THE CASTING COUCH GAME 1. BASICS The basics of the game are simple. Each day, each player will be given a pair of famous/iconic/significant movie roles. The player shall choose a different actor/actress of any era who would be “as good as,” “better in” or “better for” the role. Basically, the question is, “If you couldn’t cast the actor/actress that made the role famous, who would you cast?” As a silly example, maybe you are assigned a James Cagney character, and you would say that you think Johnny Depp would be a perfect fit for that role. There will be no rule that says you must explain why, but it will certainly help. FORMAT There are two lists. one has the 15 players arranged numerically. The second has the 30 selected movie roles arranged and numbered in 15 pairs. In the first round, players are matched to the pair with the same number. Each subsequent day, the player moves down to the next numbered pair on the list. When they reach the end,they return to the top of the list and start at the first pair. Once an actor is chosen for a single role, YOU CANNOT repeat that actor for that same role. YOU CAN choose that selected actor for another role. Also, generally speaking, YOU CAN name the same actor to multiple roles. We will start with a one-day time limit to make your choices. If that proves difficult, we can adjust accordingly as we go.There is no draft order. You may make your pair of selections each day whenever you wish. If you haven't seen the movie and/or you are unfamiliar with the character, I suggest you rent it or fake it. 3. WINNER At the end, the players will vote for best list, best choice for each character, etc. GOOD LUCK!
Players list 1)DoctorJones24 2) Via_Chicago 3) BlueDaddy19 4) GringoTex 5) Claymore 6) Michael K. 7) TheSlipperyOne 8) SirManchester 9) Ghost 10) Obie 11) Iceblink 12) Bojendyk 13) BabyTiger2001 14) bmurphyfl - 15) Autogolazo
Group 1 Harry Lime (Orson Welles) from The Third Man Rose DeWitt (Kate Winslet) from Titanic Group 2 Scarlett O'Hara (Vivien Leigh) from Gone with the Wind Jake Gittes (Jack Nicholson) from Chinatown Group 3 Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) from Star Wars Dorothy (Judy Garland) from The Wizard of Oz Group 4 Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) from Raiders of the Lost Ark, etc. George Bailey (Jimmy Stewart) from It's a Wonderful Life Group 5 Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) from Casablanca Lt. Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) from Alien Group 6 Alex de Large (Malcolm McDowell) from A Clockwork Orange Harry Powell (Robert Mitchum) from Night of the Hunter Group 7 Dr. Strangelove/President Merton Muffley/that English major guy (Peter Sellers) in Dr. Strangelove Travis Bickle (Robert DeNiro) from Taxi Driver Group 8 Howard Beale (Peter Finch) from Network James Bond (Sean Connery, etc.) from Goldfinger, etc. Group 9 The Little Tramp (Charlie Chaplin) from Modern Times, etc. Walter Burns (Cary Grant) from His Girl Friday Group 10 Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson) from Sunset Boulevard Margo Channing (Bette Davis) from All About Eve Group 11 Don Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando) from The Godfather T.S. Lawrence (Peter O'Toole) from Lawrence of Arabia Group 12 Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly) from Singin' in the Rain Holly Golightly (Audrey Hepburn) from Breakfast at Tiffany's Group 13 Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) from Psycho Mary Poppins (Julie Andrews) from Mary Poppins Group 14 Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) from Die Hard The Man with No Name (Clint Eastwood) from various spaghetti westerns Group 15 Ebeneezer Scrooge (various actors) from A Christmas Carol Phyllis Dietrichson (Barbara Stanwyck) from Double Indemnity
