The Witch will have to be A-list and that's fine as long as they can kinda sing the role. I'd be fine with Meryl. She's not ideal, but she probably find some way to sell it. I probably wouldn't mind Zeta-Jones either.
I'm more nervous about the Baker and the Baker's Wife. Every crappy production I've seen had one thing in common - those two roles were horribly cast. They're the heart and soul of the piece and it's gonna take more than star power to make it work.
This might sound out of place but Lady Gaga would melt souls as the witch!! James Marsden could work as the baker and Kristen Chenoweth would be amazing as his wife, if she isn't too old for the part. Many people forget that the bakers wife has to have strong comedic skills as well. I would love for Lea Michelle to be cinderella, but Samantha Barks could work as well. Since this is a disney movie is very likely that they will cast disney channel stars as little red and jack, I guess China could work although I would prefer Isabelle Allen. The remaining roles should be filled with broadway stars.
I wouldn't be surprised if they got Sutton Foster to play The Baker's Wife.
I would be. I cannot imagine her at all in a Rob Marshall film production of INTO THE WOODS, and I doubt that Marshall would go for Foster. He didn't go for Chenoweth as Roxie or Mary Sunshine when given the chance in CHICAGO, instead he cast an A-list Oscar nominee and an Emmy winner (and somewhat recent SAG winner for ensemble) in the roles, respectively. They need to announce casting now! Anna Kendrick has to be Cinderella.
"Some people can thrive and bloom living life in a living room, that's perfect for some people of one hundred and five. But I at least gotta try, when I think of all the sights that I gotta see, all the places I gotta play, all the things that I gotta be at"
I thought "Into The Woods" was due to begin filming in February? In an interview on Graham Norton's Radio 2 show back in December here in the UK, when promoting the Menier Chocolate Factory 's production of "Merrily We Roll Along", Graham asked Sondheim when "Into The Woods" would begin filming, and he said that (all being well), filming would begin in February. I thought this was a bit soon myself as (as far as we know), it hasn't even been cast yet. Can anyone shed any light on this? Has this now been put back?
That sure sounds awfully soon to me. Would they have even started rehearsals yet? I guess the script is finished and just being fine tuned now. We still don't know who's really been cast or not. You'd think they would have made some announcements by now.
I could see Sarah Hyland (Modern Family) as Red Riding Hood, and I don't know if she can sing, but I think Melissa McCarthy would be very interesting as Jack's mother.
"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
Sarah Hyland actually can sing, she was a musical theater chick before she booked Modern Family. She's doing a concert with Kerrigann & Lowdermilk soon, too... I think she'd make a great Little Red. I could definitely see Sutton Foster as the Baker's Wife, too.
What are you taking about? Are you implying that Angela Lansbury would not be believable in a tiny role of someone’s grandma? There is nothing she can’t do and this role is certainly won’t be outside her acting range. Plus it would be great to see her in Stephen Sondheim. Nothing against Imelda Staunton, but she only 57 – 6 years younger than Meryl Streep, who is supposed to play The Witch.
Melissa McCarthy as Jack's mother? She's a bonafide star, she should be seen for the Baker's Wife, a role she'd absolutely nail.
"Some people can thrive and bloom living life in a living room, that's perfect for some people of one hundred and five. But I at least gotta try, when I think of all the sights that I gotta see, all the places I gotta play, all the things that I gotta be at"
The witch's age has nothing to do with Red's granny's age. The grannie of a 15ish-year-old would generally be between 50 and 60 years old. Angela is 88. She's not even great grandma. She's heading into great-great grandma territory. Not that I think too many film-goers will care or notice such things. But if you're going to use age as an argument against Staunton, she's really MUCH closer to appropriate than Angela is.
Art has a double face, of expression and illusion.
For Ref's granny to be 50, both Red and her parent(s) would have to have been born around age 16-17 or so. The grandparents of most 15 year-olds are somewhere around the 65-80 age bracket.
"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
"The grandparents of most 15 year-olds are somewhere around the 65-80 age bracket."
Maybe in this day and time when it is quite common for parents to bear children in their 30s and even 40s.
But in the time of INTO THE WOODS (which I believe is timeless but let's say for the sake of argument 200 years ago when the Grimm Brothers were alive), it would be common to become parents at a very young age and a 50-year old Grandmother of a 15-year old would be the norm (if she even lived to be 50 in an era when average life expectancy for a female was 35-40 years).
Even in more recent times, when I was 15 both my grannies were in their early 50s, as were most of my friends'. I think the 40-year-old parent phenomena is too recent to have even resulted in 15-year-old grandchildren yet. The then 40-year-old woman would have had to given birth in 1958 to have a 15-year-old grandchild today. Possible, but not the norm by any means.
Art has a double face, of expression and illusion.
If she can sing it, I would LOVE Melissa McCarthy as The Baker's Wife. Of course, in my own ideal world...
Jennifer Saunders as The With Miranda Hart as The Baker's Wife Dawn French as Jack's Mother Sheridan Smith as Cinderella Joanna Lumley as Cinderella's Stepmother Catherine Tate as Nan as Little Red's Grandmother Sarah Hadland as Little Red Sally Phillips as Rapunzel Matt Lucas and David Williams as the Stepsisters
"What can you expect from a bunch of seitan worshippers?" - Reginald Tresilian
Audra McDonald as the Witch Kate Winslet as The Baker's Wife Robert Downey Jr as The Baker Allison Janney as Jack's Mother Darren Criss as Jack Mandy Moore as Cinderella Neil Patrick Harris as Cinderella's Prince Felicia Day as Rapunzel Jennifer Coolidge as Cinderella's Step Mother Anna Camp & Beth Behrs as the Stepsisters
Darren Criss will be 26 years old next month. Unless Rob Marshall films in manimation, he is too old to play an adolescent boy who discovers his sexual awakening.
Not to mention Criss is all surface, no subtlety, at least in GLEE where the writing might be terrible but plenty of actors have done a great job. Cast him as Cinderella's prince (and someone else as the Wolf). I'd like to see Dockery tackle the Witch some day, I don't know that she possesses the quirkiness that someone like Anna Kendrick or Anna Camp could find in the role. She could always surprise though, I'm not familiar with her work outside of DOWNTON ABBEY.
"Some people can thrive and bloom living life in a living room, that's perfect for some people of one hundred and five. But I at least gotta try, when I think of all the sights that I gotta see, all the places I gotta play, all the things that I gotta be at"
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