Dream Cast Thursday! Anna Karenina

This week's Dream Cast Thursday is Anna Karenina. It was originally a book by Leo Tolstoy that was first published between 1873 and 1877. I have never read the original novel, but for my remake, I looked at the four film adaptations that were released in 1935, 1948, 1997 and 2000.

The first character that I recast was Anna Karenina. She has been played by Greta Garbo, Vivien Leigh, Sophie Marceau, and Helen McCrory. For my adaptation, I cast Hayley Atwell.

The second character that I recast was Count Vronsky. He has been played by Fredric March, Kieron Moore, Sean Bean, and Kevin McKidd. For my adaptation, I cast Ewan McGregor.

The third character that I recast was Alexei Karenin. He has been played by Basil Rathbone, Ralph Richardson, James Fox, and Stephen Dillane. For my adaptation, I cast Rufus Sewell.

The fourth character that I recast was played by Alfred Molina and Douglas Henshall. For my adaptation, I recast Paul Bettany.

The last character that I recast was Kitty Scherbatsky. She has been played by Maureen O'Sullivan, Sally Ann Howes, Mia Kirshner, and Paloma Baeza. For my adaptation, I cast Natalie Portman.

So what do you all think? What adaptations have you seen? Have you read the original novel? Who would be in your recast?

Goya's Ghosts

I was completely amazed by this new film that I saw. Goya's Ghosts came out in 2006. I remembered seeing the trailer and wanting to see it, but I never really got the chance. The story was not particularly groundbreaking. The thing that really amazed me were the performances. There were a couple of really good performances from Javier Bardem and Stellan Skarsgard, but I was completely blown away by Natalie Portman. She played two different characters. Many actors have done this before, but she really got it right. I saw two completely different performances side-by-side.

The film is based on the painter, Goya. He faces the Spanish Inquisition after his muse, Ines, is arrested for heresy. Goya uses his connection to Brother Lorenzo in order to set-up a metting between powerful Inquisitors and Ines' family. The plot thickens as political and religious power changes hands and people change sides.

I would definitely recommend this film. It is definitely a must-see!

New York I Love You

I just saw New York, I Love You and actually really liked it. It came out last year. I originally heard some bad reviews. Many people said that it did not live up to Paris, Je T'aime, but I think that in some ways, it was actually better. I did not like the fact that, unlike the first film, every story seemed to be a pretty clear-cut love story, but I did like the presence of closure that I found in many of the stories that was simply not as present in the first film.

I do not want to go into detail about the actual stories, because that would give too much away. What I will say is that I was impressed with many of the cameos both in front of and behind the screen. These cameos included Bradley Cooper, Natalie Portman, Shia LaBeouf, Orlando Bloom, Hayden Christensen, Ethan Hawke, Christina Ricci, Rachel Bilson, Robin Wright, Anton Yelchin, James Caan, John Hurt, Andy Garcia, Chris Cooper, Cloris Leachman, and Julie Christie.

There were many actors that continually give the wonderful performances that I have come to expect. A few surprised me. I was really impressed by the performances of Orlando Bloom, Shia LaBeouf, and Bradley Cooper. Most of the actors were cast outside the normal roles that they are given. It was a really pleasant surprise.

I would definitley recommend this film. It is definitely a must-see!

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?

Dream Cast Thursday! Fried Green Tomatoes

This week's Dream Cast Thursday is Fried Green Tomatoes.

This was a really hard film for me to recast. The original actors are SO present in my mind. It is really hard to see any other people in the roles. The first character that I recast was Ruth Jamison. She was originally played by Mary-Louise Parker. For my adaptation, I cast Kate Beckinsale. The next character that I cast was Idgie Threadgoode. She was originally played by Mary Stuart Masterson. For my adaptation, I cast Natalie Portman. The third character that I recast was Ninny Threadgoode. She was originally played by Jessica Tandy. For my adaptation, I cast Vanessa Redgrave. The last major character is Evelyn Couch. She was originally played by Kathy Bates. I considered this for a long while. For a little while, I considered Mary Kay Place, but I ended up just not being able to recast her. There was no one that I could think of that would do this character justice.

So what do you all think? Have you seen the original? Who would be in your remake?

Dream Cast Thursday! Blue is for Nightmares

This week's Dream Cast Thursday is the Blue is for Nightmares series by Laurie Stolarz (see my review for the most recent book in the series).

The first three characters that I cast were Stacey, Drea and Amber. For Stacey, the magical, smart, creative and level-headed teen, I chose Emmy Rossum.For the smart and sexy Drea, I chose Amanda Seyfried. For the funny and wacky Amber, I chose Natalie Portman

.The last three characters that I cast were Jacob, Chad and PJ. For the smart and courageous Jacob, I cast Taylor Kitsch. For the attractive and dependable Chad, I cast Channing Tatum. For the wild and funny PJ, I cast Hayden Christensen.

So what do you all think? Have you read the books? Who would be in your dream cast?

Dream Cast Thursday! Twilight

For this week's "Dream Cast Thursday," I will be recasting Twilight. The original cast includes: Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart), Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson), Alice Cullen (Ashley Greene), Rosalie Hale (Nikki Reed), Jasper Hale (Jackson Rathbone), Emmett Cullen (Kellan Lutz), Dr. Carlisle Cullen (Peter Facinelli), Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner), Esme Cullen (Elizabeth Reaser)

My recasting includes: Bella Swan (Emmy Rossum), Edward Cullen (James Franco), Alice Cullen (Natalie Portman), Rosalie Hale (Amber Heard), Jasper Hale (Trent Ford), Emmett Cullen (Channing Tatum), Dr. Carlisle Cullen (Jason Lewis), Jacob Black (Steven Strait), and Esme Cullen (Rachel Weisz).











It was really hard trying to find the right Edward. I know that James Franco might not be the obvious choice for a seventeen year old looking vampire, but when I saw the above picture from SNL, it seemed really right.