My Fair Lady - remake (+ more)- Page 3

[dayao]

Posted: 8/18/09 at 4:45pm

If you actually did read most of my posts, I always use "in my opinion" or imply this is so. Most on this board have the intelligence to perceive this rather than resort to insulting fellow board members. If you are yawning again that is what people do when they get back from disrupting a town meeting which I suspect is your calling in life based on your comments here.

I agree that Laura Michelle Kelly would be great, but also agree that it probably won't happen.

[AngusN]

Posted: 8/18/09 at 5:18pm

I too would love to see Maggie Smith as Mrs Higgins.
I'd also love to see Stephen Fry as Pickering. He would be perfect for it. And even better if Hugh Laurie was Higgins.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 8/18/09 at 5:21pm

Laura Mitchell Kelly? Kelli O'Hara? Liza O'Hare? Seriously? The producers would make more profit by throwing money in a trash can than they would if they cast any of those people as Eliza in a MY FAIR LADY movie.
They need a name, that is, someone who the public knows, and someone with a following. So your names are Keira Knightley, Jessica Biel, Natalie Portman, Anne Hathaway, Megan Fox, Emily Blunt, Kate Hudson, or even Leighton Meester. The movie needs to sell both domestically and internationally. It's a musical in the very traditional sense based on a Shaw play, it's already a hard sell as it is, why would the producers cast a nobody as the main role?
Expect:
Keira Knightley or Anne Hathaway as Eliza, Hugh Grant, Daniel-Day Lewis, George Clooney or Colin Firth as Higgins, Michael Cane as Mr.Doolittle, Emma Thompsom, Julie Andrews or Maggie Smith as Mrs.HIggins, and James Marsden or Hugh Dancy as Freddy. These are names, names sell.

[AngusN]

Posted: 8/18/09 at 5:24pm

Michael Cane as Doolittle? That would never work in a million years. Name or no name. There are plenty of other names to play his part.

[Scripps2]

Posted: 8/18/09 at 5:28pm

Dayoa: thank you for your posts. I always find you to be knowledgeable, objective and insightful. For me they come too infrequently as I find them to be amongst the best on this board.

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 8/18/09 at 5:28pm

Hugh Laurie isn't enough of a name now?

[monestere]

Posted: 8/18/09 at 5:50pm

Dayao, Muhlethaler etc: Lighten up! No thread is worth trading insults over. Remember what Hitch told Ingrid: "It's only a movie".

Anyway, I've read that Keira Knightley is a done deal if this project ever actually happens. It's better to speculate on the supporting cast.
Here are my choices:
Colonel Pickering: Ian McKellen
Freddy Eynsford-Hill: Stuart Townshend
Alfred Doolittle" Geoffrey Hughes (a better fit for this role could not be found than this wonderful British actor who played the similarly inclined "Onslow" on the series, "Keeping Up Appearances")
Mrs. Pierce: Julia MacKenzie one musical theatre's treasures)
Mrs. Higgins: Julie Andrews (not only for sentiment, she would be great in the role)
Zoltan Karpathy: Karl Urban

Updated On: 8/18/09 at 05:50 PM

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 8/18/09 at 5:58pm

I was just throwing examples. Basically, no theater star that's not a film name is going to star in this movie.
SporkGodess, like I said, I don't think Laurie's HOUSE schedule would allow him the chance to be in this film.

[StephenSondheimWHOO]

Posted: 8/18/09 at 6:00pm

Anne Hathaway is one of my favorite actors, but she does NOT have the voice, nor is she right for Eliza.
Frankly, I can't think of any big name who could do the role justice vocally.

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 8/18/09 at 6:03pm

StephenSondheimWHOO: I completely agree.

ray: Ahh, I see. Too bad. :/

[Taryn]

Posted: 8/18/09 at 6:20pm

porkGodess, like I said, I don't think Laurie's HOUSE schedule would allow him the chance to be in this film.

I don't know, there have been lots of other TV stars who have filmed movies in between seasons.

[degrassifan]

Posted: 8/18/09 at 9:49pm

^^^Yeah, but this is a musical. There's pre-recording, learning choreography, and the fact they want film on-location, and that always comes with its problems.

I know that Higgins doesn't dance, but who knows? It might be different.

Now that I think about it, I wonder how different it's going to be from the stage play/original movie. Maybe it might have a different ending? I also wonder if they'll cut any songs. I think it'd be pretty cool if they added "Say a Prayer For Me Tonight" before Eliza goes to the ball. Wasn't there another song called "Come to the Ball" (sung by Higgins) that was cut from the stage production? There was also a dream ballet sequence involving Eliza.

[H.Higgins]

Posted: 8/18/09 at 10:36pm

I'm not going to let myself get any hopes up about the casting of Eliza and Higgins, but the one thing I'm stuck on:

Dolittle HAS to be played by Bill Nighy. It just HAS to happen!