First Round 1) DoctorJones24 Group 1 Harry Lime (Orson Welles) from The Third Man Rose DeWitt (Kate Winslet) from Titanic 2) Via_Chicago Group 2 Scarlett O'Hara (Vivien Leigh) from Gone with the Wind Jakes Gittes (Jack Nicholson) from Chinatown 3) BlueDaddy19 Group 3 Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) from Star Wars Dorothy (Judy Garland) from The Wizard of Oz 4) GringoTex Group 4 Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) from Raiders of the Lost Ark, etc. George Bailey (Jimmy Stewart) from It's a Wonderful Life 5) Claymore Group 5 Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) from Casablanca Lt. Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) from Alien 6) Michael K. Group 6 Alex de Large (Malcolm McDowell) from A Clockwork Orange Harry Powell (Robert Mitchum) from Night of the Hunter 7) TheSlipperyOne Group 7 Dr. Strangelove/President Merton Muffley/that English major guy (Peter Sellers) in Dr. Strangelove Travis Bickle (Robert DeNiro) from Taxi Driver 8) SirManchester Group 8 Howard Beale (Peter Finch) from Network James Bond (Sean Connery, etc.) from Goldfinger, etc. 9) Ghost Group 9 The Little Tramp (Charlie Chaplin) from Modern Times, etc. Walter Burns (Cary Grant) from His Girl Friday 10) Obie Group 10 Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson) from Sunset Boulevard Margo Channing (Bette Davis) from All About Eve 11) Iceblink Group 11 Don Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando) from The Godfather T.S. Lawrence (Peter O'Toole) from Lawrence of Arabia 12) Bojendyk Group 12 Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly) from Singin' in the Rain Holly Golightly (Audrey Hepburn) from Breakfast at Tiffany's 13) BabyTiger2001 Group 13 Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) from Psycho Mary Poppins (Julie Andrews) from Mary Poppins 14) bmurphyfl - Group 14 Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) from Die Hard The Man with No Name (Clint Eastwood) from various spaghetti westerns 15) Autogolazo Group 15 Ebeneezer Scrooge (various actors) from A Christmas Carol Phyllis Dietrichson (Barbara Stanwyck) from Double Indemnity
I may get this wrong as first out of the box, but let me try... Norma Desmond: Faye Dunaway. I remember watching Mommy Dearest and thinking that Faye wasn't playing Joan Crawford, she was playing Norma Desmond. One of the few actresses who could make Norma more pathetic. Margo Channing: Tallulah Bankhead. Way too obvious but it's the advantage of going first. Bette was playing Tallulah playing Margo, so why include the middlewoman? Go straight to the source, damnit.
I guess we're not going in any order, so here's my first round picks: Rick Blaine, Casablanca - Jack Nicholson. Think about how he played Jake Geddes in Chinatown. Lt. Ripley, Alien(s) - Sigourney Weaver. I just can't think of anyone else who could have pulled this off with the same intensity, without overacting.
I've got a decent alternative for Gene Kelly, but I have to admit that the Audrey Hepburn replacement has me utterly stumped.
Nicholson would be a fine choice if we were talking about Philip Marlowe or Sam Spade, but this is Casablanca here. Bogart is Rick. You won't find anyone "better than" but maybe, just maybe, as good as. This is a really tough one. Come on. Pick someone for Ripley! Yeah, that's a tough one. I think I've got a decent replacement for Leigh, but I'll be damned if that's not one of the toughest roles to replace well on this list, since it's easily one of the most iconic, like Holly Golightly.
Okay, after some thought . . . Gene Kelly had charisma in spades and matchless talent, so it's hard to think of anyone else in that role. Still, I think Dick Van Dyke could have pulled it off--he could sing well enough, and I'd argue that his comic timing and mugging would have improved the silent movie scenes. He's not half the dancer than Gene Kelly was, but his legwork had an awkward charm of its own, not unlike that of Peter Crouch. Truman Capote's original Breakfast at Tiffany's novella doesn't pull any punches about Holly Golightly's character or profession: she was a call girl. The character in the novella resembled Sally Bowles almost as much as she resembled Audrey Hepburn's version of the character. However, while Minnelli may have the requisite damaged childhood, I can't imagine her bringing the room-warming charm that Hepburn gave the role. Thus, I'm suggesting Judy Garland.
after some consideration: luke skywalker - i'm gonna have to go with ryan gosling, probably best known for "remember the titans" and "murder by numbers" - i feel he could nail the coming of age luke naivete and the inner turmoils better than hamill did dorothy - this was a tough call between 4-5 ladies from all different eras, but i actually like mandy moore to handle the acting/singing/dancing at a level that would make miss show business quite proud i will now await my first gringotex beating...
