Dream Cast Thursday! Oscar Wilde

I have been really excited about unveiling this Dream Cast Thursday for a while.This week's Dream Cast Thursday is Oscar Wilde themed! This week, I will be recasting An Ideal Husband and the Importance of Being Earnest. Both were originally comedic stage plays by Wilde, but there have been many adaptations. An Ideal Husband was performed for the first time in 1895. The Importance of Being Earnest also premiered in 1895. When choosing my cast, I looked at adaptations that came out in 1999 and 2002.

The first character that I recast from an Ideal Husband was Lord Arthur Goring. He was played by Rupert Everett. For my adaptation, I cast Michael Fassbender.

The second character that I recast was Miss Mabel Chiltern. She was played by Minnie Driver. For my adaptation, I cast Anna Friel.

The third character that I recast was Sir Robert Chiltern. He has been played by Jeremy Northam. For my adaptation, I cast David Tennant.

The fourth character that I cast was Lady Gertrude Chiltern. She was played by Cate Blanchett. For my adaptation, I cast Rosamund Pike. 

The last character that I recast from an Ideal Husband was Mrs. Laura Cheveley. She was played by Julianne Moore. For my adaptation, I cast Rebecca Hall.

The first character that I recast from the Importance of Being Earnest was Jack Worthing. He was played by Colin Firth. For my adaptation, I cast James D'Arcy.

The second character that I recast was Gwendolen Fairfax. She was played by Frances O'Connor. For my adaptation, I cast Kate Winslet.

The third character that I recast was Algernon Moncrieff. He was played by Rupert Everett. For my adaptation, I cast Lee Pace.

The last character that I recast was Cecily Cardew. She was played by Reese Witherspoon. For my adaptation, I cast Juno Temple.

So what do you all think? Have you read/seen the plays? Which are your favorite adaptations and who would be in your cast?

Dream Cast Thursday! Henry VIII

This week's Dream Cast Thursday is Henry VIII. I was really excited to do this one, because I love 16th century English history. The story of Henry VIII and those figures that surround him have always captivated audiences. There have been many adaptations, but when deciding my dream cast, I looked at four specific ones. I looked at Henry VIII (2003), The Other Boleyn Girl (2003 miniseries), The Tudors (2007), and The Other Boleyn Girl (2008).

The first character that I cast was Henry VIII. He has been played by Ray Winstone, Jared Harris, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, and Eric Bana. For my adaptation, I cast James Purefoy.

The second character that I recast was Katherine of Aragon. She has been played by Assumpta Serna, Yolanda Vazquez, Maria Doyle Kennedy, and Ana Torrent. For my adaptation, I cast Giovanna Mezzogiorno.

The third character that I recast was Anne Boleyn. She has been played by Helena Bonham Carter, Jodhi May, Natalie Dormer, and Natalie Portman. For my adaptation, I cast Emily Blunt.

The fourth character that I recast was Jane Seymour. She has been played by Emilia Fox, Naomi Benson, Annabelle Wallis, and Corrine Galloway. For my adaptation, I cast Sienna Miller.

The fifth character that I recast was Anne of Cleaves. She has been played by Pia Girard and Joss Stone. For my adaptation, I cast Ruth Wilson.

The sixth character that I recast was Catherine Howard. She has been played by Emily Blunt and Tamzin Merchant. For my adaptation, I cast Karen Gillan.

The last character that I recast was Catherine Parr. She has been played by Clare Holman and Joely Richardson. For my adaptation, I cast Kate Winslet. 

So what do you all think? Which adaptations have you seen and which one is your favorite? Who would be in your adaptation?

2010 Academy Awards Best Dressed

My best dressed list for this year's Academy Awards is very short. I was not too impressed with this year's dresses (click photos to see enlarged).

This year, I absolutely loved Demi Moore, Kate Winslet, and Kristen Stewart's dresses. Kate Winslet was actually put on a lot of worst-dressed lists. I completely disagree. I think that her dress is lovely. Demi Moore is probably my best dressed overall for this year. I really loved the style and color of her dress.

Meryl Streep and Sandra Bullock were also put on a lot of worst-dressed lists this year. I completely disagree. I loved Bullock's overall look, and as a huge noir fan, I thought that Streep's outfit was magnificent.

