Letts to pen OSAGE COUNTY screenplay - film in the works- Page 3

[MTVMANN]

Posted: 8/11/08 at 12:55am

I vote for Margo Martindale for Mattie Fae. Although not a "name" I think she has enough credits to her name for people to recognize and consider her.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 8/11/08 at 4:54am

I think we can be sure that Violet, Barbara, and Mattie Fae will most definitely be cast with A-listers.
What is sort of fun for me about the possible casting of Streep as Vi and Linney as Barbara is that I've always thought Linney looks quite similar to Streep, especially when I saw her in pictures she took next to Mamie Gummer (whose resemblance to her mother is uncanny).

[dburns08]

Posted: 8/11/08 at 4:13pm

gilvisto, the only thing I believe will be lost in the film version is the incredible staging employed in the play. The flow of characters' entrances, etc. was so natural that any feeling of theatricality was lost. Therefore my only apprehension lies with the translation of that reality felt during the stage version.

As for some of these choices... the way a person reads on screen is very easily altered with makeup. Are we forgetting Nicole Kidman in 'The Hours?' Cate Blanchett in 'Elizabeth: The Golden Age?' Johnny Depp in 'The Libertine?' How about Heath Ledger as The Joker? What really matters is their believability as an actor.

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 8/11/08 at 4:32pm

dburns08, all of those examples involve character roles in which an extreme physical transformation was required , which had a lot to do with the success of those particular performances.

Rachel McAdams skews young and has made a career because of it. There's a reason she is still hired for jobs like MEAN GIRLS where, at the age of 28, she played a 16 year old (opposite Amy Poehler, only five years older than McAdams, as her mother.)

She's just too young for Karen, particularly (as I said) considering the fact that her on screen persona would be heavily influenced by the age of the actors around her cast as the various members of the Weston family, particularly whomever plays Violet.

Updated On: 8/11/08 at 04:32 PM

[dkonbroadway]

Posted: 8/11/08 at 5:58pm

well dont you just know everything.

[adeleishot]

Posted: 8/11/08 at 6:07pm

Mean Girls was also made 5 years ago...she has played roles older than a high schooler...Red Eye, Wedding Crashers, and The Notebook just to name a few.

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 8/11/08 at 6:14pm

adeleishot, McAdams's varied range of roles isn't being called into question.

While MEAN GIRLS may have been made some time ago, her ability to play a character twelve years her junior is still extremely telling toward how she tends to register on screen.

Updated On: 8/11/08 at 06:14 PM

[somethingscoming00]

Posted: 8/11/08 at 6:20pm

well apparently somethingwicked has the final say when it comes to casting this little movie.

[adeleishot]

Posted: 8/11/08 at 6:20pm

[Belleof14thStreet]

Posted: 8/13/08 at 2:12am

When I saw Mirren speak at the Times Center a few months back she had just gone to see "August ..." and was RAVING about it. She mentioned it at least a half a dozen times! I would certainly love to see her take on the Violet role. I'm just thinking back to her performance as the title role in "Losing Chase" where she was so deliciously wicked! I am, however, a big fan of the idea of this film following suit with the "Bug" film and staying indie and using the SUPERB original cast - no one understand it, and can perform it, better - in my humble opinion.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 8/13/08 at 2:26am

Rachel McAdams could easily play Jean if Meryl Streep, Helen Mirren, or Jane Fonda play Violet. She is that young-looking. It has nothing to do with her abilities, but when you are casting for the screen you always have to consider an actor's persona and looks. It's not whether you can make them look younger or whatnot, she just has made a career of playing younger roles (and she does it very convincingly). The line that Violet tells her during the dinner scene that goes something to the effect of "Women are ugly when they get older...as you're starting to find out yourself," would make absolutely no sense and would fail to be any kind of funny if McAdams played Karen.
Now, Somethingwicked's suggestions of Debra Messing and Christina Applegate would be ideal casting.
Has Helen Mirren played an American on film before? I know very little about her career and have only seen her play her very British roles in THE QUEEN and GOSFORD PARK.
I really would love to see Streep sink her teeth into Vi, and see what kind of sparks she could create in her scenes with whoever plays Barbara (hopefully someone like Rachel Griffith, Toni Collette, Laura Linney, Kristen Johnston, Patricia Clarkson)

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 8/13/08 at 2:26am

Updated On: 8/13/08 at 02:26 AM

[landryjames2]

Posted: 8/13/08 at 4:00pm

Not that screen casting really ever has to do with age, but I will say that Streep seems a bit too young for Violet and a bit too old for Barbara. I actually think that Barbara would be a better choice. I realize that is real life Meryl may be closer to the character age of Violet--but she could easily pass for someone in her later 40s (in my opinion). She would tear up the screen in either part.

[jv92]

Posted: 8/13/08 at 6:57pm

Judy Davis needs to be Violet. That's all I'll say.

[BacktoBefore]

Posted: 8/26/08 at 7:25pm

I actually think Laura Linney would be better as Ivy...

[Broadwayboy2631]

Posted: 8/26/08 at 10:32pm

Judy Davis would kick ass and take names as Violet.

[Doogie]

Posted: 8/26/08 at 10:57pm

Debra Messing-Karen
Mary Louise Parker- Ivy
Geena Davis-Barbara
Tom Hanks- Bill
SALLY FIELD- Violet (though I'm not entirely convinced)
Jean Smart- Mattie Fae
Balthazar Getty- Little Charles
Chris Noth- Steve