslet needs little introduction. Except, perhaps, to point out that her first film role (she acted in television prior) was in Peter Jackson's breakout drama, Heavenly Creatures. When Jackson won the BAFTA for best directing for Lord of the Rings, it was Winslet who handed him the prize: he subsequently says its his most prized accolade. They had met her on the set of Titanic with the prospect of her playing Anne Darrow in their 1996 version of King Kong, and there had been an interest, at least on the studio side, to meet her for Eowyn in Lord of the Rings. So the idea of casting her - a toll order since Winslet had largely eschewed widescreen spectacle pictures after Titanic - is an old one.
I'm not sure Winslet is still a box-office draw, certainly to the younger generation of filmgoers. But she is a famous movie-star, and adds Oscar mint to the series: the only other cast member across these films who won an Oscar for acting is Cate Blanchett.
Leo Woodall: Halvrad
Woodall was rumoured for Aragorn, and there may well be truth to this: all the early contenders for the part were around his age. He seems to play another Dunadan, probably based on Halbarad: they may have changed to name to avoid confusion with Amazon Prime's "competing" Rings of Power, whose villain used the alias of Halbrand. Leo is hardly a big star, but his prospects are on the rise.
Anya Taylor-Joy: Seren
This was the big one, alongside Winslet. Taylor-Joy is one of the most recognisable and prolific actresses of her generation. She played a young Furiosa in Mad Max - admittedly her stardom hadn't saved the film from bombing - and is due to appear in a major role in Villenueve's upcoming Dune: Part Three.
Taylor Joy is so famous, in fact, that the merest rumour that she was circulating this part caused considerable speculation. Some jumped the gun, thinking this is a codename for Arwen. Codenames had been used by Amazon, but are not practiced by these filmmakers: the auditioning process for Aragorn was matter-of-fact "Strider." Kids had been interviews to play Smeagol as a young boy...under the role "Young Smeagol."
Seren is given as a Sindar Elf and "lethal" agent of Thranduil's. The description and concept art strongly evoke Tauriel: it's not clear if she is a surrogate for that character, following Evangeline Lilly's accident. It remains to be seen how they handle it, and whether Seren will also be thrust into a love story.
****
Taken in sum - and there may be more casting announcements yet to come - this is a somewhat starrier cast than previous entries. Why? Maybe they felt the subject matter doesn't have the same appeal as previous projects? Perhaps the studio administration - which under Michael de Luca is similar to the administration that pushed for names like Connery back in 1999 - steered them in this direction? My guess is more prosaic: Peter, Fran and Philippa usually involve themselves in the casting process for their producer outings, but they still let their director cast the film and seem to have done so with Andy here. Looking at Andy's previous directorial outings, they all have pretty starry casts.
But is it too much? I compare it to The Odyssey or Dune with their neverending parade of big stars: even nothing parts apparently just HAD to be Lea Sydoux or a sleepwalking Christopher Walken. This is not quite that sort of thing, and honestly as yet it's not TOO far off from previous forays into this series, with the slight exception of the shoestring-budget Rohirrim.
The Lord of the Rings mostly - and wisely - comprised of unknowns and character actors. The studio had pushed for names like Connery, Brad Pit, Stephen Dorff, but it had a tendency to not pan out. Then again, Liv Tyler was something of a marquee name at the time: Jackson remembers that when he brought her up "suddenly it became very important for Liv to be in the movie." Her star status can be seen in the abnormally high billing she got for the size of her role. Cate Blanchett was also quite famous: so much so that scheduling her shooting days was quite tricky since she had to be on the set of Charlotte Gray. As mentioned, McKellen, Wood and to some extent Weaving (the villain of THE biggest movie phenomenon of the previous year) and Sean Bean were known faces.
For The Hobbit, the property and the returning cast members were known enough to "carry" the project. Even so, Martin Freeman was hardly plucked from anonymity to play Bilbo Baggins, and in between the trilogies Orlando Bloom had become a star of some standing (although already past his prime superstardom in 2010). Evangeline Lilly was the face of the biggest television phenomenon of the time. Benedict Cumberbatch was already in the process of becoming THE Benedict Cumberbatch.
So yes, it's a more starry cast, in the lineage of Andy Serkis' previous directorial efforts, but not in a way that strikes me as overly distracting. I compare it to a David Lean movie: for Lawrence of Arabia, Sam Spiegel pressed Lean to entice Marlon Brando for the title part, and Carry Grant as Allenby. "Blast the star system," said Lean: "Jack Hawkins could play this part with his hands tied behind his back." Even so, the cast is not without names that would have held sway at the box office at the time: Anthony Quinn was the requisite big american star, but we also have Jose Ferrer in, essentially, a cameo. All subsequent Lean films followed a similar trend: a cast comprising mostly of character actors, but with one, two or three big stars to "carry" the film.
Another, less celebrated example is The Phantom Menace. For the classic trilogy, the hagiographic Empire of Dreams documentary posits Sir Alec Guinness as the star casting, but executive producer Alan Ladd Junior admits he "didn't sell tickets." For The Empire Strikes Back, Billy Dee Williams had some celebrity, but that's as far as it went. Phantom Menace, prequel though it was, was in a sense the apotheosis of all the Star Wars-ian tropes cultivated in the films that preceded it, and in keeping with that it boasts the kind of starry cast that Lucas couldn't have in 1976: Liam Neeson at the peak of his superstardom, and a small but important role for (a woefully miscast) Smauel L. Jackson, as well as veterans of genre films like Brian Blessed and Terrance Stamp. Did it need that star power to attract audiences? No. But it lent some glamour to what could have been - and ultimately was - a glorified B movie.
I'm using cinema examples, but it also applies to the stage: Patrice Chereau's famous Centenary Ring was mostly populated with new faces - with an emphasis on phisique du rôle - but had Dame Gwyneth Jones as the big star soprano of her age, as well as Sir Donald McIntyre, Rene Kollo and Karl Ridderbusch (on the first two cycles) and a small roles for Franz Mazura and Heinz Zednik.
As another example, staked somewhere between Lean and Lucas, I return to Nolan. His penchant for starry casts hardly started with The Odyssey. But it lent films like his Batman trilogy a credibility they might not have enjoyed otherwise. I still remember my family seeing Morgan Freeman showing up in Batman Begins: "Wow, what talent to bring to bear upon...a Batman movie!" Perhaps, then, the glitizer cast is a way to CELEBRATE Middle-earth through the currency of cineaste culture, in this, its eighth outing?
I think it's an issue mitigated the further by the fact that traditional movie stars are less of a thing today. Even Tom Cruise mostly succeeds in attracting audiences when they know his involvement is a guarentee for hair-raising stunt-work, as in Mission: Impossible (the last two entires of which underperformed all the same) and Top Gun: Maverick.
What's more, in keeping with the general casting philosophy for these films, both Winslet and Taylor-Joy as the biggest names on the roster, are British and had done period films. Joy in particular, starred in The Northman, VVitch and Emma: the latter, together with Dune, has the distinction of being an adaptation of a literary classic, same as Lord of the Rings. At the very least, I like the crossover from Dune.
(This post was edited by Chen G. on Sun, 6:50pm)
|