So who are your best dressed choices this year? Who do you think was the absolute best dressed?

Dream Cast Thursday! Hitchcock Edition

This week's Dream Cast Thursday is coming a day early. Some of you may know that it was recently announced that a remake of the Birds is being made starring George Clooney and Naomi Watts. I was so excited to hear this, that I thought that I would do a special Alfred Hitchcock edition this week. Rebecca has already been remade many times. Dial M for Murder (A Perfect Murder) and Rear Window (Disturbia) have all already been remade, so I thought that I would focus on three other films.


North by Northwest came out in 1959. It stars Cary Grant as Roger O. Thornhill, Eva Marie Saint as Eve Kendall, and James Mason as Philip Vandamm. I would recast Patrick Wilson (Thornhill), Emily Blunt (Kendall), and Jason Isaacs (Vandamm).


Vertigo came out in 1958. It stars James Stewart at John "Scottie" Ferguson, Kim Novak as Judy Barton and Madeleine Elster, Tom Helmore as Gavin Elster, and Barbara Bel Geddes as Midge Wood. I would recast Liev Schrieber (Ferguson), Peta Wilson (Barton/Elster), Vincent Perez (Elster), and Selma Blair (Wood).


To Catch a Thief came out in 1955. It stars Cary Grant as John Robie and Grace Kelly as Frances Stevens. I would recast Clive Owen (Robie) and Kate Winslet (Stevens).

So what do you all think? Who would you recast in these films? Are there any other Hitchcock films that youall would like to recast? What do you think about the Birds remake?

My Oscar Ballot

I thought about it for a while, but finally made all of my Oscar predictions...

Actor, Leading
Sean Penn in "Milk"
Actor, Supporting
Heath Ledger in "The Dark Knight"
Actress, Leading
Kate Winslet in "The Reader"
Actress, Supporting
Penelope Cruz in "Vicky Cristina Barcelona"
Animated Feature
"Wall-E"
Art Direction
"The Duchess"
Cinematography
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
Costume Design
"The Duchess"
Directing
"Slumdog Millionaire"
Documentary Feature
"The Garden"
Documentary Short
"The Final Itch"
Film Editing
"Milk"
Foreign Language Film
"Waltz with Bashir"
Makeup
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
Original Score
"Slumdog Millionaire"
Original Song
"Jai Ho" from "Slumdog Millionaire"
Best Picture
"Slumdog Millionaire"
Short Film, Animated
"La Maison en Petits Cubes"
Short Film,Live Action
"Auf der Strecks (On the Line)"
Sound Editing
"Slumdog Millionaire"
Sound Mixing
"Slumdog Millionaire"
Visual Effects
"Iron Man"
Screenplay, Adapted
"Frost/Nixon"
Screenplay, Original
"Happy-Go-Lucky"


Please put your predictions in the comments.

Revolutionary Road

I just saw Revolutionary Road and absolutely LOVED it! I was a little disappointed. As some of you may know, when the movie was first announced two years ago I was extremely excited about the Kate and Leo reunion. I found out that the film would be an adaptation of the novel of the same name and went online trying to find out something about what the film would be about. I accidentally happened upon a full synopsis of the book and read it before I realized that it would give the full plot. This was a major disappointment. Those of you that know me know that I hate it when endings are ruined for me.

This, I soon realized upon actually seeing the film, was a minor setback. Although the story and plot were amazing, the power and depth that the entire cast (but especially Kate and Leo) brought to their characters and to every scene is something that could not be ruined by a synopsis. This was definitely a character-driven film.

I encourage everyone to see this film and all films nominated for Oscars. I always have much more fun watching if I fill out a ballot first. I recently made a list of all the films that I still have to see before the Oscars and will be reviewing them here. Also, if anyone has any films recommendations that were left off of the nominations list, please put them in the comments.

