The Chronicles FILMED!

A place to discuss the books in the FC and SC. *Please Note* No LC spoilers allowed in this forum. Do so in the forum below.

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deven
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Post by deven »

He's got that whole moody thing going for him already, plus the reluctant savior complex. "Hellfire and Damnation" would roll well off his gravely tongue.
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matrixman
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Post by matrixman »

Kiefer Sutherland?? Sorry, I think he's much too conventionally handsome for the role of TC. To me, Sutherland is almost as strange a casting choice as the Tom Selleck-as-Foamfollower idea mentioned earlier in this thread.

If I come off like a grouch, please don't take it personally, deven. I'm just teasing in good fun, since we know a TC movie is just pure conjecture anyway. :)
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Post by [Syl] »

Who says Covenant can't be (isn't) handsome? Somebody with a pretty boy look wouldn't work, but he doesn't have to be ugly. Gaunt and occasionally scruffy-looking, sure.
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matrixman
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Post by matrixman »

Well, maybe I'm guilty of focusing too much on the "outcast unclean" image of TC, Syl. I agree, he doesn't have to be ugly. If he were, maybe we would have to question Joan's taste in men. :mrgreen:
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Post by wayfriend »

Interestingly enough, Sutherland plays an angry bitter man with an incurable disease in "Behind the Red Door". Conclusion: he's too pretty for the part of Covenant. Covenant doesn't have to be ugly, but he should not be pretty, either. Which is why its so hard - so many hollywood guys are too cute or too built. We need a Clint Eastwood - you can imagine him saying "hellfire"!
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matrixman
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Post by matrixman »

Wayfriend, you read my mind: I was just thinking earlier today of the possibility of Eastwood as TC! 8O
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deven
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Post by deven »

Eastwood is far too old now, of course. And after seeing him sing in Paint Your Wagon, I would have a hard time with HIM as TC.
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Post by onewyteduck »

Sutherland can be scruffy looking and he's good at being angry, cynical, and bitter. He is good looking but has never come across as a pretty boy. I think he would probably work out well.

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Post by onewyteduck »

On to the 2nd Chronicle.......how about Robert Duvall as Findail?
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Post by danlo »

Duvall with long thin white hair--cool. Now after Kiefer and Clint--someone will mention Sean Penn again-that's how the cycle usually rolls. (but Kiefer is a fairly new suggestion...)
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Lord Mhoram
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Post by Lord Mhoram »

Wow this is an old thread! Haven't seen this one in a LONG time. It's been here longer than I have so it's 2+ yrs old!

Anyway, I was reading it over...and I have to say one thing: good suggestions, but some of you guys are offering all-star casts! Can a budget afford like 5 A-listers! I know its speculation, but still...you might have to take that into consideration. I think it was Sky that offered the idea of unknown actors...you know a movie like this might take unknown actors to play relatively minor characters (say, Caerroil Wildwood, as an example?) and make them into stars. I would love to see a TCTC movie. :)
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Post by caamora »

Keifer is a new suggestion. I still like Johnny Depp as TC.
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Post by Melenkurion »

Hi. This is my first post here. Been reading this thread (when I should be writing) and finding it very interesting and entertaining. Whoever suggested Tom Selleck for Saltheart, yes, I can see that, even if no one else can!

I had a couple of thoughts. If the First Chronicles were to be filmed, then because they are nowhere near as well-known as LotR no producer is going to commit to a trilogy. Therefore the solution might be to condense the whole story into one film, or possibly two films released back to back a la Kill Bill. This would mean that you could get rid of LFB in its entirety. When TC comes to the Land for the first time, Elena is the High Lord and she already has the Staff of Law. The story goes on from there, reaching a first climax that alternates between Elena resurrecting Kevin and Troy's flight into the forest, then a final climax alternating between the siege of Revelstone and Foul's defeat. What do you think? Sacrilege? :twisted:

My second thought was: Why take it all so seriously? :) TCTC could be a comedy!

Covenant: Jim Carrey (see how his facial contortions reflect his inner struggles!)
Hile Troy: Jack Black
Mhoram: Garry Shandling ('Does my butt look big in these robes?')
Bannor: Jackie Chan
Elena: Janeane Garofalo ('Law of Death - whatever.')
Linden: Alicia Silverstone ('This is, like, SO not happening!')

(NB: the latter part of this post should not be taken seriously. :) )
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matrixman
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Post by matrixman »

Melenkurion wrote:Mhoram: Garry Shandling ('Does my butt look big in these robes?')

Elena: Janeane Garofalo ('Law of Death - whatever.')

