Movie Musical Sunset Blvd Cast

[tckrjam]

Posted: 11/28/12 at 9:15am

Liza Minnelli.....never, young people wouldn't go, they don't know her. She tends to overact. Barbra or Glenn is a must. For Joe, Justin Timberlake (bring in young people) He can sing, dance and act. Just straighten those curls. He'd look great in the coat Norma buys him. It may be a problem with Barbra with close up. The cross eye problem would be distracting.

Norma-Glenn Close
Joe- Justin Timberlake
Director -Baz Luhrman

Updated On: 11/28/12 at 09:15 AM

[ErikJ972]

Posted: 11/28/12 at 10:00am

They should cast Liza and get David Lynch as director. That would get me in the theater opening night.

[Jon]

Posted: 11/28/12 at 10:13pm

I really wish they'd install that one month waiting period before new members can start threads.

[Jay Lerner-Z]

Posted: 11/29/12 at 2:07am

I am young. I know who Liza is. I don't know why you imagine Barbra would be any more of a draw with the kidz, though.

Edit - another minute of my life I won't get back. Never mind.

Updated On: 11/29/12 at 02:07 AM

[tazber]

Posted: 11/29/12 at 5:57am

ErikJ972, David Lynch is inspired!

I'm assuming you were being sarcastic, but can you imagine?

[Unknown User]

Posted: 11/29/12 at 7:57am

Erik,

I vote 6 months, at least.

[madbrian]

Posted: 11/29/12 at 8:53am

Norma - Michelle Pfeiffer
Joe - Matt Bomer

[ErikJ972]

Posted: 11/29/12 at 9:17am

Taz...I know it would never happen but I wasn't being sarcastic. I think Sunset Blvd is the perfect film musical for Lynch to direct. And I remember him saying he wanted to direct a musical around the time Muholland Drive came out.
He would never get the rights or the funding I'm sure. Too bad I didn't win the Powerball. I would have produced it myself :)

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 11/29/12 at 11:39am

Norma-Glenn Close
Joe- Justin Timberlake
Director -Baz Luhrman


I think that is actually a great idea, I say Anne Hathaway for Betty, and we got a hit!

This would be great.

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 11/29/12 at 11:40am

FYI, just because a young BWW reader knows who Liza is, it doesn't mean most young boys do.

[ErikJ972]

Posted: 11/29/12 at 12:46pm

Most young boys probably don't know who Glenn Close is either. But would Sunset Blvd be aiming for the young boy demographic? I don't think so.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 11/29/12 at 2:09pm

I agree that Norma should be as old as possible. It will add real gravitas to the story that when she was at her peak in the silent films she was already pushing fifty.

[NoName3]

Posted: 11/29/12 at 5:09pm

Gloria Swanson was 50 or 51 when the original film was released. She was age correct. The intention was that she was young at the height of her silent career.

Of course the musical is a different beast. Is Norma's age stated or hinted at in the show? I didn't think Glenn Close was too old for South Pacific. Making her older added A Time of the Cuckoo element that wasn't in the original but played to me like a valid take on the material but certainly wasn't what was intended in the original.

Updated On: 11/29/12 at 05:09 PM

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 11/29/12 at 5:21pm

Right, but neither Glenn Close or Barbara Streisand are 50 or 51 now. Neither of them look 50 or 51 now, despite how much scary plastic surgery Glenn Close has had, so a 60 or 70 something Norma means she was in in her 40s or 50s when she retired.

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 11/29/12 at 5:24pm

"Is Norma's age stated or hinted at in the show?"

Norma is still meant to be around the age of 50 in the musical.

Joe: Nothing wrong's with being 50, unless you're acting 20

Max: When we met she was a child, barely sixteen

DeMille: If you could have seen her at seventeen

Placing Norma's age at anything more than 55 fulfills Phyllis's statement of Norma being at her peak in her 50s, which of course doesn't make sense (remember she'd only been out of the public eye for about 20 years).

[NoName3]

Posted: 11/29/12 at 5:26pm

I'd certainly be pleased to have Close cast despite any misgivings about her age.

And there were so many other things wrong with the TV SP that the age issue was pretty low on the list of issues I had with it.


Updated On: 11/29/12 at 05:26 PM

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 11/29/12 at 5:46pm

I like madbrian's Pfeiffer/Bomer combo.

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 11/29/12 at 5:57pm

I concur, Phyllis.

I've also wanted Pfeiffer and James Marsden since Hairspray came out.

