Casting Choices: Could There Have Been Better Decisions?
It would be very interesting to be a casting director. I think it's an underrated position in terms of if a film works or fails. Some people have a knack for it. For instance, Clint Eastwood. When he got involved in the production of "Million Dollar Baby", the casting choices were Morgan Freeman for Frankie and Sandra Bullock for Maggie. Eastwood ended up taking the role of Frankie, gave Freeman the supporting role of Scrap, and literally on his own, decided to go with Hilary Swank as Maggie. History proved Eastwood's selections couldn't have been better. It's hard to imagine anyone else playing those parts. On occasion, casting decisions are changed - but it is quite possible that either scenario would have worked. A good example is the film "Doubt". Frances McDormand was lined up for Sister Aloysius. Natalie Portman was in negotiations to play Sister James. Everything changed when two things happened. First, Philip Seymour Hoffman said yes to the role of Father Flynn. As part of him coming aboard, he insisted Amy Adams get the role of Sister James. And Meryl Streep - she was given the part of Sister Aloysius simply because she decided she wanted it. McDormand was paid off and left the production. "Doubt" ended up being outstanding. However, because Portman and McDormand are both such good actresses, it may have worked either way. The point is, casting decisions are critical. There have been some decisions on major films I thought were very poor. I will examine those choices within this article and state what I believe to be better alternatives. I'm going to name the film and the year it was released. You will have to take yourself back to that place in time in order for my casting choices to make sense
"Batman" 1989 and "Batman Returns" 1992: Tim Burton directed both of these films, choosing Michael Keaton as Batman. Keaton was ok, nothing special. For me, at that point in time, the perfect choice was Alec Baldwin. He would have been terrific in both movies. Val Kilmer took the role for 1995's "Batman Forever"which I thought was a good choice. George Clooney took it over for 1997's "Batman and Robin". They should have stuck with Kilmer.
"The Godfather Part 3" 1990: The most obvious casting blunder was Sofia Coppola as Mary Corleone. Originally Winona Ryder was signed on and I think she would have been fine. She ended up pulling out. When she did, the actress I would have cast was Uma Thurman. Thurman was 20 at the time, a fresh, new and capable actress. She was blessed with a beautiful and interesting face. All you would have to do is dye her hair black and she would have been perfect.
"Carrie" 2013: I was very excited about this movie because I love Julianne Moore. With her playing Carrie's mother I thought "Wow, this will be great". It ended up being fair at best. The biggest problem was Chloe Grace Moretz playing Carrie. Chloe is a fine young actress. She just didn't work as "Carrie". I found her too physically attractive for the role. The perfect choice for Carrie would have been Isabelle Fuhrman. Isabelle did a fantastic job playing the orphan in the 2009 film "Orphan". If you watch that movie, you can see why should would have been perfect as Carrie.
"Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice" 2016: I don't know of anyone that liked the choice of Jesse Eisenberg as Alexander Luthor. This includes me. As I watched the movie, the actor that kept popping into my head as a better choice was Joaquin Phoenix. I think he would've done a much better job in that role. Phoenix will be playing "The Joker" in a new origin film coming out this year, so any thoughts of him replacing Eisenberg are moot.
Lastly an upcoming film called "A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood". It's the story of Mr. Rogers. Everyone of my age group (Generation X) grew up with Mr. Rogers. Tom Hanks is playing him. Well, personally, I've had more than enough of Hanks. Even though this film has yet to be released, since I know Mr. Rogers so well, Steve Carell would have been my choice.
And there you have it. Certainly, many more films have had casting blunders. I hope people that have better choices for these blunders will join in and comment.......
"Batman" 1989 and "Batman Returns" 1992: Tim Burton directed both of these films, choosing Michael Keaton as Batman. Keaton was ok, nothing special. For me, at that point in time, the perfect choice was Alec Baldwin. He would have been terrific in both movies. Val Kilmer took the role for 1995's "Batman Forever"which I thought was a good choice. George Clooney took it over for 1997's "Batman and Robin". They should have stuck with Kilmer.
"The Godfather Part 3" 1990: The most obvious casting blunder was Sofia Coppola as Mary Corleone. Originally Winona Ryder was signed on and I think she would have been fine. She ended up pulling out. When she did, the actress I would have cast was Uma Thurman. Thurman was 20 at the time, a fresh, new and capable actress. She was blessed with a beautiful and interesting face. All you would have to do is dye her hair black and she would have been perfect.
"Carrie" 2013: I was very excited about this movie because I love Julianne Moore. With her playing Carrie's mother I thought "Wow, this will be great". It ended up being fair at best. The biggest problem was Chloe Grace Moretz playing Carrie. Chloe is a fine young actress. She just didn't work as "Carrie". I found her too physically attractive for the role. The perfect choice for Carrie would have been Isabelle Fuhrman. Isabelle did a fantastic job playing the orphan in the 2009 film "Orphan". If you watch that movie, you can see why should would have been perfect as Carrie.
"Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice" 2016: I don't know of anyone that liked the choice of Jesse Eisenberg as Alexander Luthor. This includes me. As I watched the movie, the actor that kept popping into my head as a better choice was Joaquin Phoenix. I think he would've done a much better job in that role. Phoenix will be playing "The Joker" in a new origin film coming out this year, so any thoughts of him replacing Eisenberg are moot.
Lastly an upcoming film called "A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood". It's the story of Mr. Rogers. Everyone of my age group (Generation X) grew up with Mr. Rogers. Tom Hanks is playing him. Well, personally, I've had more than enough of Hanks. Even though this film has yet to be released, since I know Mr. Rogers so well, Steve Carell would have been my choice.
And there you have it. Certainly, many more films have had casting blunders. I hope people that have better choices for these blunders will join in and comment.......
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