Joe Wright to direct My Fair Lady film, Knightley and possibly Craig to star- Page 2

[millie_dillmount]

Posted: 10/24/09 at 7:52pm

[Pgenre]

Posted: 10/24/09 at 7:58pm

But only ONE of them played the husband of Frances Gumm and father of Liza May!

Quite wonderfully, I might add...

P

[MCfan2]

Posted: 10/24/09 at 8:04pm

What makes anyone think they care whether their stars can sing? They've got more important stuff to worry about than mere SINGING! They've got to "flesh out the characters" and make it more "realistic"!!

VOMIT.

I'm glad Hugh Laurie isn't doing it. He would be great, but I don't want him anywhere near this travesty. I'd rather see him do it onstage, and i hope one day he will.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 10/24/09 at 9:59pm

I had no idea Mulligan was Keira Knightley's age! That's interesting. Well, Joe Wright, cast her in this. After AN EDUCATION goes wide, I suspect Carey Mulligan will be the talk of the town (not that she already isn't). The girl is a joy to watch, and IMO has an incredible amount of charisma, tons more than someone like Knightley does. Who cares if she can sing? I doubt either Knightley or Mulligan are the next Julie Andrews (in terms of singing) so why not cast the better actress of the two?
I dislike the original movie, mainly because I'm not fond of Audrey Hepburn's Eliza, so I was hoping this time around we'd get someone who could carry this musical. I doubt Knightley will do it for me.
I was also hoping we'd get Collin Firth (who seems poised to get his first Oscar nod this year) as opposed to Daniel Craig...oh well.

[Roscoe]

Posted: 10/24/09 at 10:01pm

I don't really see how any remake could be any worse than Cukor's excruciating original, one of the worst movies ever made. I hope they manage to cast Higgins and Eliza to within a decade or so of each other.

[cglaid]

Posted: 10/25/09 at 4:08am

Keira Knightley might possibly be the worst actress ever. Won't be seeing this. Way to screw up such a brilliant piece of writing.

[MCfan2]

Posted: 10/25/09 at 2:31pm

Yeah, it won all those Oscars and Golden Globes and other awards and still makes all those "best of" lists and is beloved by people all over the world because it's one of the worst movies ever made.

If you don't like it, fine, but it's pretty hard to argue that it's a bad movie.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 10/25/09 at 2:33pm

Well, THE DEPARTED and CRASH (easily one of the most terrible movies to come out in the past decade) are also Oscar winning films......

[MCfan2]

Posted: 10/25/09 at 3:00pm

And "Titanic" too, which is also awful. Which is why I threw in all those other factors, such as critical and (long-lasting) public acclaim. "Titanic's" popularity is already eroding after a relatively short decade and a half; I just heard a conversation about that this past week. People who loved "MFL" still love it after four-and-a-half decades, because there was really something there to love, not just because there was a floppy-haired baby-faced It Boy to SQUEE! at.

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 10/25/09 at 3:54pm

Titanic was critically acclaimed, and for reasons beyond Leonardo DiCaprio's looks. Just because you don't like it doesn't mean it's a bad film.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 10/25/09 at 3:57pm

This smells bad.

[Pgenre]

Posted: 10/25/09 at 6:36pm

WORST BEST PICTURE WINNER: NO COUNTRY, followed closely by ORDINARY PEOPLE and THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH.

P

[ladybegood]

Posted: 10/26/09 at 9:27am

I actually don't think the Daniel Craig reference is anything more than going back to a very old rumour for want of something more currently substantive. I hope that is right anyway, because I really don't think he would be right at all. I wouldn't have minded Daniel Day Lewis, but I think it is too unlikely he would want to do another musical so soon after "Nine". It might depend on how good an experience that was for him, though, I suppose.

But I don't like Keira Knightley much anyway, as an actress or singer. Emily Blunt (who has both the acting and chops) would have been a much better choice to my way of thinking. And I must admit I wouldn't have objected in principle to Carey Mulligan either. She is good little actress, and very appealing, although I don't know how well she can sing. And she isn't horrifyingly gaunt and desperately unhealthy and skeletal looking. But it is more than likely that KK's attachment was significant in getting the green light for the new film in the first place. So I don't think there was ever any real likelihood of anyone else. And I am looking forward to it anyway.

[madbrian]

Posted: 10/26/09 at 9:36am

Since there seems to be a sidebar regarding worst Best Picture winners, for me that topic begins and ends with The English Patient.

Back to My Fair Lady, I see no reason for a remake. However, if one is to be made, Knightley and Craig seem all wrong. Though not a movie star, Hugh Laurie seems like a perfect choice for Higgins. And though any Eliza would beg comparisons to Hepburn, I think Blunt would be able to create a unique character better than either Knightley or Mulligan.

[TalkinLoud]

Posted: 10/26/09 at 9:47am

Ewwww, don't put The Departed and Crash in the same league, please. The Departed is a fun thriller while Crash is an offensive piece of garbage.

As for the original film, I still love it, but I don't think it's as great as its reputation dictates.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 10/26/09 at 1:17pm

Sorry, TalkinLoud, I was just thinking of recent Oscar winners that were undeserving, and while I still think both THE DEPARTED and CRASH were undeserving, I thoroughly agree that CRASH is in a league of its own as one of the most ridiculous pieces of films.

I just don't care for the original film, mainly because of Audrey Hepburn. I was looking forward to this adaptation, especially if it were to star someone I really liked (ie Blunt, Mulligan, or Hathaway), but with Knightley in the lead, I'm not really excited for it.

[nealb1]

Posted: 10/26/09 at 1:18pm

"The Departed" is probably one of the worst films ever made. Those Boston accents came and went, Jack N was playing Jack N...he's become a parody. UGH.

But, back to the topic of this thread. I have 1 question...WHY?

Why remake a classic movie musical? I'm a firm believer in, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

[LaMusicaVa]

Posted: 10/26/09 at 6:46pm

Why remake a classic movie musical? I'm a firm believer in, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Hear, hear! My thoughts exactly.

I wouldn't mind seeing what Keira Knightley could do with the part, if I were sure she could sing well enough. Just once I'd like to see a real honest-to-goodness lyric soprano cast in a movie lead and do their own singing.

Hugh Laurie was my first thought for Higgins when I heard there was going to be a remake. I believe at one point Emma Thompson said she'd like him for the part, but the final decision would not be hers.

[winston89]

Posted: 10/26/09 at 7:22pm

I mean I think that there are a lot of people who jumped on the whole notion that Ann Hathaway should play the role since the role is a soprano role and she is a trained soprano.

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 10/26/09 at 7:34pm

I'm not that thrilled with Anne Hathaway's soprano sound, but I am picky.

[winston89]

Posted: 10/26/09 at 8:28pm

I've never heard Ann Hathaway's soprano so I really can't judge.

[StephenSondheimWHOO]

Posted: 10/26/09 at 9:08pm

I think Kiera Knightley is a great fit acting wise, but she can't sing it! I know she has a pretty voice, but Eliza requires a lot more than that. All of the movie stars that do musicals like Anne Hathaway, Nicole Kidman, Rene Zelweger etc may have pretty, weak voices, but that's just not enough. I hope they dub Kiera Knightley