THE STAND FILM ADAPTATION TO GET SOME OF THAT HARRY POTTER LOVE

This could be.....interesting. Three two-hour films could really do it; you wouldn't be rushing things, but you wouldn't be dawdling, either. I'm more concerned with WB sanding off the edges and making it PG-13 than anything else at this point, now that we know Mick Garris won't be coming anywhere near it. Do a LOTR treatment and film it next May - October, and release the three parts six months apart, starting in July 2013.

Getting Yates and Kloves is a great first start. Getting the casting right will be the next huge thing. It's hard to imagine the casting being worse than it was for most of the roles in the TV version.

The announcement that launched a thousands fancastings.  

Can we start the campaign to have Shawnee Smith reprise her role of Julie Lawry?

If its R and epic i'm in. Yates doesn't excite me though.

In a perfect world, WB will end up with the rights to The Dark Tower at some point and set Kloves on that sucker as well.................paving the way for another good adaptation and allowing the same actor to play Flagg in it.

Dreams aside, this is an excellent pairing of talent and material.

I could see this being R because it's not necessary to spend 150 million on each of these. If 28 Days Later can look the way it did for pretty much no money, they could manage this with a reasonable budget. 

Yates is a solid choice.  But anyone seems solid next to Mick Garris.

Fancasting commence!

Timothy Olyphant as Flagg (he's got a cocky, smarmy charm to him, especially in Justified, that seems perfect for the character). Can look good in a Canadian tuxedo, too. The added benefit being that when they cast Walton Goggins as Trashcan Man, it'll be a Justified reunion.

Hell, he could play Stu if need be, too.

This news actually excites me; love what Yates did with the last HP films, especially Phoenix. He and Kloves seem to have a good rapport and their styles mesh considerably well. Hope this actually happens.

Question: where would you break up the films?

I'd break the film with the arrival at Boulder; maybe even with Nadine's first meeting with Mother Abigail, to end it on a nicely ominous note. Second film would compress most of the Boulder civilization building, with the first act being the blowing up of the house and killing of Nick.

Here's my latest bit of laughaubly unrealistic casting:

Timothy Olyphant as Stu Redman; Chris Pine as second choice

Colin Farrell as Larry Underwood

Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Fran Goldsmith

Joseph Gordon Levitt as Nick Andros

David Strathairn as Glen Bateman

Eva Green as Nadine Cross

Alfre Woodard as Mother Abagail

Josh Holloway as Lloyd Henreid

Walter Goggins The Trashcan Man

Kevin Durand as Tom Cullen

Will Patton as Ralph Brentner

Christian Bale or Aaron Eckhart as Randall Flagg

And based on some photos in another CHUD thread....Francis Bean Cobain as Julie Lawry.

No idea who to cast as Harold.

I'd end it in Las Vegas, as opposed to Boulder. I think the ending needs to be a bit more ominous, so seeing Flagg begin to set up shop, contrasted with the survivors arriving in Boulder. It would give it a bigger punch. Maybe Flagg telling Lloyd his plans. I don't know.

It's hard to come up with a cast as I watched the series before reading the book, so I imagine the actors faces when I read it. But I like most of MichaelM's suggestions.

Good choices, MichaelM. Gotta love fancasting, because everybody can be in it!

James Franco for Harold.

Ooh! Or Tom Felton, so we can automatically hate the guy based on prior experience.

Franco's too old. Harold's supposed to be, what, 16 or 17? 18 at the oldest. I'm just not up on the younger set of actors. Heck, without CHUD, I would've had zero ideas for Julie Lawry.

Franco would be a fine choice for Larry.  

I'm a huge Stephen King fan and it is with heavy heart that I say that I just never really liked THE STAND. It's cocked full of cliched characters, it's overlong for no good reason, The Walking Dude is one of the goofiest and non-scary villains in all of Kings oeuvre and it has maybe the worst ending of any epic in fiction. I just don't get why it is loved so.

That said, if these guys take massive liberties with the story, it could be good.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sebastian OB 

I'm a huge Stephen King fan and it is with heavy heart that I say that I just never really liked THE STAND. It's cocked full of cliched characters, it's overlong for no good reason, The Walking Dude is one of the goofiest and non-scary villains in all of Kings oeuvre and it has maybe the worst ending of any epic in fiction. I just don't get why it is loved so.

