Sweeney Todd movie - casting ideas!

While I was peaking around IMDB.com, I started to think about Sam Mendes' current project - the film version of Sondheim's classic "Sweeney Todd." Anybody have any inspired casting ideas? I know she's young for the role, but I was thinking about (Mendes' wife) Kate Winslet's inspired performance in "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" from earlier in the year, and I thought - she could do Mrs. Lovett justice on film. Who knows about any sort of a singing voice she has, but Angela Lansbury's glorious original take on the character didn't employ the most pleasant of vocal characterizations, even if it made for one of the most comical and conniving characters in theatrical history.

So anyone else have any other ideas? Maybe Glenn Close would be a more age appropriate Lovett - she definitely has the manic energy and screen presence for the role.

How about Sweeney's? Johanna's? etc etc.

How about Russell Crowe for Sweeney?

unknowns to the rest of the world...i'd say christine would work for lovett...but, i think there is probably a better choice.

i'd make sure audra was in it...maybe as the beggar woman?

---

Kelsey Grammar did a fantastic Sweeney. I think he might be a big enough name now to get it.

---

"Sweeney" depends so much on the language, and his diction is certainly not Antonio's strongest suit.

Kelsey's a small-screen guy - "Frasier" won't mean much at the box office.

Jack Nicholson could've been great years ago.

jack nicholson could still pull it off

---

Sueleen - I really like that idea

Streep would be terrific


You know, now that I think about it, maybe Winslet could pull off Johanna... with blonde hair... she'd definitely be a more dynamic Johanna than many of us are used to.

So let Streep and Kline do it in NYC first, as a warm-up.

A broadway revival would be amazing of course - but they've already got the rights for the film which is in pre-production, and let's face it, even if they got HUGE hollywood stars to come in and screw it up nightly in NYC, they wouldn't make nearly as much money as giving those performers the chance to spruce up their act on film.

Tom Wilkinson for the Beadle!!

Geoffrey Rush for the Judge.

Kirsten Dunst has a very pretty singing voice, actually. I don't know if she's got what it takes for that role, but you could do a lot worse.

---

Um... I'd definitely consider the stars of Chicago "big-named." Renee Zellwegger already had one Golden Globe win (Nurse Betty) and an Oscar nod (Bridget Jones), Queen Latifah was one of the biggest names in hip hop (especially for a female), John C. Reilly was an art-house favorite, Richard Gere has been a Hollywood headliner for over 20 years, and Catherine Zeta Jones had already received good notices and some critic's awards for a little Oscar-loved movie, "Traffic," as well as a high profile life as wife of Oscar winner Michael Douglas and starring roles in Hollywood projects like "Entrapment" and "Zorro". This movie DEFINITELY rode on the coattails of its big-named stars.

I'd agree though with your comment about Nicholson's vocal abilities and the importance of having the actors using their own vocals, a la Chicago. I think it was one of the strongest aspects of that film, and one of the weaker aspects in other movie musicals.

Actually, she was a household name by that point having stared in the following films -

White Oleander
Bridget Jones's Diary
Me, Myself & Irene
Nurse Betty
Bachelor, The
One True Thing
Jerry Maguire

---