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Darkstone
Immortal
Sep 10 2013, 7:20pm
Post #2 of 127
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I always wanted Eastwood for Gandalf.
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He's pointy. But babies and audiences love round features so we got McKellen with an extra round prosthetic on the end of his nose.
****************************************** “That hobbit has a pleasant face, His private life is a disgrace. I really could not tell to you, The awful things that hobbits do.”
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Darkstone
Immortal
Sep 10 2013, 9:14pm
Post #4 of 127
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BTW, Mortensen was seventh choice.
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The role was originally offered to Daniel Day Lewis, who declined. Then they offered it to Nicolas Cage, but he refused. They auditioned Vin Diesel, but after they saw the tape they didn’t think he’d work. So they offered it to Daniel Day Lewis again, but he refused again. So they got Stuart Townsend, but after a month of rehearsals they fired him and offered it to Daniel Day Lewis yet again, but he refused it yet again. So Mark Ordesky’s wife reminded him of this actor named Viggo Mortensen they met at a party a year or two before. Ordesky put together a quick demo tape of Mortensen’s roles in “Psycho”, The Prophecy”, and “Texas Chainsaw Massacre III”. (?!?!) He showed the tape to Peter Jackson who, for some reason, felt Mortensen would be perfect for Aragorn. (One wonders exactly what Jackson saw in Mortensen's roles as a villain in these three horror films that made him think that.) Mortensen almost said no, but his son convinced him to take the role. Philippa Boyens said she knew they’d made the right choice when Mortensen’s very first question wasn’t “How much is my salary?” or “How big is my trailer?” but rather “How long did Aragorn live with the Elves?” If Mortensen had turned down the role New Line was going to take over casting from Jackson. Their first choices were Russell Crowe or Jason Patric. BTW, Keanu Reeves really wanted the role and apparently his agent floated a few rumors that the casting was a done deal. Needless to say, the resultant storm of protest on TORn was deafening.
****************************************** “That hobbit has a pleasant face, His private life is a disgrace. I really could not tell to you, The awful things that hobbits do.”
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Eruonen
Half-elven
Sep 10 2013, 10:39pm
Post #5 of 127
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Talk about the minefield averted! Other than Daniel Day Lewis,
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the rest were terrible choices. Nicolage Cage?!! Vin Diesel?!! Keanu Reeves?! (maybe as an elf).
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Ziggy Stardust
Gondor
Sep 11 2013, 1:00am
Post #6 of 127
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They would have been terrible choices. I'm glad they picked Viggo. I thought he did well and fit the image.
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Ziggy Stardust
Gondor
Sep 11 2013, 1:01am
Post #7 of 127
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That first image of Eastwood isn't bad
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He kind of looks like an Aragorn. But I'm still content with Viggo.
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Meneldor
Valinor
Sep 11 2013, 1:07am
Post #8 of 127
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Was he worried about being typecast after Last of the Mohicans? That's a beloved movie I haven't seen in a while. Time to dig through my DVDs.
They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters; These see the works of the Lord, and His wonders in the deep.
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Darkstone
Immortal
Sep 11 2013, 1:41am
Post #9 of 127
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First time it conflicted with a commitment to play "Priest" Vallon in The Gangs of New York. (Of course he didn't end up playing that role.) The second time, when Jackson thought DDL would be be done with the minor role of Vallon, PJ learned DDL had switched to the major role of Bill "The Butcher" Cutting, so DDL still wasn't finished with The Gangs of New York.. The third time, DDL seems to have given the reason that fifteen months was just too long to commit to a role on the other side of the world away from his family.
****************************************** “That hobbit has a pleasant face, His private life is a disgrace. I really could not tell to you, The awful things that hobbits do.”
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cats16
Half-elven
Sep 11 2013, 2:03am
Post #10 of 127
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Knowing DDL's working style...
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I can only imagine the amount of preparation he would have required for the role--nonstop reading of all major Tolkien works in a short time, to begin. Shooting the film is only a minor part for him. But as you say, it would have been quite a commitment itself in reality for DDL and his family.
