Who's with me?

[FedoraGent]

THAT'S IT!

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Very close, but Joaquin Phoenix is a bit too puffy for it ...

I think that RALPH FIENNES would be perfect for the role. Ralph radiates intelligence, and has the intensity, the irritability, and the lean physique to carry it off well.

Plus, Ralph Fiennes has starred in loads of "Golden Era" pics (Schindler's List, The English Patient, Sunshine, The End of the Affair, and The White Countess), and this one is right up his alley.

Ralph Fiennes also does regional American accents very well: see Quiz Show and The White Countess.

The actor has a following, this role is a perfect fit for him, and audiences would accept it.

.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Whaddaya think? Should we hire Ralph?

.

 

[Feraud]

I would not even consider him after he butchered Cash.. :rage:

Fiennes is a very good choice!

 

[Hemingway Jones]

He is a Fiennes choice.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

:eusa_doh: Doh! Very punny, Hem.

.

 

[Wild Root]

RALPH FIENNES

Not a bad choice, he does have some what of a shaw look and could play him well I think... but, only if he combs his hair like Artie did.

=WR=

 

[Shaul-Ike Cohen]

Fiennes is probably about twice as high, and somehow too British, i'n 'e? Ben Stiller is someone I shouldn't have thought of, but if he doesn't grin too whimsically, he might actually be worth a try.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Fiennes is probably about twice as high, and somehow too British, i'n 'e?

It's true that Fiennes is taller, but I doubt that audiences would know or care. (At least, I wouldn't.) As for being British, he has played Americans very, very well. Fiennes is a master at accents and body movement. See his spot-on portrayals of Americans in Quiz Show (and, more recently, The White Countess).

As for his hair, he has a hairline that is very similar to Shaw's. (See the first two comparison photos.) It's just a matter of combing it as Shaw did. Should be easy to achieve.

.

 

[Shaul-Ike Cohen]

Anyway, better pick a good actor than a badly acting look-alike.

"True story" movies often enough don't have a good plot (because people's lives aren't drafted according to The Complete Idiot's Guide to Writing a Screenplay), and a mere similarity instead of good acting doesn't make it easier. It's seldom that the two come together: The Glenn Miller Story and Gandhi come to mind.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Has anyone ever played Jesus well, before or since Robert Powell (in Franco Zeffirelli's Jesus of Nazareth)?

.

 

[Wild Root]

The real Artie Shaw was a bad actor and was in a number of movies. Yes, most find those late 30's and early 40's movies to be corny with good music but, heck, I think it would be swell to find some one who looks just like him... kid of like "The Man with Bogart's Face" and just play him up as Artie Shaw... it would be a cool movie if it were serious but, also kind of fun like "Tucker a man and his dream" something like that would make it a fun and enjoyable movie. And the costuming HAS to be SPOT ON! With the things we can do with film today, they can recreate so many things... even the '39 World's Fair!

It could be a movie about Shaw and his music but, also a good educational type of film about the late 30's and early 40's when Shaw's band was on fire! Also, we'd need a gal who looks like Helen Forrest! She sang with Shaw for some time in 1938 to 1940 I think. Some of my favorite songs ever are hers when she sang with Shaw.

=WR=

 

[Marc Chevalier]

... we'd need a gal who looks like Helen Forrest!

Tough one. Would depend a lot on the makeup artist and hairstylist. How about Cate Blanchett, or Gwyneth Paltrow?

.

 

[Tomasso]

Who'll Play The Ladies?

Ava Gardner, Lana Turner, Doris Dowling and Evelyn Keyes, to name a few.

 

[Cousin Hepcat]

Ava Gardner, Lana Turner, Doris Dowling and Evelyn Keyes, to name a few.

Lana Turner -> Charlize Theron

.

Swing High,
- C H

 

[jake_fink]

Casting a film before it's written tends to be bad form.

 

[Tomasso]

There Is An Artie Shaw Documentary.

It won an Oscar for Best Documentary in 1987.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088740/

 

[Cousin Hepcat]

Casting a film before it's written tends to be bad form.

Think big


Doris Dowling -> Carrie Anne Moss

.

Evelyn Keyes -> Natalie Portman

.

Swing High,
- C H

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Ava Gardner, Lana Turner, Doris Dowling and Evelyn Keyes, to name a few.

Not now, surely!

.

 

[Wild Root]

Casting a film before it's written tends to be bad form.

Well, Jake this is more fun then something that will really happen any way.

Who looks like Helen? Hummmmm...

Doesn't need to sound like her... voice dubs are very old fashioned! Then again, Megan Ivy who used to sing back in the 90's with the Eddie Reed band sounded very much like Helen! Hummmm... I wonder.

=WR=