Session 1.16

Phillip Menzies

Moderator
Staff member
There is no session question as such for Friday the 11th of March 2016. Season 1 episodes have been pretty much wrapped up so what we do need is more input on the other forum threads of Casting, Sets and Props, Costumes, Music and Scripts. Let's see what talent lies within the SilmFilm audience.
 
EDIT: I was a bit too fast I posted a complete list here but only with names, but now I've made it more like what the execs were asking for, but with some names in brackets... And also I cut it down...

Manwë – (Oscar Isaac (or Jimmy Smits)) - I was looking for someone who is warm and seems to have an inner strength not characterized by aggression but confidence, yet someone who could be mistaken for being weak or passive.

Ulmo – (Ken Watanabe) - Someone who has firmness and warmth, who isn't afraid to speak his mind.

Nienna – (Kerry Washington) - A person with mild warmth, kindness, some kind of sorrow although she is not sad but hopeful.

Oromë – (Jason Momoa) - We need an athletic guy who is believable as a hunter, kind of rough.

Tulkas – (Adam Copeland) - A lot of muscle, someone quick to laughter, blonde hair.

Melkor – (Michael Fassbender) - Should be an actor who is impressive and knows it. Should both be some kind of ideal good king in appearance, good looking, but also capable of showing subtle signs of aggression, later more and more overt, and then the heaviness of hate.

Ungoliant – (Krysten Ritter) - I'm looking for someone who seems like they have mixed feelings about being around people, who looks like she is drawn to them but it's not a straightforward kind of attraction or interest. It's bad intent, not so well hidden. She's not into manipulation, lying is perhaps too complicated.

Mairon – (Sam Claflin. Watch the movie "Riot club") - He is a deciever. But I don't think he should look innocent. He should be charming and inspire trust. For me, innocence is a trait that I don't think a power hungry being like Sauron would accept, even in a fake persona. Even if he wasn't evil in the beginning, I don't think he was innocent. So I don't think we should go for boyish innocence, even for Mairon - unless the same actor also can portray mature charm. If we can have a bit of innocence, but like a seed of wickedness in his charisma, that grow more dominant over time, I think it would be perfect.

Uinen - Someone who is a powerful woman, who could, just like Ossë, like to be violent. She'd also be strong enough to confront him.

Ossë - Someone who could play a guy who is physical but does not focus very much on thinking. Basically a good guy, can be led astray for a while.

Eonwë An actor who could be both kind of innocent messenger á la Greek god Hermes and close combat martial arts or whatever etc. guy.

Olórin - (Gael Garcia Bernal) - A kind looking guy, a bit uncertain, looks like someone who is a thinker.
 
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As a heads up, they aren't going to discuss the casting of particular actors, really. They intend to go over the criteria for casting each character.

So, physical description, what the actor has to be able to bring to the role, etc.
 
As a heads up, they aren't going to discuss the casting of particular actors, really. They intend to go over the criteria for casting each character.

So, physical description, what the actor has to be able to bring to the role, etc.
Ok thanks. Well... I'm waiting for the last session.
 
As a heads up, they aren't going to discuss the casting of particular actors, really. They intend to go over the criteria for casting each character.

So, physical description, what the actor has to be able to bring to the role, etc.
Anyway - it won't hurt to have some examples to refer to, either as close to the ideals your aiming at or far from them.
 
I wouldn't throw your list away, though, Haakon; if you can extrapolate what it is about the people you've put forward that makes them good candidates in more general terms, what qualities these actors have that makes them fit to play the role, that'll be important to have. I'd probably toss it up into 1.15, though.

Edit: Ah, I see, there are two 1.6's, I guess it's a typo. Nevermind all that, you're in the right place.
 
I wouldn't throw your list away, though, Haakon; if you can extrapolate what it is about the people you've put forward that makes them good candidates in more general terms, what qualities these actors have that makes them fit to play the role, that'll be important to have. I'd probably toss it up into 1.15, though.

Edit: Ah, I see, there are two 1.6's, I guess it's a typo. Nevermind all that, you're in the right place.
Thanks, yes I'll edit the post and put in some thoughts on why.
 
Well I've listened to the podcast now... So I guess I was moving ahead a little too fast....

I think I'll just leave some of the names on the list and take away those that I'm less certain of or can't really argue for at this time.
 
I've had to do some casting for videos and short films I've made. The smartest thing that our honorable EPs (Prof. Olsen, Trish, and Dave) could do is cut the casting process into two steps. When most people think of casting for a role, they immediately start thinking of the actor who most looks like and has previously played a similar role to the character being cast. However, the most important criteria for filling a role is that the actor is able to convincingly convey the personality of the character he/she is cast as.

This first process of casting should not just be about what our main roles look like, we should be taking the time to craft believable and distinct character profiles that include motivations, emotional strengths/weaknesses, worldviews, habits, etc. Now obviously our honorable EPs don't have time to contemplate detailed character profiles for every character in season one in a single episode, but this should be the general focus.

This is not to say that physical characteristics are not important. They are important and should be part of the consideration. But physicality should not be the ONLY focus of casting. There needs to be a balance between the right personality fit and an accurate physical portrayal. If taken to the first extreme, you end up with Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley. He's a perfect Ron, but only if you close your eyes. In the books, Ron is weedy and very tall- two things that cannot be said about Rupert Grint. Taken to the second extreme, you end up with George Clooney as Batman. He's unfortunately the closest someone's come to looking like Bruce Wayne from a comic book, but his acting in the Batsuit left fans feeling (wait for it...) a bit cold. Schwarzenegger (as Mr. Freeze from Batman and Robin for those of you who didn't get my [humbly] hilarious reference) is a rare example of an actor who neither acts like nor looks like their literary counterpart. Let's not do that either.

Also, for the Valar, I think it will be important that we pay attention to the actors' voices. Since the Valar will be changing appearance at least once, we should make sure the voices fit the characters almost as if we were casting for animation. Now, practically, we could always change the pre-children designs of the characters after casting, but I think it's still something to consider.


Finally, all of this just to say- feel free to take my opinions with a grain of salt. The only sure way to properly cast a role is to audition actors and screen test multiple times (and sometimes even that fails...) So we really only have an actor's body of work to base capability on, and I implied not to do that in the first paragraph. Also, many groundbreaking roles and famous characters have been played by people who had never professionally acted before or were never famous before that role. For all we know, the perfect actress to play Luthien is your cousin's best friend's former high school prom date's daughter. Who would know? Plus, this is dream-casting. If I had it my way, Jason Issacs, JK Simmons, and Jennifer Lawrence would be playing every role.

So yeah. At the very least, maybe the things above are something to think about while scrounging IMDB for ideas.
 
Good arguments. Of course, since this series will never be filmed, the actors will never be tried and might or might not be perfect for the various parts, and someone who in reality would have accomplished a wonderful performance can in this dream production be much less successful than, say, someone who's appearance sets the right fantasies in motion and makes us create the best film ever in our heads.
 
I don't know, I'd like to one day meet with whomever is controlling the Tolkien Estate (in 2105 when we've finished (yes, I intend to live forever)), and drop the massive tome of a script we will have completed and say, "So ... about that movie you don't want made..."
 
I agree that character profiles would be really useful, Alex! And, yes, some discussion of physical traits - age, gender, build, race, etc. - helps people to get a picture of the character. But I agree that getting someone who is spot-on for the character is more important than matching the physical criteria, as Alan Rickman was a brilliant Snape, despite being twice as old as the character. Specifying an actor's height is not so important when you can always have people stand on a box or wear platform shoes as needed. (I realize there are more hi-tec solutions, but...)
 
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