[madbrian]

Posted: 8/18/09 at 10:41pm

Ben Kingsley as Pickering?

[boyfromoz2]

Posted: 8/19/09 at 2:23am

How on Earth are they going to film it on location?

Covent Garden is one of the most popular public squares in the world, and would take extensive set dressing to be transported back to 1910. There is no way London City Council will close off the square for the required time.

Maybe they'll use Russell Square for Wimpole Street, but sadly the majority of the film will probably end up being filmed at Pinewood/Shepperton.

[Plum]

Posted: 8/19/09 at 4:46am

Anyway, I've read that Keira Knightley is a done deal if this project ever actually happens. It's better to speculate on the supporting cast.

Not true, surprisingly. Knightley herself said that she covets the role but hasn't actually gotten it yet. I think there are worse choices, but heavens do I wish we could find someone with a better voice. If our theoretical movie refuses to cast someone less-known as Eliza, I'm not above hoping for dubbing. What can I say? I'm a traditionalist that way. :P

(And BTW, why not cast a newcomer as Eliza? If the producers had some guts they'd try to discover the next starlet-in-the-making - who also happens to have a good voice - and cast her.)

As for Hugh Laurie - he can film in his House hiatus, and has recently with Street Kings. But to be fair, that was a supporting role filmed in LA. On the other hand, he understandably likes to go to England on his breaks, so there's that. And one of his best friends is writing the screenplay and wants him for the part.

I guess just think he'd be so completely ideal for Higgins I'm willing to grasp at straws a bit. I think gets about three months off in the summer, plus a week or two for Christmas that can be used for pickups. Is that a plausible time frame?

[boyfromoz2]

Posted: 8/19/09 at 10:28am

What is so wrong with casting in a similar way to the Hairspray movie? An unknown lead (preferrably Laura Michelle Kelly), surrounded by stars in the supporting parts (Hugh Laurie, Richard Griffiths, Julie Andrews, Judi Dench, Geoffrey Hughes, Ben Barnes etc.)

[AngusN]

Posted: 8/19/09 at 10:50am

I think they got away with it in Hairspray because, apart from the theatre community, the musical wasn't that well known, so no preconceptions were made by the general public. Eliza, however, is the biggest selling point of the film. Plus, the other female supporting roles, with the exception of Mrs Pearce, are just not big enough to attract big names.

"I can't think of any big name who could do the role justice vocally." How many of the top actress' vocal skills are you familiar with? We know very little about most actress' singing abilities.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 8/19/09 at 12:59pm

What people are also not getting is that the target audience for HAIRSPRAY is not the target audience for MY FAIR LADY at all. Casting a new-comer as Eliza--especially as they have clearly pursued a number of A-listers who are actually interested in playing the role--is not what they are trying to do, nor what they should do, if they expect this movie to make money at all.

[jimmycurry01]

Posted: 8/19/09 at 5:09pm

Dayao, none of these actresses have to be professional singers. They just have to be good enough to hit the note one time in a studio. This is a movie, not a live performance being done eight times a week, some of these actresses are certainly good enough to pull off the role on screen, and some of the mentioned actresses have been professionally trained. Just because you haven't seen any of them on Broadway (yet) doesn't mean they can't play the role, and do it well.
That being said, I think Anne is the best choice. She does have the training and the voice, but she is already under contract to do the Judy Garland musical both on screen and stage. Knightley isn't a bad choice and I think she could do a fine job. At the end of the day, a name actress will be important to make this work. The actress playing Eliza is what people will want to see, not the movie, people can put in their DVD for that.

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 8/19/09 at 7:53pm

They can hit the notes, but can they hit them well? I know a lot of people here fawn over Anne Hathaway's singing, but I don't think she's that good.

I know they're going to cast a bad or mediocre singer in the role, but I'm still going to hold them to a higher standard.

[ILOHTFAHA (Aida Man)]

Posted: 1/19/10 at 6:51pm

Professor Higgins: Daniel Day-Lewis
Eliza Doolittle: Emily Blunt
Alfred P. Doolittle: Bill Nighy
Pickering: James Cromwell
Mrs. Pearce: Mariam Margoyles
Freddie: James Marsden
Mrs. Higgins: Julie Andrews (if she'll do it.)

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 1/19/10 at 7:28pm

Good riddance to Keira Knightley who apparently is no longer involved. Someone page Carey Mulligan's people, please, the girl would be perfection as Eliza.

[caitlinette]

Posted: 2/6/10 at 6:04pm

^ Apparently that may come true about Carey:

http://breakingnews.iol.ie/entertainment/mulligan-to-play-eliza-in-my-fair-lady-444932.html

I'm sorry, but I'm so glad Keira isn't involved anymore!

[Plum]

Posted: 2/6/10 at 6:21pm

Yay Carey Mulligan! Even if she can sing no better than Knightley can, I find Mulligan a lot more charming and a much more able actress.