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Patty
Immortal
Sep 11 2013, 11:56am
Post #11 of 127
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With the right amount of scruffiness, Keanu might not have been too horrific. Any of the rest of those would have been the kiss of death, although, admittedly I thought the same thing about Sean Astin until I saw the movie. Now I know he was a perfect choice for Sam.
Permanent address: Into the West
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Lala
Registered User
Sep 11 2013, 12:54pm
Post #12 of 127
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Kenau would be perfect for...Figwit!
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CuriousG
Half-elven
Sep 11 2013, 6:11pm
Post #13 of 127
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Vin Diesel with or without the see-in-the-dark eyes?
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I think he'd be much too large to play that role. He'd be more of a Boromir. When the two of them cleared the snow for the others on Caradhras, Aragorn was taller and thinner than Boromir, and I'd think a Ranger, even with a healthy diet in Rivendell, wouldn't have Diesel's bodybuilder look to him from living in the wild. In the book I pictured Aragorn as more clean-cut, the king-in-waiting, but I realized for the movie it's hard to get one actor to look both roguish like Strider and refined like King Aragorn, so I think Viggo was a good choice for the Ranger look. But I don't think he could have pulled off the book scene at the Argonath where he looks all kingly and dignified. Even at his coronation scene in the movie, Viggo looked rough and out of place, IMO.
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CuriousG
Half-elven
Sep 11 2013, 6:13pm
Post #14 of 127
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I could see Russell Crowe as Aragorn. //
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ElendilTheShort
Gondor
Sep 12 2013, 9:37am
Post #17 of 127
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matches Aragorns physical description in the book perfectly. Many of the other actors are too stocky to play the tall lean ranger.
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Otaku-sempai
Immortal
Sep 12 2013, 12:45pm
Post #18 of 127
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So, what if you had to cast Aragorn young?
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Not Estel young (as a 10 year-old boy), but as a young adult around 25 to 27 years old? Say, you wanted to depict the first meeting of Aragorn and Gandalf the Grey, and the years immediately following.
'There are older and fouler things than Orcs in the deep places of the world.' - Gandalf the Grey, The Fellowship of the Ring
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Otaku-sempai
Immortal
Sep 12 2013, 2:54pm
Post #20 of 127
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Stuart Townsend, when he was cast as Aragorn in LotR, would have been good for the character as a young Ranger. Now, of course, he is actually the right age to play the older Aragorn.
'There are older and fouler things than Orcs in the deep places of the world.' - Gandalf the Grey, The Fellowship of the Ring
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Eruonen
Half-elven
Sep 12 2013, 3:14pm
Post #21 of 127
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I never thought he had the right look. His face is too sinister in so
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many photos. A good vampire.
(This post was edited by Eruonen on Sep 12 2013, 3:14pm)
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Otaku-sempai
Immortal
Sep 12 2013, 3:16pm
Post #22 of 127
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Quite possibly true. However...
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Many people might have said the same thing about Viggo Mortensen after seeing his portrayal of Lucifer in The Prophecy. So, I'm trying to be fair.
'There are older and fouler things than Orcs in the deep places of the world.' - Gandalf the Grey, The Fellowship of the Ring
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shadowdog
Rohan
Sep 12 2013, 4:15pm
Post #24 of 127
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was Townsend let go? I wasn't into production details prior to seeing Fellowship in the theater. I heard he was considered too young; but also that there were other problems.
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Eruonen
Half-elven
Sep 12 2013, 4:27pm
Post #25 of 127
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Well, when they say "it just was not working" either he was not
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able to bring enough gravitas in his performance or the look was recognized as just too young etc. I am sure it was a terrible thing to have happen to a young actor, but he seems to have weathered it ok. He said this: "I was there rehearsing and training for two months, then was fired the day before filming began. After that I was told they wouldn't pay me because I was in breach of contract due to not having worked long enough. I had been having a rough time with them, so I was almost relieved to be leaving until they told me I wouldn't be paid. I have no good feelings for those people in charge, I really don't. The director wanted me and then apparently thought better of it because he really wanted someone 20 years older than me and completely different." http://www.thefantasyforum.com/...t-Townsend-get-fired
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