 

That said, if these guys take massive liberties with the story, it could be good.

Oddly, I'm not really a King fan - I've read a fair range/amount of his stuff - and I find THE STAND among his most accessible, best-told* stories. It's true that, on the surface, the characters are stock. But I'd argue King, over the length of the admittedly-padded novel, really makes Fran, Stu, Larry - especially Larry - breathe and feel very, very real. I also find the book immersive - I can't read it without having an internal double take when someone near me sneezes.

And I find Flagg plenty scary, especially thanks to his freeing of Lloyd. The depth of his evil and how lightly he holds human life is very, very clear in that scene. To me, at least.

I also like it because, epilogue notwithstanding, King manages to balance the dark with the light. THE STAND has some really harrowing and awful scenes, but it also has personal redemption and some great scenes that give the reader something to hold on to. Other novel-length works of his I've read - admittedly not many - seem far more saturated in darkness.

*I make a likely-annoying distinction between good storytellnig and good writing. King is often a poor writer but very often a great storyteller, and the latter wins out for affection and attention most of the time with most readers.
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sebastian OB 

I'm a huge Stephen King fan and it is with heavy heart that I say that I just never really liked THE STAND. It's cocked full of cliched characters, it's overlong for no good reason, The Walking Dude is one of the goofiest and non-scary villains in all of Kings oeuvre and it has maybe the worst ending of any epic in fiction. I just don't get why it is loved so.

 

I don't think any of the characters are cliched, although it is maybe overlong. I love book one, and most of book two, but three just starts to drags and is too anticlimactic. I actually thought Under the Dome was a great read, despite its lousy ending and characters that, to quote Devin Faraci, don't quite "sing" like some of King's other characters do, although Big Jim Rennie might be the best villain King has ever written. I might like it better than the Stand. I just really tore into Under the Dome when I first read it.

All time best King novel that I've read, however, would be IT. IT is still a great read and it's the kind of book I could pick up, turn to any page, and start reading. It's got so much going, a great cast of characters, and it seems so epic in scope. I even don't mind the ending. In fact, I think some of King's best writing towards the end.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MichaelM 

No idea who to cast as Harold.

I vote this guy:

Or Jonah Hill. Shame this wasn't cooking while he was doing his weight loss thing. He could have pulled a Castaway.

Harold would be a great role for an unknown. In fact, I'd like most of the cast to be unknown. Make Stu, Flagg, Larry and Frannie names, and then hire theater and TV character actors. It keeps costs down and might allow for the Game of Thrones effect to kick in, where they cast the roles, not the personalities. And fuck it, throw in some Joseph Gordon Levitt as Nick, that's really good.

If there is one other criticism I might have, it would be that the characters are predominately white. Is this something that should be changed?

No god loves white people more, get over it.

There's a magical negro though, King loves those.

Someone voted Paul Dano for Harold and I thought that was a great suggestion.

As for The Walking Dude?

I think that's perfect. 

Finchter is already a little too menacing-looking on the outset.  One of Flagg's biggest strengths was always how congenial he was.  At first.  

Someone mentioned Josh Brolin, I think.  Now that's an amazing choice.  

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ratty 

Finchter is already a little too menacing-looking on the outset.  One of Flagg's biggest strengths was always how congenial he was.  At first.  

 

Someone mentioned Josh Brolin, I think.  Now that's an amazing choice.  

No offense, but I generally find Brolin even more menacing than Fichtner.  How often has he actually played a congenial character?  I honestly can't think of anything off the top of my head.  Hell, he's usually playing a villain or at least a not-so-honorable protagonist.

I get that Fichtner in the role would be a tip-off that Flagg might not be who he seems at first, but Brolin DEFINITELY would be................especially to audiences these days.  I have no doubt that he could pull it off as an actor, but the audience will already be expecting him to do something bad.  It's the exact same reason I think he is wrong for Spike Lee's Oldboy remake as well.

Coupla casting choices:

Timberlake as Larry Underwood.

Matt Damon as Randall Flagg.

Walton Goggins as Lloyd Henreid. Noah Taylor as The Trashcan Man.

Brendan Fraser as Tom Cullen.

Abbie Cornish as Frannie Goldsmith.

