I was just reading on IMDB.com about the movie, and there is loads and loads of negativity. This particular post I was reading was complaining about KH as Stephanie Plum basically because she is a blond and Jason O'Mara as Morelli because he is not Italian. And this is setting my teeth on edge a little bit.
Now I have to confess that at first I was a little weary about these characters in their roles myself and not because I didn't like them or I didn't think they could act. I have liked everything that KH has been in so far and knew she could pull off the comedic part of the show well. The more I follow this movie, I now can see no one but Katherine Heigl in this role. She is perfect for it! O'Mara I hadn't seen before, but I did my homework and came to the conclusion that he could definitely portray the tough, sexy role of Joe beautifully. The reason I was weary is because I had to get over the initial surprise that they didn't cast who I had envisioned in my head....shocker, I know!!
This reply to the KH hater's post really says it perfectly!!
"oh for crying out loud, that's why they call it ACTING, and O'Mara's very good at it. If every casting agent thought like you, Meryl Streep would have never played Sophie Zawistowska, Vivien Leigh would have never played Scarlett O'Hara, Audrey Hepburn would never have played Holly Golightly, and Marlon Brando would never have played Stanley Kowalski.
If you don't think Sunjata can play sexy bad-ass, you obviously never saw him as Reggie Jackson."
Well put, Solesister!
I have a few things to add here...(I won't bore you with my book I wrote on IMDB.)
I think there are a lot of great Oscar-winning movies out there that would have been less than sensational without the actors/actresses playing their roles. I'll just spout off a few:
Russell Crow in 'Gladiator'. Aussie playing a Roman.
Gerard Butler in '300'. Irishman playing a Spartan.
Mel Gibson in 'Braveheart'. Aussie playing a Scottsman.
Brad Pitt in 'Troy'. German-Welsh playing a Greek.
Nicole Kidman in 'Far and Away'. Another Aussie playing an Irish woman.
And my favorite example...
James Caan in 'Godfather', the ultimate Italian movie!! James Caan played an Italian mobster, and he is of Jewish-German decent. He doesn't really look Italian to me, but he did an amazing job in that role, enough that Coppolla didn't care that he was not of Italian decent.
I for one hope this movie rocks my socks off and silences all the casting knit-pickers out there. And that's all I have to say about that. ;) You are all now welcome to give your opinion.
I had my own little rant over there on IMDb directed to the Haters. Its been annoying me too. Like I said over there, it seems to me that the actors they've chosen are wholeheartedly committed to portraying their parts according to the books. THEY ARE ACTORS...they ACT for a living! This fixation on ethnicity doesn't make sense to me. Just my opinion.
ReplyDeleteThat is the problem with IMDb, waaaaaaayyy too much negativity there on any project. I can understand some people not personally picking JOM or KH for the roles but as an O'Mara fan I only read the book after he was cast so it was very easy for me to picture both him and KH in the roles as I read it. I have to say I never thought of Leguizamo as Jimmy Alpha, he just isn't who I pictured but he is an excellent actor and I can't wait to see how he plays the role.
ReplyDeleteWell I got on a rant over there too---
ReplyDeleteSo at this point I say -screw you! I am amazed at how many people have time to waste saying how much they hate something. You should see the people on Jason's IMDB page saying the same things. I don't get it. I mean-I do not like Will Ferrell at all. So why would I go on his page to say how much I don't like him. Just to upset the people who do???
Pretty immature--
And I say to that person--JASON, JASON, JASON!!! HA
We will have fun over here!!
Thanks SO!!
Iheartjason (big surprise!) :)
Had to chime in again on this--
ReplyDeleteThe OFTM site on IMDb has different pictures of the actors up on the home page.
Jason's picture on there is a prefect example of a sexy Morelli look I have seen.
Iheartjason
IMDB boards are generally full of trash talk - generally avoid like the plague if you want any sensible discussion. The fact is when movies are made from a book - the cast never match what people have envisioned. One of the problems is..everyone imagines the characters differently. It is pretty common for the fans of a book to hate who has been cast in the movie. The movie will either be good or it wont. But you have to at least see it to find out whether they have brought the book to life in a good way in my opinion. I think Heigl will do a fantastic job. Some of the ridiculous comments about her being "too pretty" are just pathetic. Also since when did someone have to be the nationality of the person they are portraying. It is acting! That is pretty much the point - to assume the character.
ReplyDelete