Hugh Laurie for Higgins? — Page 5

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#101

Movie Musicals

Posted: 12/22/08 at 2:42pm

There are so many spectacular Actresses of a Certain Age in Britain it's practically impossible for them to go wrong in casting Mrs. Higgins. (Hey, they can even go with Julie Andrews.)

#102

Julie Andrews doesn't seem old enough to be Hugh Laurie's mother (I know she is just about old enough, but it doesn't come across that way). While you're right that there are other British actresses that could play the role, Maggie Smith seems to make every movie she's in just a little bit (or more) better.

"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

#103

Movie Musicals

Posted: 12/22/08 at 2:54pm

Oh, I have absolutely no objections to Maggie Smith. At all. Ever.

#104

Movie Musicals

Posted: 12/22/08 at 7:21pm

Roqwan Atkinson as either Pickering or in a cameo as Zoltan Karpathy!!!

#105

Movie Musicals

Posted: 12/24/08 at 11:08am

Going by this clip of Keira singing in The Edge of Love, which is longer than the one I'd seen before, I think her higher notes will probably be adequate.

Her voice is unique and captivating.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3j0GbUKVKZc

"The gods who nurse this universe think little of mortals' cares. They sit in crowds on exclusive clouds and laugh at our love affairs. I might have had a real romance if they'd given me a chance. I loved him, but he didn't love me. I wanted him, but he didn't want me. Then the gods had a spree and indulged in another whim. Now he loves me, but I don't love him." - Cole Porter

#106

Movie Musicals

Posted: 12/24/08 at 1:00pm

I can't think of a young Hollywood actress I'd like to see as Eliza. Maybe Amy Adams? OOo the thought of Amy Adams and Hugh Laurie makes me smile ear to ear.

"This ocean runs more dark and deep than you may think you know...I'll be the fear of the fire at sea." -Marie Christine

#107

Movie Musicals

Posted: 12/24/08 at 3:14pm

I can't think of a young Hollywood actress I'd like to see as Eliza. Maybe Amy Adams? OOo the thought of Amy Adams and Hugh Laurie makes me smile ear to ear.

As much as I love Amy Adams and she was just perfect for Enchanted, I'm not sure her voice is perfect for Eliza. I'm sure she could act the hell out of the role, though, and perhaps her voice could prove me wrong.

Hugh Laurie needs to be in this film if it being made. Once I heard his name, I can't think of anyone else I'd like to see. House is pretty hot on TV these days, and I definitely think a TV star in America can have box office draw. Course, many Americans could be shocked when they hear the British accent if they've never seen him do anything outside of House.

#108

Movie Musicals

Posted: 12/24/08 at 4:03pm

Watched that clip of Keira. She isn't bad, but, ughhhh, I'm so tired of thin, almost boy soprano-ish high notes. I know that's as good as I'm gonna get with Hollywood and I should be thankful she can even hit them, but seriously.

I like Amy Adams and she would be cute in the role for sure, but I really kind of want a genuinely British actress.

Jimmy, what are you doing here in the middle of the night? It's almost 9 PM!

#109

Movie Musicals

Posted: 12/24/08 at 5:52pm

I think the role fits fairly comfortably within Amy's range, jennamajig.

#110

Movie Musicals

Posted: 12/24/08 at 6:02pm

He would be amazing.

#111

Movie Musicals

Posted: 12/24/08 at 7:54pm

I think the role fits fairly comfortably within Amy's range, jennamajig.

Yes, it fits her range, but I don't know. For some reason, I'm not 100% sold on it. But, like I said, I could be proven very wrong and even welcome it.

I like the idea of finding an amazing unknown to play against Hugh Laurie. Like they did with Hairspray, and to an extent Dreamgirls for Effie (though one could argue that Jennifer Hudson wasn't a complete unknown due to Idol). But I realize that is probably asking for too much.