And ANIMAL KINGDOM's James Frecheville as Harold Lauder.

Tom Cullen has me extremely at unease. I'm anticipating an actor that's going to pull a performance that goes "full retard" when it needs to be "zero retard". 

I've seen Brendan Fraser give strong dramatic performances before, but I'm afraid he'll come off as "I am Tom!" because of the countless goofy movies he's done. I know Tom was never described by King as being mentally impaired in a clinical way, but I think that's the way to go. Meaning, get someone like Chris Burke(for example) from Life Goes On...to do it. Don't think it would bother King if Kloves and Yates deviated like this for the character, and I think a strong casting decision like that will generate good PR because Tom is such a strong character. PR that could probably help assuage a rating battle. Stand NEEDS to be rated R.

The rest of Tommy's casting is pretty on-point, though. I'd probably cast Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Franny, but the rest is great. Love the Noah Taylor and James Frecheville suggestions.  

Quote:

Originally Posted by Walker 

 

Stand NEEDS to be rated R.

Amen. It's a property that has no way it could possibly and properly work without it, which is why I'd prefer someone like Fincher or Aronofsky to take the helm.

Tommy, no one but Walton Goggins can be Henreid. It's the most pertinent casting matter since Patrick Stewart as Professor X.

Fichtner as Flagg would be glorious, but given the talent involved, I could see Ralph Fiennes doing a bangup job in the part.

Get Brolin or Bale for Stu, and I still stand by Colin Farrell as my choice for Larry. Case in point:

Holy shit, I LOVE the idea of Abbie Cornish as Fran. A seriously great suggestion.

Fichtner as Flagg I also love. Brolin's a decent suggestion, but I think Fichtner would bring more of the abstract menace. Brolin's a physical guy, and Flagg is more about exuding evil.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arjen Rudd 

Matt Damon is great for Flagg. Just great. And I've been wondering why people are calling Goggins for Trashcan when he's a natural Lloyd Henreid. He's practically the 2011 version of Miguel Ferrer now anyway.

Also, as I understand it, people were talking Brolin for Stu. That makes a lot of sense to me.

Speaking of Stu and Lloyd, those were the two characters that I thought the miniseries pretty much nailed. Whoever plays those roles has their work cut out for them, as Sinise and Ferrer more or less own the roles in my mind. And since people are talking Tom, I'll cop to liking Dauber in the role too.

I think Damon has too much inherent decentness to play an archetypically evil villain like Flagg. I think Damon could do a more human antagonist, but there's something supernatural and cosmic about Flagg. Damon's just too much a down-to-earth guy. I like him MUCH better for Stu than Flagg.

And with respect, I think Sinise was seriously miscast as Stu. Sinise is a gifted actor, but I think Stu needs to be done by someone with a much more palpable physical presence. Sinise was just too slight and East Coast to pull off East Texas, IMSNHO.

Don't disagree about Ferrer as Henreid, though.
 

I love this.  I love reading all of the fan casting.  JGL as Nick is perfect, and I'm liking Damon for Stu too.   I don't like the idea of casting Tom with an actually impaired actor.  One of Tom's points was his "normal" if childlike appearance.  I feel like shoving "He is a retard" in the audience's face is going overboard.  But, admittedly I'm in love with the book (well the characters and the first 2 parts of the story) so I hate the idea of changes but would probably enjoy them on film.

I'm surprised no one has brought up where they think it should be broken up.  But then, I can't come up with a good cutting point right now either.

My cast:

Michael Fassbender as Flagg

Nichelle Nichols as Mother Abigail

Kyle Chandler as Stu

Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Fran

Ian Sommerhalder as Larry

Rory Culkin as Nick

Daniel Sabara (plus a few pounds) as Harold

Winona Ryder as Nadine

Gordon Pinsent as Glen

Brad Leland as Ralph

Laurie Holden as Dayna

Danny Glover as the Judge

Christopher Meloni as Lloyd

Crispen Glover as The Trashcan Man

You know, Michael Cera might make a great Nick.

There are SO many excellent suggestions for almost all the roles above that I really don't know what my own choices would be.  This is something that bodes really well for a project that already has a good writing and directing team on board.  I'm really looking forward to see how this all pans out and how quickly it comes together.  I know that WB has been gunning to do this adaptation for a little while now, but do we know how long Kloves has been working on it?  I know he was on board before Yates, but I'm wondering how long.  Basically, are we expecting the first entry to hit in 2013 or 2014?

