Gerard Butler wasn't 1800s France either. One of the many reasons I do not like his Phantom.
I'd love to see a lot of experienced musical theatre performers cast in this. Hollywood actors who 'sing' are okay, and pop stars are okay, but when you sing your heart out, live, nightly, for a living, I'd say you're far more qualified to be in a musical.
I'm happy people are thinking of Russell Crowe for Valjean too. I've always thought of him in this role. I'm purely thinking of physicality. I know he sings but not sure if he can do it in the style of this musical. However, I would love to see his tender side singing "Bring Him Home". I think Ben Barnes is a great idea for Marius and I do like Lea Michele for Eponine. Can't wait for this!
I think they will chose Hollywood names for this movie musical, especially for the major leads! As they have done with Sweeney Todd, Mamma Mia, Hairspray, Chicago, and Nine.
Crowe as Valjean and Jackman as Javert? Excellent idea although reverse casting might also work! Some twenty years ago, when she was still just a Welsh stage star, the name of Catherine Zeta Jones was announced by the Mackintosh group for the role of Fantine - she was too young for the role then but she will fit the bill this time.
"And Millie - I don't care if you cast the entire Nickolodeon/Disney roster - young people will hate it."
Well, I was being sarcastic, but, yeah, I don't think that the majority of the tween crowd will like Les Mis unless they are interested in theater themselves.
Hugh Jackman (Valjean) and Hugh Laurie (Thernadier) both? Pretty please?
"We like to snark around here. Sometimes we actually talk about theater...but we try not to let that get in our way." - dramamama611
Anne Hathaway won't be available to do LE MIZ in 2012. She read some comments on Broadwayworld message board that she can "do anything" so she is fulfilling a lifelong dream of playing Shakespeare's OTHELLO in blackface drag.
Lea Michele will be too busy trying to pass "Singing 101", a course she flunked several times already.
Those who think Rob Marshall should direct LE MIZ have conveniently forgotten that historical travesty called MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA.
I agree that MISS SAIGON is a far more deserving candidate for filming than LE MIZ, which already has umpteenth far better adaptations of Victor Hugo's book on film.
"I long-ago realized that this country is a nation of
morons, when it comes to knowledge of anything outside, or beyond, pop culture." Steve Slezak
Yes, I think Lee Daniels would be an odd but interesting choice to direct the film of MISS SAIGON; one can only hope that he has enough faith and respect for the material to keep it as close as possible to the stage original.
"I long-ago realized that this country is a nation of
morons, when it comes to knowledge of anything outside, or beyond, pop culture." Steve Slezak
You should think Movie actors. They need to be names, known to a wider audience. I suspect Mackintosh will go with a mainly British cast. For example, Kiera Knightly as Fantine & James Macavoy as Marius.Would love Alan Rickman as Javert
CamMack has plenty of money... why can't he build a Delorean and go back 10 years ago and use the Dream Cast?!
I once heard someone describe her (Ruthie Henshall) singing as sounding as though she's trying to swallow a whole meatball slightly larger than her windpipe. (The same person compared Michael Ball's singing to sounding as though he's sitting on a washing machine on spin cycle and Colm Wilkinson's to a man with a paralyzed lip trying to eat cottage cheese.) --- Schmerg_The_Impaler
It's targeted for 2012? Hm at least I'll get my Les Mis movie before the world ends. lol
I really like some of the suggestions posed here, like Geoffrey Rush/Nathan Lane for Thenardier and Ewan McGregor as Valjean. I strongly dislike Lea Michele for Eponine. I never understood why people thought she was good. I saw her perform Eponine at the Hollywood Bowl and thought she was awful. Too popish and...cutesy, which Eponine definitely isn't.
As for director suggestions, I'd like to see Sam Mendes take a stab at it. I wouldn't be surprised if he's hired should this project go through - he's British, he's won an Oscar for his directing debut in American Beauty, and directed Assassins and Oliver (with CamMack) in London, both of which were received favorably (generally). He's also directed one of my favorite movies, Jarhead, so I'm really pulling for him. lol I'm willing to look past his work in Bernadette Peter's Gypsy, as I think most of the problems with that production had to do with the cast instead of the direction.
Here's my dream cast (WARNING!!!! Some of my choices you won't like at all so please don't slam me!)
Jean Valjean: Hugh Jackman (I know he's too obvious but I like him and his voice) Javert: Daniel Day-Lewis (I am anxious to hear him in NINE) Fantine: Anne Hathaway (Agian too obvious but I believe in the novel Fantine was in her late 20s-early 30s) Madame Thenardier: Megan Mullaey (pardon the mispelling) Thenardier: Hugh Laurie Enjolras: Adam Pascal (he's going places in the acting industry) Marius: Ricky Martin (my friend at work loved his performance when she saw him in the original Broadway production but I'm sceptic because they might want to hire someone younger) Eponine: Jennifer Ellison (I love the idea of a blonde Eponine and I love the raspy quality of her voice in "Phantom") Cosette: Christy Carlson Romano (Don't slam me for this because even though after watching videos of her singing as Belle and her voice was thin I think she could do this because I did hear on a dream casting website that she's a soprano) Updated On: 10/22/09 at 08:51 PM
I posted about this on the Musicals.Net board. It's gotta be a difficult line to tread...they want actors with some screen presence, but who can handle this material.
I'm not crazy about the idea of Russell Crowe as Valjean, but then, I've never heard him sing. Hugh Jackman, I think, would make a better Valjean than a Javert.
As for Javert...Brian Stokes Mitchell. He straddles the line between stage and screen, his name is well-known enough, and the voice, the voice, MY GOD THE VOICE. (And Javert's supposed to be gypsy or half-gypsy, so having a darker-skinned Javert would be a nice shout-out to the Brick!)
Someone on Musicals.Net raised the possiblity of Ewan McGregor as Thenardier, and I think I agree! He's got a good voice for that particular part, and on the strength of his past roles, can do justice to the two sides of Thenardier--the roguish comic relief and the sinister, unsettling predator crawling around in the sewer robbing corpses. Otherwise, Hugh Laurie would be great, and so would Alan Cumming.
I adore Christian Bale, so what role is he both age-appropriate and voice-appropriate to play? I'd suggest Javert, too, if it wasn't already taken. A little old for Enjolras...oh, well, I'll think of something.
If they cast some roles with major names, then maybe they can get away with raiding the various casts for the best of the best to play the rest of the roles.
Fantine was 19 when she had Cosette. Anne Hathaway can't belt, however, which is my main objection.
I don't believe Christy Carlson-Romano is a soprano. Her high notes are pretty weak, from what I've heard of them. She sang a C6 once in Kim Possible, but it wasn't great.
Jimmy, what are you doing here in the middle of the night? It's almost 9 PM!
"Valjean- Hugh Jackman Javert- Kevin Kline Fantine- Catherine Zeta-Jones Cosette- ?? Marius- Ben Barnes Eponine- Lea Michele Enjolras- ?? Thenardier- Geoffrey Rush or Nathan Lane Mme. Thenardier- ?? "
What about Matthew Morrison as Enjolras?? I like the idea of Ewan McGregor and Anne Hathaway involved..and while we are adding Matt Morrison and Lea Michele, why not add the guy that plays Finn from Glee as well as Marius or one of the students..maybe Enjolras.. Updated On: 10/23/09 at 12:40 AM
I nominate Bryce Dallas Howard for Cosette. I think she's a soprano and I've wanted to hear more from her since I first heard the Tale of Two Cities demo. She plays the seamstress on the very last track.