#112

Movie Musicals

Posted: 12/24/08 at 10:16pm

Plum, you are so right, I saw a rerun of House last night and sure enough, he proved himself, singing a cappella...

Weez, you wrote,
"Honestly, honestly, honestly, ... I honestly believe Henry Higgins is on the autism spectrum. He has the social skills of a gnat, he genuinely can't comprehend that other people have thoughts and emotions, and he's REALLY good at and detailed with his work and all the niggly details it entails...Arrogant? Elitist? Nah; autistic."

WOW!!! You are so smart and creative and perceptive WOW!!! That's really --

just one thing: how do you account for Higgins' aggression (I mean his "social" aggression "Why can't the English...?!")

I think you're onto something here, really fascinating. It seems on the surface to be Path'l Narcissism, but, the narcissist would never genuinely feel the "desire" or the "need" for Eliza, whereas, the high functioning autistic (Asperger's) might just react this way.

Anyway, any thoughts about Higgins' aggression and demandingness? (Wow, really cool idea you have there.)

#113

Movie Musicals

Posted: 12/25/08 at 5:19am

I thought I was the only one who hates that Eliza comes back and gives Henry his slippers at the end of the musical.

I adore Amy Adams, but she's definitely not right for this. Alas, Knightly and Hathaway both strike me as so dull. There are worse choices than Knightly -- it's a plus that she's British. Laurie, on the other hand, would be an inspired choice.

Updated On: 12/25/08 at 05:19 AM

#114

Movie Musicals

Posted: 12/25/08 at 11:15pm

Some people seemed to think she did a proficient job with the accent(s) in Pygmalion.
Claire Danes singing in Evening

#115

Movie Musicals

Posted: 12/26/08 at 12:10am

Wow..Claire Danes is fantastic! I really want to see that movie now.

#116

Movie Musicals

Posted: 12/26/08 at 9:52am

Maybe she should throw the slippers at him.

#117

Movie Musicals

Posted: 12/26/08 at 10:41am

I would agree with the idea of changing the ending to Pygmalion's if Higgins did not sing "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face." That whole song is the reason why that ending is acceptable. Anyone who thinks Eliza comes back to Higgins to be a submissive doormat didn't watch closely enough.

IMO, that whole stretch from after the ball to her coming back to see her old friends to "Without You" to "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face" is all about Eliza becoming stronger and more independent. To me, that's more feminist than her just marrying Freddy because he's there and having her being bailed out by Pickering because of Freddy bogging her down and their lack of business skills.

"[Gore] was widely perceived as arrogant. If you know something, you're not smart. You're a smarty-pants. It's annoying. People get annoyed with your knowledge. It goes back to high school, to not doing your homework ... 'There's something I should know, I don't know why I should know it but someone knows it and I don't. So I'm going to have to make fun of him now.'" -Sarah Vowell, The Partly-Cloudy Patriot

Updated On: 12/26/08 at 10:41 AM

#118

Movie Musicals

Posted: 12/26/08 at 11:12am

"Can't it also be said that Lerner and Loewe made dishonored the intentions and vision of Shaw?"

Have you seen the movie version of PYGMALION (193

? MY FAIR LADY is based more on that film than the play. Incidentally, the screenplay was written by Shaw himself (for which he won an Oscar) and he rewrote the ending of Eliza coming back to Higgins and the whole "Where the devil are my slippers?" line, which ends the movie. So one could argue that Lerner and Loewe were being faithful to shaw's cinematic reimagining.

Salve, Regina, Mater misericordiae
Vita, dulcedo, et spes nostra
Salve, Salve Regina
Ad te clamamus exsules filii Eva
Ad te suspiramus, gementes et flentes
O clemens O pia

#119

Movie Musicals

Posted: 12/26/08 at 12:15pm

LadyDramaturg, I'm slightly unnerved by your response to my theory, but I think I'm just a naturally suspicious person. ^_^

I think Higgins's aggression, while it could be seen as symptomatic of other disorders, really just comes across to me as an extension of his theoretical Asperger's. In 'Why Can't The English?', he's failing to understand that other people have different brains to him that causes them to speak differently or (more importantly) just not care as much as he does. It could easily be played as exasperated lack-of-understanding instead of plain old fury - Higgins speaks like a proper English gentlemen, and because of the way his brain works, it would make most sense to him for everyone else to speak that way.

