Follies Movie Dream Cast- Page 4
Follies Movie Dream Cast
#75Follies Movie Dream Cast
Posted: 8/7/14 at 9:34pmI swear to god, if they cast these movie "stars" in this film, it will flop more than a pancake. If you're going to do Follies, you might as well do it right - it'll never be a hit, regardless of who stars.
"Sticks and stones, sister. Here, have a Valium." - Patti LuPone, a Memoir
#76Follies Movie Dream Cast
Posted: 8/7/14 at 9:47pm
I think it is almost impossible to cast with movie stars.
These days, 50 year old actresses still try to project a youngish image.
The ones would would be willing to do it are too old at this point.
Think about it. What 50 year old film actresses around these days are like Dotty Collins and Alexis Smith? They're all still glamour pusses who wouldn't be interested in playing the mature Phyllis or the frumpy Sally. And forget about Carlotta. You'd have to rewrite it to make them all older, but that wouldn't work either because usually by 60 most people have either found contentment or gotten divorced.
I think it's very hard to cast even on stage these days. Dorothy Collins, at her age, was absolutely party a product of her time. To use the old cliche, they don't make 'em like her anymore. They really don't.
henrikegerman
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/29/05
#77Follies Movie Dream Cast
Posted: 8/7/14 at 10:17pm
"I swear to god, if they cast these movie "stars" in this film, it will flop more than a pancake. If you're going to do Follies, you might as well do it right - it'll never be a hit, regardless of who stars."
Perhaps people said the same thing when they were casting movie stars Alexis Smith and Yvonne de Carlo in the original Broadway cast.
Updated On: 8/7/14 at 10:17 PM
#78Follies Movie Dream Cast
Posted: 8/7/14 at 10:25pmIs Meryl Streep really too old to play a lead in the film? She can still vaguely pass.
"You can't overrate Bernadette Peters. She is such a genius. There's a moment in "Too Many Mornings" and Bernadette doing 'I wore green the last time' - It's a voice that is just already given up - it is so sorrowful. Tragic. You can see from that moment the show is going to be headed into such dark territory and it hinges on this tiny throwaway moment of the voice." - Ben Brantley (2022)
"Bernadette's whole, stunning performance [as Rose in Gypsy] galvanized the actors capable of letting loose with her. Bernadette's Rose did take its rightful place, but too late, and unseen by too many who should have seen it" Arthur Laurents (2009)
"Sondheim's own favorite star performances? [Bernadette] Peters in ''Sunday in the Park,'' Lansbury in ''Sweeney Todd'' and ''obviously, Ethel was thrilling in 'Gypsy.'' Nytimes, 2000
Updated On: 8/7/14 at 10:25 PM
#79Follies Movie Dream Cast
Posted: 8/7/14 at 10:27pmHenrik, as much as I love the OBC and the magic they made, I wouldn't call the original production a "hit". It didn't flop, but it only ran for about 14 months, and lost money. Besides, DeCarlo was trained in opera, and Smith had toured rather successfully prior to Follies.
"Sticks and stones, sister. Here, have a Valium." - Patti LuPone, a Memoir
#80Follies Movie Dream Cast
Posted: 8/7/14 at 10:37pm
Follies, much like Company, is a play about age. It is also a play about the conceptions of and lifestyles that came with a certain age- Company with entering middle age in 1969-1970 at 35, and Follies with realizing that you are old at 50 and elderly at 60 in the 1970s, especially in the performing arts scene of the 1970s.
Case in point: Angela Lansbury. How long has Dame Angela been playing "the older woman?" She's written that way in Anyone Can Whistle, in the fairly early 1960s.
#81Follies Movie Dream Cast
Posted: 8/7/14 at 10:40pm
What 50 year old film actresses around these days are like Dotty Collins and Alexis Smith?
Who gave you permission to call her "Dotty"?
The woman's name was DOROTHY.
henrikegerman
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/29/05
#82Follies Movie Dream Cast
Posted: 8/7/14 at 10:54pm
"Henrik, as much as I love the OBC and the magic they made, I wouldn't call the original production a "hit"."
I wouldn't either Sally.
I was responding to your suggestion that the movie wasn't going to be a hit anyway so they should do it right and make some magic and in order to do that they shouldn't cast movie stars. And my point was that many people think the original cast achieved all of those things precisely by casting, among others, movie stars including in the lead role which won the tony and a major featured role, both of which are widely considered by many to be definitive portrayals. Neither Smith nor De Carlo were Broadway stars, they were Hollywood names. Similarly, Collins was also I believe at the time known much more as a tv personality and recording star than as a stage actress.
I think Brooke Shields would be an interesting Phyllis because she, like Smith, is an immediately recognizable and iconic glamor girl. She may not sell a whole lot of tickets but she's very right for this role. Her being extremely famous won't hurt. And she could even be good.
Updated On: 8/7/14 at 10:54 PM
#83Follies Movie Dream Cast
Posted: 8/7/14 at 11:21pm
I agree, Henrik.
However, IF this movie ever gets made, they are going to try to get bona fide "stars". As great as DeCarlo and Smith were, they had mostly starred in B-Movies, and while they were recognizable, they were not as famous as, say, Elizabeth Taylor.
