Greetings readers!
David has asked me to recast Cast Away. This has been a great challenge for me since the whole movie is basically one actor. So going into this I was thinking who would lots of people want to watch for an entire movie? What I've come up with is that I would make the stranded character a woman and cast Angelina Jolie or leave it as a man and cast Johnny Depp. I would also cast Spalding as a basketball instead of Wilson the volleyball. It's been a while since I've seen the movie but this is my initial instinct.
Let me know what you think and who you would cast!
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I have a couple of thoughts on this film.
ReplyDeleteRecasting the lead role as a woman is an intriguing notion. Jolie is about the right age, if the film is going to be recast today. The film itself was made nearly 10 years ago, so it might be a good idea to explore actresses from the late 1990s and early 2000s. From that group, I can think of a few that might work -- Nicole Kidman, Julianne Moore, Laura Linney, Diane Lane, Julia Roberts, Charlize Theron.
Likewise, Johnny Depp isn't a bad choice if the film is recast today. If we recast it at the time the film was made, perhaps Russell Crowe, Edward Norton, Adrien Brody. Current options to Depp might be Matt Damon, Ben Affleck or Hugh Jackman.
It's true that one actor is on screen for most of the movie, but I think that minimizes the importance of the love interest. Helen Hunt's screen time was limited, but while she wasn't seen on the island, she was what motivated Hanks' character to survive. He even talks about her at the end of the movie, saying that he regretted losing her but that he was grateful that she had been with him on the island.
So, whether the star in your recast version was male or female, I think a love interest would be necessary as a motivator.
And that's why I would be inclined to think that the star should still be a man. It is believable to suggest that the love interest would go on with his/her life and that, in four years' time, would marry and perhaps have a child, as Hunt's character did. In the movie, Hunt's character was clearly torn when Hanks came back, but she concluded that she could not leave her husband and child. This may sound sexist, but I think the audience would accept the idea of a male love interest leaving his spouse and child but would be less inclined to accept the idea of a female love interest doing the same thing.
So, to prevent having to rewrite the story, particularly the ending, I think the gender of the main character would have to be male.
I like the idea of changing genders, Lyndsay. It would allow that the audience to not be as judgmental as David points out, but I think it more importantly would have challenged the gender stereotype of a female needing a man to survive.
ReplyDeleteI think I'd cast Jodie Foster here. Great range, big star -- I can see her surviving, coming back, and moving on with her life. As the husband back at home, how about Tom Hanks! He could pull it off and be very sympathetic to the audience to shore up the problem David points out.
Going traditional, I like the Johnny Depp casting, but in 2000 would have gone with someone older, William Hurt maybe. For female, Charlize Theron would be fine.
I like the switching of genders here. I think it challenges the stereotypical gender norms. I was casting it for today, not 2000. I like Jolie because she is strong. Hanks would be a good choice as the husband although I usually try not to cast someone who is in the movie. If I were casting it in 2000 I like the idea of Jodie Foster as well. I also like the idea of keeping the male roles and casting it for today with either Johnny Depp or Hugh Jackman, as David suggested. Julianne Moore and Charlize Theron are also good ideas. It's been a while since I've seen this film, and I actually didn't care for it, so this one has been particularly challenging.
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