Demandingness, again, just a lack of understanding for other people's feelings. And he doesn't really feel any such need for Eliza, I see it as a combination of not wanting to lose his toy because it's HIS goshdarnit, and being genuinely flabbergasted that Eliza doesn't enjoy him toying with her life like she has no feelings.

I watched the documentary on Blackadder last night. There's something really deeply wrong about seeing Hugh Laurie looking for all the world like House but talking like that skinny goofy Hugh Laurie who used to be in all the televised funny when I was younger. VERY weird. He'd need to shave and do his hair to not be utterly disconcerting as Higgins. And I bet he'd get a ton of people complaining about his "fake-sounding" English accent. XD

House = Higgins. The more I think about it, the less I see between them. O_o

Notes from the Earlham Street Gutter

#120

Movie Musicals

Posted: 12/26/08 at 12:52pm

I'm picturing Laurie's Higgins as something closer to the character he played in MI-5/Spooks.

And while the Aspie theory is interesting, I also think it's important not to overlook the fact that Higgins is a plain old snob, as are so many people who seek to completely standardize language. The whole "I'm doing it right, everyone else is doing it wrong" attitude is just as tied up in class and privilege as it is in any individual personality disorder Higgins has.

Britain had a long history of privileging Higgins' London-area, middle-class accent above all others, one that isn't really totally gone today. Many of the older generation of English actors (like Patrick Stewart) came from "the regions" but had their accents standardized into Received Pronunciation in acting school. It's only since the 70s or so that actors have started to be allowed to speak in non-RP and non-London-area accents on TV and radio.

So I think Higgins' fixation on the "proper" way to speak is due just as much, if not moreso, to culture than to his own personality.

#121

Movie Musicals

Posted: 12/26/08 at 1:27pm

I'm more inclined to agree with Plum. Making him autistic takes away the whole elitist and class aspect of the piece.

I can see Hugh Laurie as more of a Leslie Howard-style Higgins, which would be an interesting choice.

Updated On: 12/26/08 at 01:27 PM

#122

Movie Musicals

Posted: 12/26/08 at 1:33pm

Like I (think I) said; it's just my theory. That's the real fun of theatre; with a good text, you can have these ideas and these discussions, and you can have several ways of looking at the same thing and not one of you be strictly "wrong". :3

Notes from the Earlham Street Gutter

#123

Movie Musicals

Posted: 12/26/08 at 1:38pm

It's funny. The more I think about this remake, the more I accept it. Hell, if there can be a million adaptations of Jane Austen books or a million Jane Eyre's out there, why not another adaptation of My Fair Lady? The first one was almost perfect (IMO), but I'd like to see a more "cinematic" version and with Emma Thompson penning it, I have a lot of faith in it.

They shouldn't stop there. They should remake the Phantom of the Opera and Sweeney Todd films too. :p

Updated On: 12/26/08 at 01:38 PM

#124

Movie Musicals

Posted: 12/26/08 at 1:50pm

Hell, if there can be a million adaptations of Jane Austen books or a million Jane Eyre's out there, why not another adaptation of My Fair Lady?

That's a good point. In a way, it's interesting to see what will be made of this same story 40 years later. What does today's My Fair Lady look like? We're already arguing about what would constitute a properly feminist ending, and whether "Fetch me my slippers" will do. And anyway, it's not like this new version can take away the classic status of the first - if we're lucky, it'll raise interest in it.

Theater is ephemeral, so periodic revivals make more sense than movie remakes, but that doesn't mean there's absolutely no use in seeing variations on the Pygmalion theme onscreen. Hopefully. Maybe.

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