I know the inclination is to go for names, but I think that they should follow in the mold of the original movie and cast an unknown for Betty (Nancy Olson, the original Betty, had only two roles before Sunset and one of those was uncredited). I think Norma really needs to be the only female mega-star in the cast to keep that balance. Even though she and Betty share very little screen time it can throw the audience's focus if they are seeing a well established actress as Betty, somebody that they come in already knowing and rooting for.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 11/29/12 at 6:08pm

Ooh, Marsden is a good suggestion, too!

[Brave Sir Robin2]

Posted: 11/29/12 at 6:25pm

Michelle Pfeiffer is a brilliant idea, as would be Susan Sarandon if she could sing it. I think, if Meryl is so keen on doing a movie musical, she should do this over INTO THE WOODS. I also think Amy Adams would be a great, if not too conventional, Betty. Rachel McAdams and Emma Stone would be my other choices. I like Matt Bomer for Joe, but for some reason I feel like this would be an interesting film for someone trying to break out of a clean-cut mold and be seen as more mature, such as Zac Efron. I, however, do not want Justin Timberlake near this. He's talented, but not right for Joe I think.

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 11/29/12 at 6:47pm

I think Amy Adams is getting a bit old for Betty. It doesn't work out too well when the young, wide-eyed, love struck Betty is pushing 40. I'd find it hard to believe even Rachel McAdams when she tells Joe she is 22. And I know she played a lot younger in Mean Girls, but that's easier to do when you are still relatively unknown.

As for Emma Stone, while I think she's brilliant and has a great career ahead of her I have a hard time imagining that with her low, husky speaking voice that she's hiding the type of soprano range required for Betty in her singing voice, if she even has one.

[NoName3]

Posted: 11/29/12 at 11:00pm

AEA, thanks for your reply about Norma's age. I don't have time to give a detailed explanation but frankly I'll be surprised to see this film happen because I don't see anyone who has the combination of acting chops, style, vocal chops and, realistically, box office pull to make it work successfully as a Hollywood film. No one is ideal but Close is one of less than than a handful who I think *might.* I'd be more worried about her vocal state than her age at this point, despite the incredible advancements in digital tweaking and blending a partial dubber. Norma is complex but she's still A Gorgon of A Certain Age and Close could certainly pull that off skillfully but Norma's got to be really able sing. Being able to simply carry a tune won't work, as the film of Evita showed.

As for Pfeiffer or Sarandon. I've heard Pfeiffer sing and even more revealingly, I've heard never heard Sarandon sing. Norma is not written for a lounge singer.

Suggestion: Have Streisand play the part using the speaking voice she used as Dolly or Daisy Gambel. Have the screenplay reveal that's why she didn't make the transition to sound.

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 11/29/12 at 11:55pm

"Norma is complex but she's still A Gorgon of A Certain Age and Close could certainly pull that off skillfully but Norma's got to be really able sing. Being able to simply carry a tune won't work, as the film of Evita showed"

Glenn Close was able to sing the score well enough to win a Tony Award and critical acclaim in the part. While her voice may not have held up in the 15 years since then she definitely has been able to handle the score in the past.

And Streisand is now a good 20 some years past that Certain Age, and keeps moving further and further past that age. By the time this film might possibly get made there would be no way for Max or DeMille to have met Norma in her teens, as that would mean they met her before movies were invented (and this also holds true with a good number of the actresses named, including Close and Streep).

Honestly, with the speed that the mega-musicals have been turned into movies we might as well be talking about actresses like Catherine Zeta Jones. I can easily see her in those stunning costumes that Anthony Powell designed for the stage or the amazing designs that the legendary Edith Head provided for the film. She exudes the type of glamor that the silent film stars prized and paraded for their adoring public.

[NoName3]

Posted: 11/30/12 at 1:45am

Don't disagree with a thing you wrote, perhaps I expressed myself badly or maybe I'm misunderstanding your reply. SB is not even one of my favorite shows but she was glorious (sorry for the cliche) as were those wonderful and spectacular Heald clothes.

Can't stay awake now, g'night.

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 11/30/12 at 10:29am

Shakira as Norma, Juanes or Gael Garcia Bernal as Joe, Antonio Banderas as Max, Selena Gomez as Betty.

Directed by Pedro Almodovar.

In Spanish? Yes! It would be a huge hit.
And the sheer schmaltz lends itself far better to a romance language.

Wait, Shakira is way too young. Get Victoria Abril.





Updated On: 11/30/12 at 10:29 AM