Other SWEENEY movie cast members - LET THE SPECULATION BEGIN- Page 9

[bwaylvsong]

Posted: 8/17/06 at 2:42pm

"I'm not really happy with the choice of Toby being a child."

I agree, unless it is me!

I just can't imagine a child who can "carry a tune" singing Sondheim's magnificent score.

[Wildcard]

Posted: 8/17/06 at 2:45pm

I actually like how the roles are being cast younger. It accounts for them being naive and so quick to fall in love, especially Johanna. "Not While I'm Around" also becomes more poignant with a younger Toby singing it to Mrs. Lovett.

[coolkid11776]

Posted: 8/17/06 at 4:53pm

Why don't they just have this revival cast do the movie. Johnny Depp can't sing. If we have to have Johnny I would at least like to seen Patti.

[worrell4077]

Posted: 8/17/06 at 5:00pm

Johnny Depp must be able to sing, if he's set to play the part in the movie and besides if he can't he can always get voice lessons.

Someone on another board brought up Tim Curry for Judge Turpin or The Beadle. I don't know about that, it could work. I still see Christopher Lee as The Judge, but I also like the idea of maybe Jack Nicholson or Christopher Walken as The Judge. There was also a thought of a cameo from Michael Keaton as Jonas Fogg which could work or maybe Paul Reubens could be Jonas Fogg

I think maybe Albert Finney or Glenn Shaddix could do The Beadle. Freddie Highmore will probably be cast as Tobias and Helena Bonham Carter will probably get The Beggar Woman.

According to the article about it on broadway.com, there are going to be going into rehearsals and pre-recordings in November and December and a release in late 2007. I think that they should release it in October, sometime before Halloween.
________________________________________________________________
Bob Crewe:"You're not hearing it right. I hear it in sky blue and you're giving me brown."
Tommy Devito:"That's cause you're paying us s***."

Posted: 8/17/06 at 5:09pm

I understand the casting has already been well on its way. Toni Colette has been tentatively slated to play Mrs. Lovett, and I think she would do a great job. Although I think Cyndi Lauper would be a good second choice. YOu have to remember that they need A-list Hollywood names for this thing. they are not going to hire Patti, she's not well-known enough. That being said, I have thought for many months that Neil Patrick Harris would make a great Anthony OR Toby (and he's a big name AND he can really sing) and Anne Hathaway would be a decent, if not perfect Joanna.

[FOAnatic]

Posted: 8/17/06 at 6:37pm

Neil Patrick Harris is not a big name.

YOu have to remember that they need A-list Hollywood names for this thing. they are not going to hire Patti, she's not well-known enough.

That has been said ten thousand times already.

[insomniak]

Posted: 8/17/06 at 6:46pm

If they want a name actress for Mrs. Lovett and if Helena Bonham-Carter hasn't already got her claws into the role by default, I vote Kate Winslet.

For those of us worried about Johnny's vocal ability:


"Stephen Sondheim will judge if Johnny Depp’s voice can cut it"

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 8/17/06 at 10:49pm

LeadingDude - you could also argue Doyle's is all in flashback, and thus Toby would have been a child when the action took place. When he recounts the story, he is all grown up.

But, again, that is Doyle's version. Obviously not Prince's, nor Burton's.

[logan0215]

Posted: 8/18/06 at 12:06am

Can't us theater people just have something to ourselves without it becoming a major motion picture?

... cries he who has an avatar of a major-Disney-motion-picture-adapted-musical

It'll be interesting to see who is picked, but I've given up on guessing casting and am assuming it will be out of Burton's favs (Ryder, Helena, Highmore.)

I'm just praying that this doesn't end up being less dark and more quircky. People claimed "Charlie..." to be darker, but I found it to be more quircky, and I think darkness is one thing that needs to stay intact for this film to honor the musical's concept.
Updated On: 8/18/06 at 12:06 AM

[wonderfulwizard11]

Posted: 8/18/06 at 12:28am

"I just can't imagine a child who can "carry a tune" singing Sondheim's magnificent score."

I don't think they mean someone who is six or seven. Probably more like 10-12. With the right training, someone at that age could sing Toby's two songs.

I actually don't like the idea of Freddie Highmore as Toby. I don't think he could really be that haunted, dereanged person Toby is.

bwaylvsong, agree, I pray they have open calls for Toby. I would love to have that part. Ah, blissful wishful thinking.

Posted: 8/18/06 at 10:39am

Neil Patrick Harris is not a big enough name??? Are you kidding? For one thing he will forever be known as Doogie Howser, and for another thing, in case you haven't noticed, he currently stars on one of the hottest sitcoms on TV.

[FOAnatic]

Posted: 8/18/06 at 10:56am

Congratulations. He has a semi-large television following.

That's still not NEARLY enough to sell a movie. Not even close.

[Ladyofthe Lake]

Posted: 8/18/06 at 12:01pm

Congratulations. He has a semi-large television following.

That's still not NEARLY enough to sell a movie. Not even close.

But really, does the character of Toby need to sell a movie? If the actors playing Sweeney and Lovett are high profile enough, doesn't that allow for some flexibility in the casting of the supporting characters? I don't think every role has to be filled by an A-lister.

[FOAnatic]

Posted: 8/18/06 at 12:05pm

THE PRODUCERS had both Will Ferrell AND Uma Thurman...both A-listers with a much larger fan base than NPH...and it tanked.

So, yes, the more names the better.