Oscars

This time of year is always my favorite for two reasons. Reason number one is my birthday, and reason number two is the Academy Awards. This year, I was kind of disappointed. For those of you who do not know, the nominations were all announced the other day. Here are the nominations:

81st Academy Awards main nominations:

Best Picture:

'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button'

'Frost/Nixon'

'Milk'

'The Reader'

'Slumdog Millionaire'

Best Actor:

Richard Jenkins 'The Visitor'

Brad Pitt 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button'

Frank Langella 'Frost/Nixon'

Sean Penn 'Milk'

Mickey Rourke 'The Wrestler'

Best Actress:

Anne Hathaway 'Rachel Getting Married'

Melissa Leo 'Frozen River'

Meryl Street 'Doubt'

Angelina Jolie 'Changeling'

Kate Winslet 'The Reader'

Best Supporting Actor:

Josh Brolin 'Milk'

Robert Downey Jr. 'Tropic Thunder'

Philip Seymour Hoffman 'Doubt'

Heath Ledger 'The Dark Knight'

Michael Shannon 'Revolutionary Road'

Best Supporting Actress:

Amy Adams 'Doubt'

Penelope Cruz 'Vicky Cristina Barcelona'

Viola Davis 'Doubt'

Taraji P. Henson 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button'

Best Director:

David Fincher 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button'

Ron Howard 'Frost/Nixon'

Gus Van Sant 'Milk'

Stephen Daldry 'The Reader'

Danny Boyle 'Slumdog Millionaire'

Best Animated Feature Film:

'Bolt'

'Kung Fu Panda'

'Wall-E'

Best Adapted Screenplay:

'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button'

'Doubt'

'Frost/Nixon'

'The Reader'

'Slumdog Millionaire'

Best Original Screenplay:

'Frozen River'

'Happy-Go-Lucky'

'In Bruges'

'Milk'

'Wall-E'

Now, the reason that I am annoyed deals directly with Revolutionary Road or the lack of its presence on the list. I am especially annoyed with what happened with Kate Winslet's nomination. Those of you that saw the recent golden globes know that She won for best actress (for Revolutionary Road) and best supporting actress (for The Reader). If you read the Academy Award nominations, you will notice that she has been nominated for best actress for The Reader. Her role in The Reader is a supporting role, so it seems unlikely that she will win. This really bugs me. She would have such a better chance of winning were she to be nominated in the supporting actress category. I of course also think that she should be nominated for Revolutionary Road. I do not understand how she could be left off the list.

Does any one else have any opinions on the nominations?

The Golden Globes 2009

The other night I watched the Golden Globes with my roommate, Brittany. I couldn't help but notice several things...

1. Seeing Mickey Rourke now makes me sad.

2. Kate and Leo are no doubt having an affair.

3. Drew Barrymore is back on the sauce.

4. No matter what Colin Farrell does, he will always be adorable.

Let me explain. I am a huge Mickey Rourke fan. I must admit that I was originally drawn to him because of his undeniable hotness is some of his early works. He is of course undeniably a wonderful actor. I don't mean to take say that he isn't, but let's face it. He was gorgeous. What happened. There was something so sad about his acceptance speech (watch in high definition if you can) last night. Am I the only one that felt this way? Parts were so moving, but so sad at the same time.



Okay, the second thing that I noticed isn't exactly as serious at the first. And perhaps I am exaggerating the facts because I am way too much of a fan of Titanic. I can't help it. Ever since it came out, it has been one of my favorite films. I am also a huge Kate Winslet. I am so happy that she might finally win an Oscar. I must say that her acceptance speech (watch in high definition if you can) for her role in Revolutionary Road was my absolute favorite part of the entire night.

I don't really think that my third comment is really news to anyone. I couldn't find any clip of her and Jessica Lange. I am pretty sure that someone gave her tons of coffee and told her to sit still and smile so that she could then shown every couple of seconds during Steven Spielberg's speech in the hopes of cleaning up her image.

Lastly, as always, Colin Farrell is absolutely adorable no matter what he does. At one point while presenting an award he had a little sniffle and then adorably said that he just had a cold and wasn't sniffling for the reason that he used to. I love when people can get their act together and are able to laugh about themselves. This wasn't his most adorable moment. I would have to say that his acceptance speech absolutely clinches his adorable status.

I of course could go on and on about the golden globes, but am sure that no one seriously would want to read it. Does anyone else have and thoughts on these four observations? Does anyone have anything else that they wanted to add? Any Oscar guesses?

Currently Reading for Pleasure:
Suite Scarlet by Maureen Johnson

Currently Reading for Class:
The Professor's House by Willa Cather
and
Oedipus Rex

Currently Watching:
Rome Season Two

Currently Listening to:
Anything Goes by John Barrowman