Anyway, I'm betting on it being a two-film adaptation.  As for the split, right now I'd go with the suggestion mentioned above about doing it around the time they reach Boulder.  I trust Yates and Kloves though.

It's Damon's wholesomeness that makes him such an interesting Flagg! I think he could pull it off and I'd love to see him try, especially with a bruiser like Brolin as Stu. 

Gots to admit, I'm not wild about a lot of t3cii's picks there, but Gordon Pinset is goddamn inspired. He's Glen to a tee, and completely eschews the cuddliness trap.

Below is a list I made in February for the recast thread. Funny, I think about half of it kind of sucks now, especially the big roles. Still, Renner, Michelle Williams, and Kevin Corrigan could all be pretty cool.

Stu Redman: Christian Bale

Frannie Goldsmith: Natalie Portman

Nick Andros: Sam Rockwell

Larry Underwood: Bradley Cooper

Randall Flagg: Jeremy Renner

Lloyd Henreid: Walton Goggins

Trashcan Man: Peter Sarsgaard

Mother Abigail: Phylicia Rashad

Tom Cullen: Kevin Corrigan

Genn Bateman: Terry O'Quinn

Harold Lauder: Jesse Eisenberg

Nadine Cross: Michelle Williams

Ralph Brentner: David Morse

Judge Farris: Ciaran Hinds

Thing to keep: "Don't Fear the Reaper" over the opening credits.

Thing to change: The ending.

Plus, if anyone doubts Matt Damon as Flagg they should check out The Talented Mr. Ripley.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arjen Rudd 

 

Gots to admit, I'm not wild about a lot of t3cii's picks there.

I'm not too wild about my cast either, but are there any you particularly don't like?

I gotta say, though, I'm not too wild about your picks either. And I don't mean to be defensive just because you don't like mine, it's just that you're either casting too old in some roles, or not old enough in others. I think Portman as Fran would have been a great choice had this project existed five or six years ago. Now, I'm wondering if she's too old to play Fran who is just out of college? Sam Rockwell is way too old to play Nick who is just in his early 20's, while Michelle Williams feels too young to play Nadine who's in her late 30's and is supposed to look older. Even if she were older I'm not sure she'd have that temptress vibe. Kevin Corrigan is also kind of an odd choice since Tom Cullen is supposed to be this big, Nordic looking guy. That's a tough role to cast as Bill Fagerbakke was perfect as Tom. I actually almost thought to cast O'Quinn as Glen, but I wonder if he's too in his prime? Remember that one of the reasons that Glen was disqualified from going West to spy on Flagg was that he was too old.

I think Flagg is probably the hardest part to cast. It's tempting to want to cast an intimidating guy, but he has a sort of goofiness to him. I thought Kurt Russell might be a good choice, but I wonder if Flagg should be younger?

Quote:

Originally Posted by MichaelM 

Holy shit, I LOVE the idea of Abbie Cornish as Fran. A seriously great suggestion.

 

I think Damon has too much inherent decentness to play an archetypically evil villain like Flagg. I think Damon could do a more human antagonist, but there's something supernatural and cosmic about Flagg. Damon's just too much a down-to-earth guy.

 

What you're saying right here is the reason why I think his performance in The Departed pays off gangbusters. This is what we call the "Henry Fonda Blackhat Principle". Which is the same reason why I think Mike Myers is the best choice for Pennywise.

I fully support this Flagg casting decision. 

Oh yeah, I love that Mike Myers idea. He's got a terrifying performance hiding in there somewhere. If they wait a few years, he might even get a bloated, latter-day-John-Ritter face, and then the creepiness will just ooze forth.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arjen Rudd 

 

 

Stu Redman: Christian Bale

Frannie Goldsmith: Natalie Portman

Nick Andros: Sam Rockwell

Larry Underwood: Bradley Cooper

Randall Flagg: Jeremy Renner

Lloyd Henreid: Walton Goggins

Trashcan Man: Peter Sarsgaard

Mother Abigail: Phylicia Rashad

Tom Cullen: Kevin Corrigan

Genn Bateman: Terry O'Quinn

Harold Lauder: Jesse Eisenberg

Nadine Cross: Michelle Williams

Ralph Brentner: David Morse

Judge Farris: Ciaran Hinds

Huh. You really don't give a shit about the ages of the characters in the books, do you? ;-)

I swing between wildlly loving some of these and hating the others.

