Monday, March 25, 2013

Devil Final #10

The film rights for this book were purchased in 2007 by Leonardo DiCaprio.  If you were the casting director, who should be cast as Burnham and Holmes (and pick 2 other major characters)?  Then, explain why these actors/actresses should play that particular character.

14 comments:

  1. Heath Ledger as H. H. Holmes Pretending that he is still alive, I believe that Ledger would play an excellent role as Holmes. His acting in The Dark Knight proved him capable of immense evil, but also the Ledger seen in other films is one of charm. These two combinations would make him perfect for the role. However, this choice is also ironic, because the evil that embodied him in his role as the joker is what ultimately drove him to suicide.
    Nicholas Cage as Daniel Burnham As a National Treasure lover, I couldn’t help but make Cage the famous American architect. Cage is mature, studious, and captures the aurora needed to fulfill Burnham’s shoes. His experience as a historian would help him capture the role even better.
    Christopher Meloni as Frank Geyer Okay, this choice was based off of my love for Law and Order SVU. While reading the chapters in which Geyer searched for the Pitezel children, I couldn’t help but to connect it to many SVU episodes. Since I am already used to his character, I have no doubt that he could portray the same passion towards finding the children that Detective Geyer once had.
    Gary Busey as Patrick Eugene Prendergast Gary Busey’s sanity is in question as it is, and I have no hard time believing that he could relate well with Prendergast’s mind. Busey is older, intelligent, but also a little looney, and as a person is very similar to this character. I would love to see him take on the role and show his true insane side.

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    1. There is no doubt in my mind that Nicholas Cage would make a perfect Daniel Burnham as would Heath Ledger make a more than adequate H.H. Holmes. I know how much you love Law and Order: SVU so it is to know suprise for me that Christopher Meloni was your first choice for Detective Geyer. But being the NCIS fan I am, I would have to say that Mark Harmon would be just as good of a choice. As for Prendergast what do you think of Josh Holloway? I belive his experience on Lost would make him a good candidate to play the insanity that is Patrick Eugene Prenfergast.

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  3. Leonardo DiCaprio has already released that he will be playing Holmes in the upcoming movie version of Devil in the White City. Even if he hadn't casted himself, I still would have voted for him to play Holmes. Holmes character could surely be a very difficult role to play. He is a very complex character with two very different sides to his personality. The actor would have to portray a man who is very calculated, clever, and disturbed, but still be able to show how charming, charismatic, and magnetic he could be. The actor would need to have a very deep understanding of Holmes to be able to play him accurately. I think that DiCaprio would be perfect for this role, especially after seeing him in Shutter Island. DiCaprio would be able to be creepy, but still be charming with the ladies to make Holmes really come to life.
    As for Burnham, I think John Goodman would fit the role perfectly. Goodman reminds me of how I imagined Burnham as I was reading. To me, he seems like an actor who would be able to not only fulfill the physical characteristic but also show how caring and intelligent Burnham was. Burnham is a determined and professional man, which is exactly how I think Goodman would portray him.
    I would choose Daniel Day-Lewis to play Olmstead. Personally, I think Olmstead is a very important character to the story. He provides a lot of interest to Burnham's story line. Day-Lewis looks exactly like I would have pictured Olmstead. Also, after seeing "Lincoln" I could see him playing cranky little Olmstead with ease. Day-Lewis is an amazingly talented actor who would do Olmstead's character a lot of justice.
    Lastly, I think that Heath Ledger could have played Prendergast. Prendergast's character wouldn't probably get a lot of screen time, so the actor would have to establish his deteriorating mental state with very little dialogue. I think Ledger would do a great job capturing Prendergast's insanity, especially after playing the Joker.

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    1. I would have never thought about casting Heath Ledger as Prendergast, but I think it would be an amazing roll. I loved the scene in the Dark Knight Rises where the Joker is clapping for Gordon being promoted to commissioner. In a way I thought of Prendergast a victim of his insanity Heath Ledger would have done an incredible roll of capturing that.

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  4. I would actually cast Johnny Depp for the part of Holmes. Taking away from all the movies Johnny Depp has done, he is defiantly good at being evil. Holmes is also a good looking, charming guy and I also believe Johnny Depp can be too. To play Burnham, I would pick Tom Hanks. Hanks's movies in the past have been really great. His acting ability is very well rounded and he brings to all his characters a sense of joy with a serious undertone.
    To Play Prendergast, I also believe it should be Heath Ledger (if he was alive of course). He did an amazing job as the joker in the Dark Knight. I never knew he could do that character so well because I always saw him as his charcter in the Knight's Tale. His part as Prendergast would accent the movie really well. I think it would alos be interesting to see Leonardo DiCaprio, himself, be the character of Frank Geyer. Frank is a very smart man that has a passion to bring justice to the table and convict Holmes with the murders of the three children, DiCaprio has played countless movies with him being a character that is smart and determined to get things done. I'm not sure if the movie Titanic relates but defiantly the movie Inception.

