Biggest Casting Mistake

Has this become the new beat-down Natalie Portman thread? I mean, Christ guys! Everyone was fine in the Trilogy, except Sam "The Man" Jackson. Love Sam but not sure if he was right for Windu. He did bring it home in Episode III for the most part. But, of all the cast, he was the one that was not just right.

Everyone else, including the much hated Portman, was either solid, good, or great. That all varies depending on the film.

For instance, Ian, great for three films. Ewan, good for all three films. Natalie, great in Episode I, solid in Episode II, quite good for Episode III(especially in the last hour. That can't be denied). Hayden, very good in Episode II, great in Episode III.

 

So now it's the beat down Sam Jackson thread?

 

good gracious dont tell people how to think, if they didnt like Natalie then THEY DIDNT LIKE NATALIE!!!!!! And if someone liked Sam then they liked Sam.

 

Hayden Christensen: too young, too inexperienced.

 

I absolutely adored Natalie in episodes I and II. In episode III I wanted to strangle her. It was her lines that just etched away at my soul and her acting set it aflame. "Anakin! You're breaking my heart!" GAH!!!! But I can blame Lucas for that. I've just recently been able to justify that line to myself (Padme's desperation to reach him?

I wanted to drop kick Hayden in episode II but in episode III he was everything I imagined Anakin to be. He got so much better and I really felt sorry for the character (ignoring the crappy dialogue)

I think they found some kind of device to suck talent out of Natalie and shoot it into Hayden for Episode III.

As for the line "Anakin! You're breaking my heart!" I would have choked her too >.>.......<.<

 

For the main characters I would of stayed with Obi Wan and Sidious since they were good in all of their film. I think Padme should of been played as Angelina Jolie she does seem like a good actress but she would of been expensive but Lucas has to be a cheapskate. And Hayden was all right in ATOC but he was great in ROTS. Sam Jackson is a good actor but George has bad dialogue for mace so Sam couldn't use his acting potenial. Lee was good as Dooku and I actually think that Dakota Fanning should of been in one of the films since she makes 2 million per film and she is a good actress. She's good in WOTW, Man on Fire and in friends she is good and could of played some sort of role thought it would be hard to put her in but their were a few mistakes but it was really the best Lucas could do since he uses his money cheaply because Hayden only made $700,000 for both films.

 

Angelina Jolie as Padme? I don't think so. As for me, I think everyone is pretty great but if I were to change anyone could George have gotten someone who was actually funny to voice Jar Jar? That would have made a big difference to a lot of peoples attitudes about TPM.

 

Good idea! Without the "famous" voice, Jar Jar was just an annoying character, but if, I don't know, Robin Williams had voiced him, there would have been that "nudge nudge, wink wink" factor.

I already said that I don't really have any qualms with the casting. However, Padme's characterization in Ep. III is indeed crappy. Must be the pregnancy hormones that made her all soft.

 

Huh. I'm sooooo the opposite of you on that.

I thought she was awful in AOTC, and pretty good in ROTS. The scene where Anakin first sees her again, after the Invisible Hand incident, and the scene on Mustafaaaaar are both great.

They have far more chemistry in ROTS.

 

Biggest casting mistake?

I can't _really_ understand that for the following reasons:

The actors chosen for Star Wars are never the best actors. Quite contrary, they are the right actors. They don't gripe over money or appear in tabloids. Most of them don't bother with acting afterward. They are, at least, good people; and not buffbots who wish to improve their resume so they can land an Oscar film.

That is all.

 

That's a really good point. Like in the OT, Mark Hamill mostly went just to voice acting...and we scarcely hear from Carrie Fisher again.

 

10. Liam Neeson not as Qui-Gon Jinn. Casting him in TPM was great. Not casting him in ROTS is what I dislike and think was a mistake. He should have spoke from beyond the grave to explain the force ghost thing. The explanation Yoda gave just wasn't enough.

09. Bonnie Maree Piesse as Beru Whitesun. She's too young for Aunt Beru. Way too young.

08. Lily Nyamwasa as Adi Gallia/Stass Allie. They should have just either dumped Adi from the council or flown Gin Clarke to play her in Australia or waited for pick-ups for her to do her role. When they hired Lily, they decided she looked too different from Adi and thus the EU made her into Stass Allie aka a close relative of Gallia's. Clone Jedi suck.

07. Hugh Quarshie as Captain Panaka. Sucked as Captain Panaka and sucked even more when he decided not to return because his role was too small for him. What a waste of character space in TPM.

06. Daniel Logan as Boba Fett. It sounded like he came from the planet Australia. Also his improv sinister laughs were horrible. Didn't elevate the character of Boba Fett at all. Possibly took the man, the myth, and the legend down.

05. Jimmy Smits as Senator Bail Organa. Now I know ethnicity shouldn't matter, but I always thought it would be easier to hide baby Leia if she matched the same skin color as her adopted parents. But I guess that's just me. Oh and now when I watch the West Wing, I don't see a Presidential Candidate, I see Senator Bail Organa on Earth.

04. Mathew Wood as the voice of General Grievous. Now he didn't do a bad job as the voice of General Grievous. I just wish it was a more established voice actor. Mark Hamill would have been perfect. It was such a let down hearing that this no name got the part after months of speculation on who would voice the General.

03. Jake Lloyd as Anakin Skywalker. Most of the time he made me cringe on screen. The kid who came in second in the making of doc should have gotten the part. No actually I change my mind, Anakin should have been a teenager. I can't stand little children in Star Wars.