Linden: Alicia Silverstone ('This is, like, SO not happening!')
:haha: Funny stuff, Melenkurion!
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Post by Xar »

Ok, I had nothing better to do, so I thought I'd resurrect this old thread for a while, if nothing else, for the sake of the new Watchers :D

As I was thinking about how it would be both interesting and potentially devastating to actually have producers make a Covenant movie, I started to entertain myself by considering who could play Covenant - and considering that even in the remote case such a movie were to be made, producers wouldn't probably put so much money into it as to pay widely recognized and acclaimed actors to play the parts. I mean, a Covenant movie would already be a big question mark, as far as box office predictions go: if the producers poured enough money in it to afford actors such as Johnny Depp and/or others, what would be left for the special effects (which, while subtle, should permeate the whole movie - one for all, an attempt to convey the health-sense in the Land), and so on?

Then I moved on to consider SRD's news that Russell Crowe had refused to play Covenant: as much as I like him as an actor, though, I would have difficulties imagining him as Covenant - he looks too fundamentally good to convey the guilt and suffering Covenant goes through, and the moral ambivalence which should be felt, especially at the beginning of the movie (and whenever Covenant gets angry at the people of the Land, for example).

And then I had the crazy idea that an actor I would be curious to see as Covenant would be Rufus Sewell (Dark City, A Knight's Tale, Hamlet). I don't know why exactly, but he strikes me as one who could play Covenant well, physically at the very least, and he has that brooding look about him. I was curious to know what you people think about this - after all, wishful thinking appears to be all we can indulge upon, at least for the time being :D
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matrixman
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Post by matrixman »

Well, if we were actually taking the movie seriously, I would agree with Xar's and Lord Mhoram's view that the budget should not be spent on trying to attract an all-star cast. That raises the potential for critical and commercial disaster, because instead of paying attention to making a quality movie, you end up spending time appeasing movie star egos. Just think Inchon. Ishtar. Christopher Columbus.

The Towering Inferno and The Poseidon Adventure were successful all-star movies, though they don't hold up very well today. And then there was Superman: The Movie, which turned out to be a very good movie in spite of the star-studded cast. Woody Allen gets away with having big stars in his movies without paying them big bucks because, well, he's Woody Allen.

The only way a Covenant movie could have big names is if they all waived their salaries in exchange for a good slice of the potential box office profits. Then you have top dogs like Crowe and Cruise who get a hefty salary plus a percentage of the profits in their contracts. No Covenant movie is going to come out alive after that.

Rufus Sewell as Thomas Covenant? That could work, I think. I've only seen him in Dark City, but yes, he does have a brooding quality. He looks like someone who could suddenly erupt into violence, which I think is an important attribute for someone playing Covenant. Gary Oldman is another actor who oozes that psycho energy in spades, which is why I keep wandering back to him as Covenant. :wink:
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Depp

Post by Alynna Lis Eachann »

The beautiful thing about Johnny Depp is that he seems to do movies because he wants to, not because they pay him well. Still, I think he's too young for the role. Or at least not, I don't know, weathered enough. Gary Oldman, now... especially after that stint in HP 3 - I like that idea. Of course, every time I think of him, I see Zorg, or the tennis match from Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. What about... Peter Wingfield, of Highlander fame. I don't know if he could lose the accent, but he can definitely play the rugged, guilt-ridden disbeliever. I mean, he did Death well enough, right?
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Post by saadro »

Hi All,

First post here as well. IMO the only actor that has the range for the role of TC is Ben Kingsley, even though he may not necessarily fit the look. Also, how about Kevin Spacey or Hugh Jackman?

On a different note, regarding the soundtrack. For me, a musical representation of wild magic unleashed would be something like the first 15 seconds of John Williams' Duel of the Fates (from Star Wars Ep I).

My $0.02.
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matrixman
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Post by matrixman »

Hmm...Ben Kingsley. Intriguing choice, saadro. He's one of the finest actors around, no question about it. But you're right about him somehow not quite fitting the "look" of a Thomas Covenant. I have an easier time seeing Kevin Spacey or Hugh Jackman as Covenant, especially since TC is supposed to be a thirtysomething when the Chronicles begin.

If anything, I picture Kingsley playing the old man/Creator.

The more I think about Hugh Jackman, the more I think he might make for a very good Thomas Covenant. After all, he did a great job breathing life into Wolverine, who is a pariah of society--just another leper outcast, as TC might say himself.

By the way, welcome to the Watch, saadro!
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Post by Dragonlily »

Daniel Day-Lewis
Daniel Day-Lewis
Daniel Day-Lewis
Daniel Day-Lewis...
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