Casting for the HP movies

[Kewpie <dkewpie@pacbell.net>]

I totally agree with Shelagh.

I just want to ask those who onced complain about Kenneth Branagh 
before CoS opened, how he doesn't look right,how he's not handsome 
enough etc etc....have your opinion change after seeing the movie?  
Isn't he so great in it? He was bloody brilliant and totally flawless 
as Lockhart! I honestly can't see Hugh Grant top that! 

The casting agent have their reason to pick certain actors, esp. 
since they've seen them act/tried out the part and we haven't. 
Obviously their decision is made based on whoever did the best in the 
audition. Given the wonderful casting of the first 2 movies, I trust 
them for PoA as well. 

And I'm quite tired of people complaining so-and-so isn't sexy 
enough, or how this character is suppose to be dead sexy when it's 
not even emphasize in the book nor play an important role for the 
plot. Beside, sexy is such a subjective thing, I myself DO find Gary 
Oldman DEAD SEXY (Look at "Dracula", "Immortal Beloved", even "Sid 
and Nancy"!) So do David Thewlis, gosh, I think that man IS a good 
looking man! I couldn't understand why he's condemned as being ugly 
at all. Certainly beauty is such a subjective thing. Who knows, may 
be JKR DO find Gary Oldman dead sexy and don't find your standard 
Hollywood pretty boy sexy at all!  Have you guys (who complained 
about Gary Oldman) ever think that may be it was JKR's choice at the 
first place?! Didn't she list a wish list of actors/actress she see 
as her characters to the producers? (ex: Alan Rickman was one of her 
choice's of Snape, Robbie Coltrane as Hagrid, Maggie smith as 
Mcgonagal)


Joan  (really wish Gary Oldman is indeed casted and give a fabulous 
performance as he always does).


--- In HPFGU-Movie at yahoogroups.com, "shelaghcol <ShelaghC at a...>" 
<ShelaghC at a...> wrote:
> I tend to lurk around here more than post. But just for the record, 
> and of course IMHO, what the folks that put these movies have going 
> against them the *most* are the expectations of those who read the 
> books.
> 
> And because of fanfic and readers' imaginations, most people 
already 
> have decided *exactly* what most of the upcoming characters should 
> look like. Witness all the "casting speculation" threads at FAP. 
> 
> The problem with such expectations is that when those expectations 
> aren't fulfilled, people start condemning the production before it 
> even begins filming. The idea that the Marauders are all extremely 
> handsome is never even touched upon in any of the books and to make 
> the assumption that they are, then complain when that assumption 
> doesn't filter through to the movies is unfair to say the least.
> 
> I remember reading a very high volume of posts in many different 
> places complaining long and loudly about Kenneth Branagh being cast 
> as Gilderoy Lockhart - especially when it came out that Hugh Grant 
> had also been considered.
> 
> Personally, I thought Branagh was positively brilliant! I found 
> myself wishing for more Lockhart scenes, he fit the bill so well.
> 
> Of all things people could complain about in reference to the HP 
> movies, my feeling is that casting should be the very lowest on the 
> totem pole. I have rarely seen a set of movies so expertly cast as 
> PS/SS and CoS.
> 
> While I had my own preferences particularly where Sirius was 
> concerned, I also had made up my mind that the people in charge of 
> finding just the right person to play each of the parts so far have 
> done remarkably well and resolved not to be critical in advance of 
> their decisions.
> 
> In short: give these actors a chance - you may find that they do 
the 
> job better than any of you could possibly have expected.
> 
> Shelagh
> teetering on her rickety soapbox once again