02. Samuel L. Jackson as Mace Windu. All I saw was Samuel L. Jackson most of the time. Not Mace Windu. This is where I would have accepted an unknown playing the part. Jacksons acting sucked and I hated how he always got what he wanted. First by getting the part, second by getting his purple lightsaber (though I think there should be more colored lightsabers), and third by not going out like a punk just the way he wanted. Though I like him in multiple other films such as Pulp Fiction and Jackie Brown.

01. Natalie Portman as Queen/Senator Amidala aka Padme Naberrie-Skywalker. I think she just doesn't come off as natural in these movies. Sure the dialogue didn't help, but I am of the belief that a great actor or actress can make terrible dialogue work. Her voice, her smiles, and everything just didn't gel for me. I think they could have done way better here.

 

What the actors do afterwards, how famous they are and how they behave in private has nothing to with the question if they were cast right.

I wouldn't necessarily want a better known actor for Anakin, just a better actor.

 

A better actor? You are acting as if actors grow on trees. Actors who have a decent resemblance to Hamill and Fisher. It isn't quite that simply, bud, but I can see why you would've wanted more skill on-screen. But they are still the only actors who can hold your attention for two hours and make you feel as though they are actually in a galaxy far, far away.

All Star Wars fans remember the original films in their original setting. Which is to say that they remember all of the bad dialogue and terse moments. It is just a niche of Lucas's; and you are simply going to have to live with it.

What the actors do off-set matters greatly. You want an actor such as Brad Pitt who ruined a woman's life so that his movie would score on DVD sales? That is rubbish ethics and morals. And no PT actor would ever do anything like that. Morals matter greatly in real life and on the camera.

Little kids in Star Wars you are against? That makes no sense. The setting of the story was when Anakin was a normal child. You have two other movies if you want to see a teenaged Anakin.

 

I wouldn't want to see Brad Pitt in SW because I would associate him too much with other characters he played, so I'll concede that fame is a factor.

Besides that, the actors could be butt******* captain Kangaroo wearing nipple rings in their private time for all I care, it's what's on the screen that counts.

 

You totally misinterpreted my original post. Good job.

What I said was that, as an example and staple of good acting, the roles themselves do not matter as much as how an actor holds themselves. Their bearing in the real world is just as important as their persona on-screen.

I never wished for Brad Pitt to act in any Star Wars movie. I am saying that to directly improve his movie, he left Aniston to date his co-star. Which is just wrong.

 

*yawn*

I interpreted you perfectly fine, I just don't agree with you...

there's a difference.

 

Oh how could I forget Jake Lloyd?? I agree that Anakin should have been a teen as well if Hayden played him right from the start I'd be pleased. And I also agree that it was a mistake not to have Liam in ROTS. Did anyone mention the guy who played Ric Olie?

 

This thread top of the list is ample reminder why I despise the Movie boards.
::::Running back out of the mass stupidity at light speed::::::::::

 

Then don't agree with me and feel mad every time you watch the prequels. Your loss, not mine. At least I can see the positive in things.

 

Don't generalize, I'm perfectly happy with TPM... no Hayden there.

 

Yeah, I agree. After all, looking at the wonderful acting she does in Alexander.

In all seriousness, though, I really thought that there were problems with Anakin and Padme. I thought Hayden did a pretty good job in EPIII, but the two really didn't work together well to make the romance convincing. Something needs to be done about that somewhere.

 

All I'm hearing in this thread are, "No way, sahe is a great actor," or, "He is the greatest actor alive." Well, even if someone is a great actor in other movies, (aka Portman, Jackson, Christensen) doesn't mean that they are the best in this movie. Look at Jackson, he did an ok job at the most, but in Pulp Fiction he was great. Just like Portman. She was terrible in this movie but that doesn't make her a bad actor. Like Christopher Lee, he is a great actor and performed better then christensen or Portman or Jackson.

No way!! Natalie Portman was a PROFESSIONAL actor!

Ya she is, but not in this movie.

Uh, Sam Jackson was the BEST casting decision. Imagine the PT without him, it would suck even harder than many say it does. He, along with a few other delightful PROFESSIONAL and QUALITY actors (Ian, Ewan, Sam...) saved the PT.

Um... just because Jackson performs good in other movies doesn't mean that he is the best actor out there.

 

The only casting problem I had was Samuel L Jackson. He just didn't seem right in the character. But then again, I didn't really much like the character of Mace anyway...

No problem with any of the other major characters!

Daniel Logan as Boba Fett. It sounded like he came from the planet Australia

Ahem... Daniel Logan is from New Zealand and sounds like a Kiwi

 

Someone said that the original trilogy's actors did something else after. I beg to differ: Carrie Fisher was in numermous movies after SW. She just had small, supporting roles. And Mark Hammill, well, how can I put this, I think he was a victim of SW. It cursed him.

Because, see, that sort of myth-making role is often the ruin of an actor. Just look at David Duchovny! I'm sure MH would have had a fine movie career if stupid casting agents or directors didn't automatically made the Luke Skywalker connection. Now, don't tell me he was not talented enough: movie screens are full of talentless actors who have a good career.

Now, I'm afraid Hayden will go down the same bleak road. Geesh, fans are already bashing him enough around here. I mean, you don't have to like him, of course, but give the guy a break! I want to look at his pretty face for years to come, dammit!