Eisenberg as Lauter would be interesting; SOCIAL NETWORK proved he could play calculating asshole, and that's certainly needed for the last half of the story. Cooper as Underwood is genius casting - don't know if he can sing in real life, but that's easily fixable onscreen. Bale as Stu could be great or flat; with THE FIGHTER, Bale showed us he could be amiable and warmer than other roles suggested, but I'm not entirely sold that he could play East Texas like Damon, Olyphant or Holloway.

I do think your two biggest missteps are your casting for Flagg and Nadine. Renner can be menacing, but I don't think he has any of the charm or looks needed for the part of someone who's a leader to thousands. I also know I'm in the minority in these parts in not thinking he's the shiznit, so take my reaction FWIW. And Michelle Williams as Nadine....just no. Nadine is a sex bomb. She exudes sensuality and isn't slight or waifish. Eva Green is much more in line with what the character does than Williams, IMNSHO.

Two things:

If Goggins isn't in these movies in some capacity, I feel like there's going to be a revolt.

And, also, I've spent the last five minutes successfully convincing myself that Bradley Cooper could actually make a pretty good Flagg.

Quote:

Originally Posted by zak chase 

Two things:

 

If Goggins isn't in these movies in some capacity, I feel like there's going to be a revolt.

 

And, also, I've spent the last five minutes successfully convincing myself that Bradley Cooper could actually make a pretty good Flagg.

After seeing someone mention Cooper I initially scoffed, but yeah...the more I think about it, the more it could work.  Those damn eyes of his...

Quote:

Originally Posted by t3cii 

I think Flagg is probably the hardest part to cast. It's tempting to want to cast an intimidating guy, but he has a sort of goofiness to him. I thought Kurt Russell might be a good choice, but I wonder if Flagg should be younger?

 

HOLY SHIT!  I never thought of casting Russell as Flagg, but that would be fantastic!  I don't think it really matters what Flagg's age is, be it young or not..........especially since the rest of the cast will be filled with young actors (for the most part).

New faves for Flagg = Kurt Russell and Matt Damon.  I'd be happy either way.

Quote:

Originally Posted by zak chase 

Two things:

 

If Goggins isn't in these movies in some capacity, I feel like there's going to be a revolt.

 

And, also, I've spent the last five minutes successfully convincing myself that Bradley Cooper could actually make a pretty good Flagg.

Goggins definitely needs to be Lloyd.  As fun as Cooper might be in the role of Flagg, there is no way he will do it now that he is playing Lucifer in Alex Proyas' Paradise Lost.

BTW, for those feeling nostalgic, the Mick Garris adaptation is on Netflix Instant.

Tom Hanks for Flagg. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Walker 

Tom Hanks for Flagg. 

I'm all for a Henry Fonda-esque bit of stunt casting for the role of Flagg (as long as it is with a good actor), but can Hanks actually go that dark?

Am I an asshole for not wanting Christian Bale anywhere near this?  I think hes a terrible choice for Stu.  Olyphant is perfect.

For whatever reason, I always liked Kiefer Sutherland for Flagg.

Quote:

Originally Posted by S.D. Bob Plissken 

I'm all for a Henry Fonda-esque bit of stunt casting for the role of Flagg (as long as it is with a good actor), but can Hanks actually go that dark?

 

Hahahaha. I was joking(kinda). Matt Damon is the way to go IMVHO.

But to answer your question: I think he could. I'll use his guest appearance from Taxi that he can at least get the idea of giving un-needed temptation.

Quote:

Originally Posted by fuzzy dunlop 

Am I an asshole for not wanting Christian Bale anywhere near this?  I think hes a terrible choice for Stu.  Olyphant is perfect.

 

For whatever reason, I always liked Kiefer Sutherland for Flagg.

 

 

When Bale's name was dropped for Roland, I thought the same thing. Even after his Fighter career rehabilitation. 

Sutherland is a fine choice.