Casting remakes of movie musicals

If you could cast a remake of any movie musical, what would it be and who would you cast?

The only musical movie I can think of at the moment that I desperately want to be remade is Phantom, but I can't even think of who I would want to be cast. All I know is that I would want Sarah Brightman to come back as Carlotta, and maybe Emma Thompson can be Madame Giry.


For Christine, I want a young woman with the ability to bring some sizzle to the character, someone who can both sing AND act the part well. Someone who's not just going to pull an Emmy Rossum and be a lifeless doll floating around with her mouth hanging open the whole time. Someone who does NOT want to put up with the Phantom's ****. Someone who can accurately portray the whirlpool of emotions that Christine goes through. I want a Christine with fire, passion, and personality. Unfortunately, I can't think of any Hollywood actresses that fit my vision, but I think the movie would be fine with an unknown in the role either way.


The Phantom basically needs to be the way he is onstage, good voice and all. (If the guy himself can't sing, no one's going to believe that he taught Paris' newest opera star.) His "attractiveness" comes from the way he moves and his whole mysterious persona, not a half-assed deformity that still leaves him unbearably handsome; I want a Phantom that can still appeal to the audience even through a hideous deformity. Furthermore, he needs to be suave and yet very intimidating, someone that the audience can really believe has the entire Opera House under his thumb. The man that is cast should display the ability to flip a switch in emotions: One moment he's tall and looming, the next he shrinks down very small when unmasked or "threatened" by Christine. However, the main thing is that the man needs to be bat**** insane. He's obsessive, he's controlling, his behavior towards Christine is just plain emotionally abusive. His hypnotic turns with Christine should both draw Christine and the audience in yet also have a somewhat disturbing quality to them, something that makes you think, "Huh, wait. Actually, this is kind of creepy. What's wrong with this guy?"



In short, I don't really have any set actors in mind because I think that, if I were to be casting a film, I'd need to see actors in action actually trying to play the parts during the audition process in order to see how they would work. I haven't seen any Hollywood actors do anything that really strikes me as, "Oh, he should play the Phantom if they ever make a remake!", but a really good actor would be able to step into the part and completely transform, so I'm sure there's probably someone at least somewhat famous out there who could pull this off; just look at Michael Crawford's transition from comedy to the original Phantom!

The key things to keep in mind, even when dream-casting for fun, are 1) vocals, acting ability, and what kind of voices best fit together, and 2) the nature of Hollywood musicals today.

The ignorance of commercial reality is most unwelcome in such an exercise. When a movie musical succeeds these days, it is a fluke. It is the exception, not the rule. The only reason projects like Les Mis were being approved is because Mamma Mia! made 600 mil at the box office. When a movie musical is successful, others get made in its slipstream. They are looking for commercial success, not artistic quality; just ask any film critic, they'll agree. That means they're not gonna cast theater people, they're gonna look for stars. Obviously, with an open call, you can find some talented unknowns, but the commercial environment that is film often no longer allows for that much experimentation.

Unlike Hollywood, we have the luxury of picking stars who actually fit the roles instead of picking stars simply because they're stars, or picking people who would never get the roles in a realistic situation. But the caveat is they have to fit together as a cast. The common problem with dream casts is that people make some good choices, but then undermine those good choices by creating a cast that doesn't fit together as a unit. As the great casting director Michael Shurtleff once said, "Many times I have heard directors say about an actor: 'That is the best audition we'll ever see of that role. Too bad we can't cast him.' Their regret is genuine. But there has to be a balance in casting -- the parts must fit like a jigsaw puzzle -- and there are times when the best auditioners don't 'fit.'"

I had all this in mind when casting my dream remake of Jesus Christ Superstar. As this post is already a little long, I won't elaborate on the rationale for my casting choices, but if you want to know, just ask!

Judas Iscariot - Jared Leto
Jesus of Nazareth - Lenny Kravitz
Mary Magdalene - Nicole Scherzinger
Caiaphas - Terrance Zdunich
Annas - Tom Jones
Simon Zealotes - Billie Joe Armstrong
Pontius Pilate - Danny Elfman
Peter - Bret McKenzie
King Herod - Tim Curry

Updated On: 5/29/15 at 04:37 PM

Someone who's not just going to pull an Emmy Rossum and be a lifeless doll floating around with her mouth hanging open the whole time.

But that's the part of Christine. It's a terrible character.

Lady Gaga would have been powerhouse Evita. I also would have liked to have seen Liza Minnelli as Evita. She was supposed to star in the 1996 film.

"Lady Gaga would have been powerhouse Evita. I also would have liked to have seen Liza Minnelli as Evita. She was supposed to star in the 1996 film."

I would love to see Lady Gaga tackle that part. I feel like it's only a matter of time before we see her in a musical, whether onstage or on the screen. Queenie in Wild Party?

I love Liza but I never understood how she was in contention for that part. I just cannot see it. Same with Barbra.