[JBSinger]

Posted: 8/18/06 at 12:11pm

Mrs Lovett: Toni Collette or Tracey Ullman
Anthony: Patrick Wilson
Joanna: will probably be a newcomer if they want to keep her 16ish
Beggar woman: how about Donna Murphy?
Judge: I like Tim Curry or Albert Finney
Tobias: if its a kid/tween - Freddie Highmore sounds good. I hope he can sing.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 8/18/06 at 12:12pm

I think Annette Bening (another Tim Burton alumni) could be a fabulous Mrs. Lovett as well.

[Benjamin Barker2]

Posted: 8/18/06 at 12:21pm

"THE PRODUCERS had both Will Ferrell AND Uma Thurman...both A-listers with a much larger fan base than NPH...and it tanked.

So, yes, the more names the better."

True, but that movie wasn't very well received. And remember, Burton can bring in just as many people as any big star. Although it would help to cast a few big names, the film wouldn't necessarily need an all-star cast to succeed.

I'm not so sure if Nicholson would work as the Judge. Granted, he's be perfect for it acting wise, but he's not a particularly good singer. Just watch the Tommy movie for proof.

[best12bars]

Posted: 8/18/06 at 12:28pm

As far as ages of characters... Johanna is exactly 16 in the musical, unless you want to start changing Sondheim's lyrics and Wheeler's book (which is a definite possibility of course).

Sweeney has several lines during his first encounter with Mrs. Lovett where he refers to being gone on a trumped-up charge for fifteen years. And Mrs. Lovett sings the lyric during Poor Thing: "…Leaving her with nothing but grief and a year-old kid," when Sweeney was sent to Australia. That would make Johanna exactly 16 in the play.

They can change this of course, but that's what is in the original musical.

As far as Tobias Ragg... this character is the only other character (besides Sweeney and Mrs. Lovett) that dates back to the very origins of the "legend" of Sweeney Todd. He is always a boy, roughly 10-12 years old. For the Sondheim musical they cast an older "juvenile" actor with the naïveté of a child. But in nearly all other incarnations of the Sweeney legend, Tobias Ragg is a child.

I have no idea how they will cast the film Toby... but it would make more sense from a "movie audience" POV to have him be a boy... witnessing this horror. Although, I'm guessing they're not pulling for the “family audience” with this film. I don't really see how they could even do that. They will be doing their damnedest to keep this movie PG-13, although I don't see how they can manage it with the throat-slitting, unless they never actually show it on screen, even once. I hope they don’t try to soft-soap it in the name of reaching a wider audience.

I would look for some BIG names in several roles, but not all (necessarily). DreamWorks and Warner Bros. are going to be very nervous about doing a potentially R-rated musical, in this day and age. Someone like the judge is an easy target to cast a real Hollywood heavyweight, which is why I suggested Nicholson. The casting of Lovett will be key as well.

Updated On: 8/18/06 at 12:28 PM

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 8/18/06 at 12:31pm

I think this will probably end up Tim Burton's most "starry" film since MARS ATTACKS! partly because I think Dreamworks will push for as many names as possible (especially if that formula works for the upcoming movie of HAIRSPRAY) but also because I think there are a fair number of stars who would be interested in the project as a prestige pic (Burton/Sondheim/Depp). Proving you can sing is also very "in vogue" in Hollywood right now.

In other "related" news: Helena Bonham Carterhas just signed on to co-star in a movie with Susan Sarandon that is filming this spring. That may or may not conflict with the SWEENEY filming schedule. I think it would probably preclude her playing Lovett at any rate. Perhaps not the Beggar Woman though...

[logan0215]

Posted: 8/18/06 at 12:50pm

Susan Sarandon and Helena Bonham Carter will play the title roles in Eleanor and Colette. Marc Bruce Rosin's script follows Sarandon's Eleanor, a patient at a psychiatric institute, who retains Colette (Bonham Carter), an attorney, to represent her complaint against the hospital, which has been prescribing her psychopharmacological drugs. During the lengthy process, the two women bond and form a special friendship. Shooting begins next Spring in San Francisco, Vancouver and Germany

Sounds like filming will stretch over many weeks and many locations...

[Wildcard]

Posted: 8/18/06 at 12:52pm

Helena has said before that just because she sleeps with Tim Burton, it doesn't mean she's a shoo-in to his movies. In some cases, she still has to audition for the roles. I would like to hope that Tim will do what's best for the movie and cast the right people in the right roles.

[FoscasBohemianDream]

Posted: 8/18/06 at 1:41pm

I actually like the idea of Donna Murphy as the Beggar Woman, it goes along with the thought of casting a (mostly) unknown actress in the role to not give away the plot.
Please, no Tracey Ullman in this movie.
The idea of Bening as Mrs.Lovett sounds rather exciting, she's a devine actress and I can only imagine the layers she'd bring to the role. I didn't know she could sing though.
Now, I know she has been mentioned on the board as a potential star for every movie musical since Chicago, but I believe Catherine Z. Jones could also be a good Mrs.Lovett.

[Wildcard]

Posted: 8/18/06 at 1:42pm

If I were Sweeney and Catherine was Mrs. Lovett, I would forget about revenge and just give in to Mrs. Lovett.

[best12bars]

Posted: 8/18/06 at 1:52pm

I think using a well-known theatre actress (such as Murphy, or someone else along those lines) for the Beggar Woman is a great idea.

The people who would recognize her are the same ones that would likely already know the plot twists in this story line... and for the general audiences, she would be an "unknown," and it wouldn't draw premature/advance attention to the character.

[MrMidwest]

Posted: 8/18/06 at 2:31pm

If they don't go with a child, I could see Ryan Gosling as Toby.