Hey Readers! Sorry for the delay between posts. I think I have a good cast lined up for this one though, and as always feel free to comment!
Forrest Gump- Sean Penn
Mama- Sigourney Weaver
Jenny- Mary-Louise Parker
Lt. Dan- Jack Nicholson
Bubba- Jamie Foxx
This time I want to try something different. I want to hear your thoughts first, then I will respond and tell you why I chose this cast.
Thanks! Enjoy!
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Note: I only recast major roles because there are so many small ones.
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking Sean Penn's performance in "I Am Sam" may have played a role in choosing him to play Forrest Gump. If so, that isn't bad thinking. The roles do have some similarities, and Penn did a fine job with the role of Sam.
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking that Sigourney Weaver has demonstrated the kind of versatility in her career that Sally Field has, which might give her the edge for the role of Mama.
Mary-Louise Parker is an interesting selection for the role of Jenny. I'm not really sure what the logic was.
I think Jack Nicholson's acting personality is ideal for Lt. Dan, who is clearly tormented by inner demons in the first half of the film.
But I have a choice for the role of Bubba that differs from yours. My pick would be Forest Whitaker. It would reunite him with "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" co-star Sean Penn!
Forest Whitaker probably would've been a better choice. I didn't even think of him! So I agree with that.
ReplyDeleteThe reason I chose Mary-Louise Parker for Jenny was because of her role as Ruth in Fried Green Tomatoes. I considered her co-star Mary Stuart Masterson, but thought her acting was too flat. I also considered Holly Hunter but I didn't like her voice.
The logic for picking Parker is good. I agree that Masterson's acting is too flat for a role that requires a certain fire.
ReplyDeleteBut I find it ironic that you rejected Hunter because of her voice. After all, she won an Oscar for a role in a movie in which she never spoke (The Piano). I like Hunter and I think she could have done some interesting things in the role of Jenny, but I guess that's a matter of personal taste.
And I've had some second thoughts about Nicholson. I admire his abilities, but I suppose the appropriateness of casting him as Lt. Dan might depend upon when the movie was being made. He is in his 70s so I wonder if he would be believable in the role of an active-duty military man during the Vietnam War era. Such a role seems to call for a younger man. He might have been able to pull it off 30 years ago, when he made "The Shining," but the book on which "Forrest Gump" was based hadn't been written yet.
My alternate? Kevin Spacey. I can't really say that I've given a great deal of thought to it. For some reason, I just think he would be good in that role.
That's funny, I considered Spacey as well. I based my decision for Jack Nicholson on A Few Good Men. It was two years before Forrest Gump and he made a great military man. As for Forrest Gump having been in the Vietnam era, you have a point. I think that he could've played Lt. Dan, but then when it got to the present he would just be a really old angry bitter man until he finds love at the end. It would've been different, but I think it could still work.
ReplyDeleteVery nice casting, Lyndsay. Particularly if recasting at the time the movie was made. If remade today, I'd go with Jake Gyllenhall as Forest, Reece Witherspoon as Jenny, Marsha Gaye Hardin as Momma, Phillip Seymour Hoffman as Lt. Dan, and stay with Jamie Foxx as Bubba.
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