With the dearth of film musicals today compared to the 50s, producers are going to want a big, box-office draw. This show is exceedingly hard to cast we with the acting and vocal demands, and, in the past, the "stars" have not given me faith for a film of Follies (Sweeney, Les Miserables). And trust me, "smaller" names such as Brooke Shields or Toni Collette are never going to cross their mind, as perfect as they may be.
They would rather have a lack-luster, washed down hit, than a risky film of substance.
"Sticks and stones, sister. Here, have a Valium." - Patti LuPone, a Memoir
#84Follies Movie Dream Cast
Posted: 8/7/14 at 11:22pmWell I still think Streisand would make an amazing Young Phyllis.
#85Follies Movie Dream Cast
Posted: 8/7/14 at 11:37pmI wonder what the ghosts would be like if Barbra directed it.
Jarethan
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/10/11
#87Follies Movie Dream Cast
Posted: 8/7/14 at 11:50pm
Why do people waste their time on this topic...I remember doing the same thing in the mid 70s (should Doris Day be Sally or Debbie Reynolds? How about Lena Horne for Carlotta?
I would love for this to happen -- the original production of Follies is my all-time favorite production, period -- but, after 40 years, I still don't see anything to suggest it is any closer to happening.
PS-- I vote for Kevin Kline as Ben Stone
#88Follies Movie Dream Cast
Posted: 8/7/14 at 11:52pmWhy do people waste their time on this topic? I'm guessing for the same reason you just wasted your time responding to this topic.
The Other One
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/1/08
#89Follies Movie Dream Cast
Posted: 8/7/14 at 11:59pmI have never heard her sing or seen her dance, but Sharon Stone would be a great Phyllis if she could pull off "Lucy and Jesse." Her combination of ice and heat would be perfect.
#90Follies Movie Dream Cast
Posted: 8/8/14 at 12:00amSharon Stone is such a fantastic actress, it's a shame she's no longer a bankable "star" like she used to be.
#91Follies Movie Dream Cast
Posted: 8/8/14 at 12:35amAm I going insane or did Sharon Stone once say she was making an album? I think it was around Basic Instinct 2. I'm guessing she can sing then...or maybe the album was so bad it was never released. I think she'd be a killer Phyllis.
Gothampc
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/20/03
#92Follies Movie Dream Cast
Posted: 8/8/14 at 12:46am
"or maybe the album was so bad it was never released."
I envision some evil record engineers holding it hostage. Poor Sharon is doing everything she can to scrape together the money to pay the bill and let the world hear her music.
If anyone ever tells you that you put too much Parmesan cheese on your pasta, stop talking to them. You don't need that kind of negativity in your life.
The Other One
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/1/08
#93Follies Movie Dream Cast
Posted: 8/8/14 at 7:36am
"Sharon Stone is such a fantastic actress, it's a shame she's no longer a bankable "star" like she used to be."
True, but in an ensemble film like "Follies" she would not have to singlehandedly carry the box office. I think Hugh Laurie as Ben (Jackman would be better box office, but I don't think he'd want to do a musical he wasn't the center of), with Aaron Tveit as young Ben, Toni Colette as Sally (with Anna Kendrick as young Sally) and Norbert Leo Butz as Buddy (with Jeremy Jordan as his younger self) would be great casting. Add Lupone as Carlotta and Norm Lewis as Roscoe and we have a cast to get us off the ground. Richard Gere would be a classy Dmitri Weissman, too. Andrea Martin would be fun as Hattie Walker. Shirley Jones and Kelli O'Hara would be perfect as Heidi. Jason Alexander and Megan Mullally would work as The Whitmans. I'd love to see Darlene Love as Stella. Solange? Well, there you have me. A French singer/actress in her 50s or 60s? I'm sure there is someone but I'm not sure who. Except for Stone, my cast is comprised of people who have theatrical roots. Stone just has the perfect persona for Phyllis, though. Again, the role might be out of her reach musically, but it would be worth the effort for her and the film if the prospect were to be explored.
#94Follies Movie Dream Cast
Posted: 8/8/14 at 8:00am
Why do people waste their time on this topic
Because they enjoy it.
Why do you waste time being an asShole?
#95Follies Movie Dream Cast
Posted: 8/8/14 at 8:10amAnyone know if Laura Linney can sing? She seems like she'd be perfect for Sally, and she's just the right age.
"It does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are 20 gods or no god. It neither picks my pocket, nor breaks my leg."
-- Thomas Jefferson
Phyllis Rogers Stone
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/16/07
#96Follies Movie Dream Cast
Posted: 8/8/14 at 8:33amI wanted to have this discussion in the mid 70s but no one would have it with me because I was still wearing diapers.
#97Follies Movie Dream Cast
Posted: 8/8/14 at 8:59amI've always said I'm pro-dubbing for movie musicals. I think it's silly to not do it since there is such a limited amount of big movie stars who have the vocal ability to pull off a musical. If they ever did do this film and would dub the singing voice, I really think Joan Allen as Phyllis would be astounding.
#98Follies Movie Dream Cast
Posted: 8/8/14 at 9:56amHow about Patricia Clarkson as Phyllis and Julianne Moore as Sally??