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  5. Although Leonardo DiCaprio bought the rights and will obviously cast himself, I chose different actors for this cast. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE Leonardo DiCaprio. It’s just too hard of a decision for me to decide if he should play Burnham or Holmes, because he’s such a versatile actor that he would do both very well. For Holmes, I chose Johnny Depp. I think he’s got that dark, creepy look to him that production crews bring out very well. He’s also got experience playing the ‘villain’, such as captain Jack Sparrow in the Pirates movies. Depp also has that sparkle in his eye that I pictured Holmes having while he murdered people. I think he could get very into the whole psychopath thing very well. I chose Patrick Dempsey for Burnham. After seeing him in Grey’s Anatomy, I think he portrays professional businessmen extremely well. He makes the audience believe he is an expert in whatever field his character in. I have also seen him make his characters very devoted and passionate about what they’re doing, and that’s exactly what the actor to play Burnham needs to do. For Olmstead, I would choose the one and only Robin Williams. Although he’s traditionally does comedies, I think a movie like this would be good for him. He does have very serious moments in almost all of his movies, like Jumanji and Mrs. Doubtfire. I think he could also add a bit of humor to Olmstead’s cranky character. I think the movie needs a bit of humor on the architecture side to keep from getting boring. For Prendergast, I would pick David Tennant. For those of you who just went “Who the heck is that?” He plays Barty Crouch Jr. In the Harry Potter movies. This is the only movie I’ve seen of his, but I think he would play Prendergast perfectly. He has a crazy look in his eye and is very desperate in the HP movie, which Prendergast needs. He was the person I kept picturing while reading the book. Speaking of people I was picturing, I know we only had to do 4 characters, but I would have to pick David Arquette for Detective Geyer, because I kept picturing Dewey from the Scream movies the whole time!

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    1. I definitely agree on Johnny Depp. He has played such a wide variety of characters that he could totally pull this one off. He can be very charming yet very creepy when he wants to be. For Olmstead I'm not sure about Robin Williams only because like you said, he mostly does comedies. I've seen a few episodes of Grey's Anatomy and Dempsey would do great at Burnham will how well he is at playing someone of high intelligence.

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    2. I had never considered Depp before until I read these posts! But, I totally agree that he has that twinkle in his eye that almost makes him likable, so I think he would portray that portion of Holmes' character very well!

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  6. Like Vanessa has already mentioned, Leonardo DiCaprio would make an excellent choice for Holmes. He seems to be a smart man and with movies like Titanic and Inception and a Golden Globe Best Actor award he is surely a great actor. To me, especially after watching the movie Titanic, he is able to bring about the charm and elegance Holmes did while flirting with younger women. There's also the themes of DiCaprio's other movies that lead me to believe he would be able to tap into the creepy murderous persona that is the other side of Holmes.
    For the role of Burnham I would have to pick George Clooney. Clooney has demonstrated focus and determination through his acting in movies and his humanitarian efforts. The chosen actor for Burnham trying to get the Columbian Exposition ready in time would need these characteristics. From what I've heard from Clooney's efforts as an actor and humanitarian, he is able to connect with people and appear confident but not above others. These characteristics would also be required for the Burnham actor, especially during meetings with other people while preparing for the fair.
    For the role of Mayor Carter Harrison I would pick Tom Hanks. Harrison would need to be played by a person who can appear as a normal person - but with power - who can be loved by many. After watching Incredibly Loud and Extremely Close, I don't doubt at all that Hanks would be able to excel at being Harrison.
    I would choose Christian Bale as Detective Geyer. Although I only know Bale for the Batman movies, he has the appearance of a detective, in my mind at least. As Batman, Bale can successfully portray a man who captures public interest in his activities, hunts for clues while maintaining a constant emotion, and working on and off with people to solve mysteries. The way Geyer is portrayed in the book, Geyer would also share these traits, and so it'd make sense to cast Bale as Geyer.

