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Saturday, March 12, 2011

Casting Couch -- The SECRET SIX Movie


No, there's no film adaptation of Gail Simone and Jim Calafiore's Secret Six DC Comics series in development...yet.  But just to show you that a big-screen version of this delightfully-demented series is certainly within the realm of possibility, here are my casting picks for the Six along with a few of their enemies.  Take good notes, Warner Bros...

CATMAN/THOMAS BLAKE -- JOSH HOLLOWAY


Six seasons as James "Sawyer" Ford on Lost showed that Josh Holloway would be a natural pick for Catman.  As Sawyer, Holloway proved he can depict a damaged, conniving and sometimes downright feral character, so if there's a better choice out there, I haven't seen it.

SCANDAL SAVAGE -- MORENA BACCARIN


Although still primarily known as Inara Serra from Firefly/Serenity, Morena Baccarin has been playing the alien Visitor villain Anna on ABC's V remake for a couple of years now.  With her chopped, shorter hair, Baccarin is showing she can be edgier and more than just a pretty face.  She also happens to be Brazilian, just like Scandal herself.

DEADSHOT/FLOYD LAWTON -- TIMOTHY OLYPHANT


Having been recently introduced to the joys of the HBO series Deadwood, I'm pretty convinced that Timothy Olyphant has the perfect screen presence and intensity needed for Deadshot.  His Seth Bullock character could be a cold-blooded killer when needed and his performance in Live Free or Die Hard as Thomas Gabriel proved he was more than capable as a villain.

RAGDOLL/PETER MERKEL, JR. -- DOUG JONES


As anyone who saw the Hellboy films or the episode "Hush" of Buffy the Vampire Slayer knows, Doug Jones is an incredibly fluid and agile physical actor capable of the most amazing movements and gestures.  Casting Jones would probably save at least half the CGI budget needed to accurately bring the creepy and quirky Ragdoll to the big screen.

JEANNETTE -- CHRISTINA COLE


I realize this is a pretty obscure casting pick, but Christina Cole from the episode "The Shakespeare Code" of Doctor Who and the BBC's Hex seems like she has the right look for the dark aristocratic banshee.  And as anyone who saw her in the "Victoria" episode of FOX's Human Target can verify, she knows how to fight, which is a must for any Secret Six movie.

BLACK ALICE/LORI ZECHLIN -- EMILY BROWNING


This one was admittedly a bit tough, but commercials for the upcoming film Sucker Punch made me think of Emily Browning for the role of Black Alice.  She seems capable of handling physically demanding fight scenes and her other roles give me the impression that she could easily pull off Alice's goth look.

CHESHIRE/JADE NGUYEN -- MAGGIE Q


With Bane tied up in Batman movie rights after Batman and Robin and the upcoming The Dark Knight Rises, I'm figuring he wouldn't be available for a Secret Six film.  So I'm replacing him on the team with Cheshire, who I feel would also provide the story potential for betraying the team at some point and either allying herself with the main villain or acting as the main villain herself.  Personally, I think Maggie Q from the CW's Nikita and Mission: Impossible III would be a solid choice for Cheshire, especially since they both have Vietnamese mothers.

VANDAL SAVAGE -- JOSH BROLIN


Apart from having Vandal Savage's rugged features and build, Josh Brolin is no stranger to villainous roles as anyone who saw the recent True Grit remake can attest.  It also helps that he has the acting talent to pull off such a long-lived immortal character and give him the appropriate sense of depth.  Plus, someone needs to make it up to Brolin after putting him in that godawful Jonah Hex adaptation.

JUNIOR/ALEXANDRA "ALEX" MERKEL -- HELENA BONHAM CARTER


Well, can you think of anyone better for Junior?  There can't be that many actresses willing to uglify themselves into psychotic and creepy villainesses with gender issues, but I'm betting Helena Bonham Carter would.  She's done a ton of roles in heavy makeup appliances and obviously has crazy and homicidal down.  If anything, she might be overqualified for the role.

Now to direct this trainwreck of supervillainy and psychological disorders, you need someone who can handle eccentric characters but isn't afraid to throw some punches or shoot people on a fairly regular basis.  Think David Lynch meets James Cameron.  Someone like Quentin Tarantino perhaps, but I'd be worried he would make the Six talk about things like Schoolhouse Rock or Rock'em Sock'em Robots for several minutes rather than letting the characters be themselves.  With that in mind, what does everyone think about Desperado and Sin City director Robert Rodriguez?

12 comments:

  1. Doug Jones is in deed as perfect as you're gonna get, but I've been hearing the voice of William Finley, The Phantom of the Paradise himself. Specifically, the voice he used for "Bobbi" on the answering machine message in Dressed to Kill.

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  2. Vinnie, that's an interesting idea. Doug Jones has had his voice dubbed over before, as in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, so doing so would obviously be a possibility.

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  3. Dead on casting! Josh Holloway would be the perfect Catman.

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  4. Thanks for the vote of confidence, Mike!

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  5. I'd say David Wenham as Catman. A lot of people have said Josh Holloway, but I think David's got more matching features.
    http://barefoot.provocateuse.com/images/photos/david_wenham_01.jpg
    http://www.giantkillersquid.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/david-wenham-as-mychael-753485.jpg

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  6. Jackie, I'm a big fan of David Wenham from the Lord of the Rings films and 300, but I personally don't see him for Catman. Apart from Wenham's rather hawk-like nose, the cadence of his voice is far better suited to more eloquent characters.

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  7. I was reading that thinking 'Hmm, I always saw Jeanette as more of a Helena Bonham-Carter', then there she was as Junior! Which is just genius by the way. For a more 'budget' approach, I think I'd back Adam Baldwin as Deadshot.

    Oh, and Christina Hendricks as Knockout. Obviously.

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  8. Abby, glad you liked my pick for Junior. And after seeing Christina Hendricks on Firefly and Mad Men, I think you're absolutely right about her as Knockout.

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  9. I know I'm late to the party, but these are the best Secret Six casting choices I've come across. Everyone is spot on - the only alternative I can give is Sophia Myles for Jeanette, but Christina Cole works as well.

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  10. Matthew, thanks for the kind words about my picks. As a Doctor Who fan who loved "The Girl in the Fireplace," I definitely get the idea of Sophia Myles as Jeanette. I just felt that Christina Cole had a bit more edge to her as.a Carrionite than Myles did as Madame de Pompadour.

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  11. Um, this is probably the nerdiest thing I've ever written, but that is an amazing fantasy cast. The only one I'm not 100% on is Deadshot, and he probably just needs to get roughed up a bit. I even concede that Baccarin would make a better Scandal Savage than my original choice (Mariska Hargitay).

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    Replies
    1. Nothing wrong with being geeky, RaggedyAnnDoll. Embrace it!

      Glad you liked my suggestions and I'm even more sold on Baccarin as Scandal after watching her recently in the Showtime series Homeland.

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