Claymore, perhaps I'm just dense and missing something, but the rules are that it must be someone other than the actor who played the role.
he can say what he wants, i've been impressed by her recent acting and she was the only one of my "cute kansas farm girl looking" options that i was sure could sing and dance well enough i had another option i really wanted to take, but i've never actually heard her sing
Folks, this is an update .... I got messages from Michael K. and BlueDaddy this morning, the two guys who had not picked a character by last night. Michael said he was planning on selecting Lawrence of Arabia, anyway. So we unknowingly had added his character. In fact, coincidentally, he even drew the character for the first round. Go figure. Ow, BlueDaddy wanted Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) from Die Hard. The choice I assigned to him was Captain Jack Sparrow. With the approval bmurphyfl, who drew Sparrow, and given that every other player has had the opportunity to give their own pick, I am going to go ahead and make the change. Besides, as he correctly points out, we could use a good villain. So, the updated group 14 ..... Group 14 Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) from Die Hard. The Man with No Name (Clint Eastwood) from various spaghetti westerns
Am I the only one who thinks that the role of Norman Bates might, just might, be the hardest in the game?
I have an idea for that one, actually. by the way, if anyone thinks I stacked the deck on the draw, I have to figure out in one day who can replace Cary Grant playing Cary Grant. Guh.
[/cough] Vince Vaughn [/quote] Also, I'm still thinking who to cast but I will post my choices up tonight.
8) SirManchester Group 8 Howard Beale (Peter Finch) from Network -My selection is Brian Cox, who, for me possesses the fervor to pull off that famous speech Beale delivers, he has the voice and the looks. James Bond (Sean Connery, etc.) from Goldfinger, etc. -My selection is Alain Delon. Not only has he handled roles where he had to do physical stunts (Zorro) but he has the body for Bond, and that cool delivery, plus he's also one damn handsome guy.
Nice picks. I've thought about Cox for a couple of roles but I already have ones ready for Howard Beale and Bond. Now I just have to decide on my picks for this round!
Group 1 Harry Lime (Orson Welles) from The Third Man This was a strange role to choose, IMO. Basically a character who is only on screen for 2 scenes in the movie. Both are famous scenes, to be sure, but Cotten's role is by far the more complex and memorable. And yes, I did just rewatch the movie during lunch today to make sure. I think I'm going to go with Daniel Day Lewis as Harry Lyme. I'd love to see him take a crack at the speech in the ferris wheel, talking about the little dots disappearing. Rose DeWitt (Kate Winslet) from Titanic Gonna go with Natalie Wood. She seems to exhude the innocence with the hidden rebelliousness that the character needs. She'd be equally convincing dining in the state room as getting sweaty dancing to the Irish pub band.
You bastard, I had Natalie Wood lined up as the best possible choice for that character. Kudos to you mein freund.
First round: Dr. Strangelove, etc.: Cary Grant. He can do the absurd but act the straight man as well. And he's effin' Cary Grant! Travis Bickle: Robert Downey, Jr. Pathetic, crazy and searching for something. Downey's range of depth and emotion along with empathy could be great in this role.
One of the big issues is whether you go with the conteporary actor who is similar to the star but not held in quite the same esteem, or to go with a star from a different era that holds the same appeal. Naturally in such a dispute, I'll split the difference. For the Little Tramp, I'm going to go with Harold Lloyd Contemporaneous silent comedy star. He started out with success doing knockoffs of Chaplin before he evolved into his character. And like Chaplin in Modern Times, he seems to know his way around a clock. For Cary Grant, I'm going with ...... George Clooney for lack of more imagination. Clooney has the same suave demeanor, can seem slightly scandalous yet retain his appeal. Loaded with screen magnetism. The last classic star. Can he do comedy? Right about now, I'm wishing that I'd watched Intolerable Cruelty so I would know. I thought about some of the conteemporaneous screwballers, but they all seem like models for wedding cake ornaments. They give off the feeling of giving Ralph Bellamy a fighting chance. Clooney doesn't do that.