The thought of a "Red Dragon" remake fills me with
glee.
Check out the new Entertainment Weekly, the one with that brat Harry Potter on the cover. There is an article called "Brush Jobs" about how CGI managed to make Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson look somewhat healthier on the Jackson anniversary broadcast on CBS -- BUT WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH DR. LECTER? Here's why STRAIGHT FROM THE ARTICLE:
"CGI is happening in movies like Waking Ned Devine and Elizabeth, where they're able to create a scene in places where you can't put actors," notes John Berton, visual-effects supervisor at George Lucas' Industrial Light and Magic.
Or for that matter, casting a youthful glow on an aging actor. In the case of next summer's Red Dragon, based on the first book in the Hannibal Lecter trilogy, Anthony Hopkins, 63, will have to appear younger -- and a CGI "face lift" could do the trick.
"He'll buy into it," says Randy Starr, VP of business development with Cineste, which replicated a crowd to appear as thousands for the upcoming Ali.
"It's no different than the software we've seen where you try on different hairstyles."
TonysGirl also sends in the following report from today's dark horizons:
Red Dragon: The film producers have confirmed that special digital FX will be employed during the upcoming film adaptation of the Lecter prequel in order to make the 63-year-old Anthony Hopkins appear younger. Shooting begins next year, but according to Variety Director Brett Ratner is due to meet Ralph Fiennes this week to discuss the possibility of him playing Francis Dollarhyde, the main serial killer of the tale known as 'The Tooth Fairy'. Fiennes is also attached to the "Kinsey" project next year. Thanks to 'Iffy121'
What follows is TonysGirl's last rant...
The thought of a "Red Dragon" remake fills me with
glee.
However, specific care must be taken as to ensure it will not be a miserable flop like "Manhunter."
Oh, how could it go wrong, many fervent Hopkins/Lecter fans ask? Dino and Martha DeLaurentis are in the drivers' seats; a hot director (Brett Ratner) will helm the project and Master Thespian Sir Anthony Hopkins will most likely return and reap some deservedly big bucks. Nothing could wrong!
Au contraire!
Careful consideration must be made in several areas: The casting of the Will Graham character is extremely crucial. In fact it ranks just the below the importance of getting Sir Anthony back into that starched blue jumpsuit. Graham is a strong character; he's not a na�ve waif like Clarice Starling. Graham has already seen his share of death and destruction so it's paramount that an older actor, with a I've-almost-seen-it-all demeanor and who can hold his own with Sir Anthony is cast. There has been talk on several movie web sites about Nicholas Cage playing Graham.
Ugh!
Cage is too young and prone to histrionics. He's played his share of unsettled men, but they've always been fun, goofy guys.
Don't even mention that Oscar for "Leaving Las Vegas." That was a fluke.
The perfect choice to play the tortured Graham is ... William Peterson. Yes, you read correctly. Peterson was the only good thing about "Manhunter," a miserable adaptation of one of the greatest crime thrillers ever written. Director Michael Mann filled "Manhunter" with headache-inducing jump cuts, an annoying synthesizer soundtrack and candy-coated pastels that dotted the scenery like a carnival barker on crack. Mann, who created "Miami Vice," brought too much style to a movie that should have been filled with substance.
Peterson's the guy. Besides, the only people who have seen "Manhunter" are Thomas Harris fans, so why not?
As far as the other point the DeLaurentises must
realize is this: only Sir Anthony should play Dr. Hannibal Lecter M.D.
I know that somewhere there is a lone Brian Cox fan
out there screaming that he was the best Dr. Lecter. Forget it. Cox was
horribly miscast. He was too big, too coarse and too damn unsexy for the
role. Instead of the urbane, witty sociopathic bon vivant and gourmand that
Harris vividly illustrated, we got a guy who looked like he just stepped out
of a Guy Ritchie gangster flick.
There are also bound to be complaints from some movie fans that Sir Anthony, who will turn 64 on New Year's Eve, is too old to play Lecter in "Red Dragon." Earlier this year there had been buzz that Jude Law was being courted to play a younger Lecter.
Jude Law can't act, he isn't sexy and most importantly, he doesn't look like a "young" Sir Anthony!!
The only trait they share are their blue eyes.
There also has been talk of "de-aging" Sir Anthony via CGI to make him look younger. Some reports say that the DeLaurentises would like him to resemble Dr. Frederick Treves, the kindly doctor he played at the age of 43 in 1980's "The Elephant Man."
The idea of a computer enhanced Hopkins is wrong.
It's insulting to Sir Anthony. The man has an Academy Award! He made people believe that he was a brilliant psychiatrist who loved to eat human flesh. He's also turned in incredible performances as a repressed butler, John Quincy Adams, and a crazy doll wrangler.
Using computer technology to erase the lines on his face or to add hair to his scalp is bad. It's like saying, "Well, Tony, we think you could play a younger Lecter, but you need a bit of a boost." He's an actor. Let the man act. Put a wig on him, hire a physical trainer, and slap some Max Factor Pan-Stick on him, but let him do what he does best ... become someone else.
Sir Anthony's done it numerous times and he can do it again.
