The Return of Sword & Sorcery Cinema?

[Orius]

Heres another fantasy movie, this one is out in October I believe. No trailer as yet, but the background legend makes for interesting reading:

http://www.eragonmovie.com/

Silly me, at first I thought that was a movie adaptation of The Eye of Argon.

 

[Wolf Knight]

Silly me, at first I thought that was a movie adaptation of The Eye of Argon.

I think I'd rather that. :\

 

[barsoomcore]

Rhys-Meyer is a pretty good suggestion, even though he's filled out a lot since his Gormenghast days. Thirty years ago David Bowie was a shoo-in for the part, but we seem to have gone away from the Thin White Duke's aesthetic of male beauty.

There certainly don't seem to be any A-List stars who remotely fit the physical description of Elric. Even most male models (usually the prettiest and scrawniest of men) seem too bulky and "masculine" for the role. I wonder if you could cast a woman in the role? Keira Knightly is completely flat-chested. As is Famke Janssen. Neither of them are particularly "womanly" -- they're certainly far more androgynous than any male actors I can think of. Would an audience accept them in the part?

 

[CrusaderX]

There certainly don't seem to be any A-List stars who remotely fit the physical description of Elric.

The same could have been said for Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippen.

With the right makeup, clothing, lighting, and even special effects where necessary, I don't really see a live action Elric as much of a problem. Thems Hollywood folks can really work wonders.

 

[barsoomcore]

Okay, we disagree. Making somebody look three feet tall seems less of a challenge to me than making Vin Diesel a pretty, slanted-eyed, 96-pound weakling.

 

[WayneLigon]

There certainly don't seem to be any A-List stars who remotely fit the physical description of Elric. Even most male models (usually the prettiest and scrawniest of men) seem too bulky and "masculine" for the role.

Well, they have to be to look nice; Elric is not going to look nice. Some actors will starve themselves for a part and that's probably what's going to happen here. Look at Christian Bale in The Machinist. If IMDB is to be beleived, he went from 180 to 120 and wanted to go further but they wouldn't let him. He looks like death on toast in that movie, and not too dissimilar to what Elric's body probably would look like.

 

[CrusaderX]

Okay, we disagree. Making somebody look three feet tall seems less of a challenge to me than making Vin Diesel a pretty, slanted-eyed, 96-pound weakling.

But casting Vin Diesel as Elric is more akin to casting Andre the Giant as Frodo. Just because Vin wouldn't work doesn't mean that nobody would work.

Remember, before they were actually seen on film, few fans were able to wrap their heads around how an accurate portrayal of hobbits would look onscreen (without actually using little people, ala Willow). But once we saw the end results, Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, and the rest were perfect in their roles, thanks to moviemaking magic.

Cast the right actor as Elric (which, admittedly, is easier said than done, but far from impossible), and use appropriate moviemaking magic, and the potential for an accurate portrayal of a hard to envision character is certainly possible.

 

[Ranger REG]

Yup, he was also one of Tom Cruise's MI team members in MI-3.

Well, that's a bad career move. But I guess I can forgive him for that.

 

[barsoomcore]

Look at Christian Bale in The Machinist.

Christian Bale -- there's a reasonable suggestion. And he can act. And yeah, he was hella thin in that picture.

 

[Klaus]

Christian Bale -- there's a reasonable suggestion. And he can act. And yeah, he was hella thin in that picture.

Of course, he said he'd *never* do that kind of stunt again, specially since he went from Machinist's 120 pounds to Batman Begins' 200 pounds and almost had a heart attack crossing a hotel lobby. He had to actually bilk down a bit to get to the phisique in BB.

How's about Johhny Lee Miller (Angelina's ex)? Or even Matt Damon? He was astoundingly thin in Courage Under Fire (y'know, the one where Meg Ryan is a military officer >snicker<). The lady who played Gabriel in Constantine, otoh, could be a shoo-in. And then there's Mr. Freaky Eyebrows, aka, Ian Somerhalder (who'll play Marco Polo in an upcoming miniseries, where Kublai Khan will be played by... wait for it... Brian Dennehy!!!). And of course, if he chooses to actually *act* like he did in his earlier movies, there's Leonardo Di Caprio (The Beach notwithstanding).

As for Famke Janssen being androginous, I *dare* you to watch GoldenEye and tell me that with a straight face!