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  7. I would cast Leonardo DiCaprio himself as H.H. Holmes because
    I believe he would do such a good job in this role. His past experience in Django Unchained proved that he can contrast between good and evil, he can keep his cool and still be able to be a bad guy. He is very good with imitating sporadic mood swings, which would be required in such a role. I would cast Tom Cruise as Burnham. Tom Cruise has always been able to stay serious when the role requires, but seem to be able to enjoy himself. In Knight and Day he was able to stay cool and issue orders in timely manner. Burnham would be able to do this and more. In the book, it seemed like Burnham stayed collected the entire time (sans when root died but hey, it was his best friend) which Tom Cruise would excel at. For Olmsted, I would cast Bill Murray. Just looking at the man and you can tell he looks a little unstable. Olmsted knew what needed to get done and how to do it. Bill Murray is a great actor and would be able to provide great contrast to the serious tone to this somber story. The way he looks also seems to fit the part (Exhibit A:http://images.starpulse.com/pictures/2013/01/14/previews/Bill%20Murray-AES-085613.jpg) plus his ability to improvise has always impressed me. For Ferris, I would choose Ashton Kutcher. I always envisioned Ferris as a young, ambitious, and impulsive character. Ashton Kutcher seems to fit this role. The main draw back of Ferris is how young he is. Even though Ashton's earlier work was comedy, his later work is what has sold it for me. I love how well Ashton is able to portray his character's emotions. The youthful look he bring to Ferris would be another reason to cast him.

    On a side note, any narration's done would be done by Morgan Freeman because of his amazing voice.

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  8. I would be incredibly excited to choose the cast for The Devil in the White City if I had the opportunity! For one, I know that DiCaprio would do an outstanding job portraying Holmes, but if it was my choice, I would for sure choose Heath Ledger. I know that Ledger has passed away, but this is hypothetical. In his role as the Joker in The Dark Knight, he proved that he had an impressive knack for portraying sadistic and ingenious behavior, something essential to portraying Holmes. The role that most impressed me, however, was his portrayal of Ennis Del Mar in Brokeback Mountain. His breakdown throughout the film was incredible. He went from being loving and sweet with his lover Jack to abusing his wife and also Jack as he sunk further and further into self hatred. While this isn't exactly what Holmes went through, Ledger proved in Brokeback Mountain that he could change his mood rapidly, which is incredibly important, as Holmes switches between a lover and a killer sporadically throughout the novel. Ledger also has that edge to his persona that would make some people wary, but he is handsome enough that it would be believable that he could so easily charm young ladies. For Burnham, I would choose Alec Baldwin. I generally have a soft spot for Alec Baldwin, but besides that, he is very convincing in commanding roles. For instance, in his famous scene from The Art of Selling, in which he asserts dominance and authority over a group of amateur sellers, he proves to be very intimidating and persuasive. He is constantly in these roles from his 80s performance in Talk Radio to his more recent performance in The Departed. I also just love Alec Baldwin. For Olmstead, I would choose Ryan Gossling, because I have seen him in various neurotic roles. He doesn't have the leading man flair of George Clooney, but a more vulnerable, regular guy style. I think it could be believable that he would be so interested in flowers. For Emeline I would choose Reese Witherspoon, because I feel like she has this natural small town girl persona, which would work well for niave Emeline.

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    1. Hannah,
      I really love the characters you choose. I think that Alec Baldwin is soo on point for Burnham. Alec has the stature and the personality for an assertive, strong willed leader. As for your thoughts about Reese Witherspoon, I'm not sure that I agree. I just remember Reese Witherspoon in How Do You Know and in that movie she was a strong independent girl, who was not naive. Rather she knew that the guy she thought she loved was a fraud, unlike Emeline. I also would like to suggest a switch up for Ryan Gosling. Have you considered Matthew McConaughey as Olmstead? He is a bit more submissive, can be a very good narcotic and a little bit older so I think it fits better to Olmstead's persona.
      All in all Hannah you made some really great connections!

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  9. Holmes - Johnny Depp. Why? Johnny Depp has the ability to totally take on the character of anyone he is supposed to play, and quite frankly he plays the psychopath perfectly. Depp also has played characters who have a crazy ability to get people to do whatever he wants them to do, so he wont have to struggle to get that trait across to an audience who may not have read the book.

    Burnham - Hugh Jackman. Why? Jackman played Jean Val Jean in Les Mis, and I thought he was very convincing at being worried, but composed at the same time. Burnham always has something to worry about, but he is running the show and he cannot be frazzled. I think Jackman has the experience to properly portray Burnham.

    Geyer - Robert Downey Jr. Why? The whole time I was reading the book I was picturing him as Geyer. Granted I had just watched Sherlock Holmes, so its possible that he was the first detective type that came to my head. But thinking about it, Robert Downey Jr. plays the detective type well because he can be calm and patient easily.

    Myrna Z. Belknap - Kate Hudson. Why? Though Kate Hudson often plays a more independent female, she is really good at taking on a character. She also fits Balknap's physical description and therefore would have to worry about looking the part, but could focus more on playing the manipulated.

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