Why did they cast a bloke who looks the spit of Stuart Townsend in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power!

AKA, hey kids, remember Tolkien’s Appendices? Well we made a show about ‘em. 

Anyway this is apparently Charlie Vickers and he’s playing Halbrand. ....when I watched the clip I genuinely thought Townsend was pulling a “James Doakes” on Peter Jackson. Nevermind! 

watching queen of the damned and it's really making me remember the thing about how they replaced stuart townsend with viggo mortensen the day before filming began. townsend's little cringe ass would not be a good aragorn

One of the funniest things about the LXG film (2003) and the studio politics around it when you look back twenty years later is how outside of Sean Connery being the big star (to the movie's detriment tbh), the studio was absolutely banking on Shane West as Tom Sawyer being the breakout star of the movie, especially for the American and female demographics, so much so that it's obvious from the deleted scenes and even what was left in the final print that if they couldn't get Connery back for the sequel, he would have been upgraded to the new protagonist and team leader, as well as getting the main romance with Mina, and at the time, Shane West was a rising star and teen heartthrob coming in super hot from 'A Walk to Remember' (2002) and I definitely remember him being very popular; likewise, even though he was only signed on for one film as Dorian Gray for obvious reasons, Stuart Townsend was also on the rise as a sexy heartthrob after his turn as Lestat in 'Queen of the Damned' (2002) and had just lost out on Aragorn in LotR after it was decided he was too young for the role after like, the first day of filming, so while secondary to Shane, he was obviously also there as a popular hot guy to draw in the ladies or whatever, and he's the only man in the film who gets any romantic scenes.

Anyway, all this to say that while both of them definitely had a lot of people and women in particular finding them super hot as expected, the big surprise is how I don't think the studio was banking on obscure British character actor Jason Flemyng as Jekyll being called in at almost the last minute and made to look as wet and pathetic as possible, even in his shirtless scenes with his abs out, arguably getting the most horny on main reactions and being one of the most well-liked characters and actors in the film, and while we will never know for sure, I do wonder how that unexpected popularity would have factored into decisions about where to take the story and characters in the sequel, especially on the romance front where, as I have argued before, it felt like the studio half-assed both options to hedge their bets and not commit before seeing what would be more popular.

As it's new year, spare a thought for actor Stuart Townsend, who got hired to play Aragorn in LOTR and then fired about three days before his first scene, and so didn't go on to be a big freak in Cronenberg movies

(although he was married to Charlize Theron for ages, so maybe consider the karmic debt paid)

Sometimes, I think about what Lord of the Rings would have been like if Stuart Townsend had played Aragorn instead of Viggo Mortensen.

And then I'm really glad we don't live in that world.

“Viggo Mortensen is Aragorn, no doubt. But I do wonder what would happen if Stuart Townsend didn't get fired from the role.”

Imagine being cast as Aragorn in LOTR, rehearsing and training for 2 months in New Zealand and then getting fired the day before filming with no pay. (Stuart Townsend) Source: https://ift.tt/3jXy7a7

I’m so grateful we’re not in the timeline where Stuart Townsend was Aragorn

@odyseus replied to your post: @sienestys replied to your post “Basically, my...

I’m sure you’ve heard this but apparently Viggo Mortensen was a last minute replacement for Stuart Townsend since PJ thought Townsend didn’t look old enough lmao

Stuart Townsend’s aragorn looks like he comes from another timeline where everything is just slightly Off

All right my dudes, let’s talk about this Amazon LOTR series. (Aka, the two cents that no one asked for ever. Seriously, all opinions are valid, I’m not here to fight, this is just what I think. Anyways.) Please read til the end.

I for one was initially very very upset. Because I don’t trust Amazon, okay? Peter Jackson’s LOTR trilogy was a once in a lifetime miracle. Him and Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens poured their heart and souls into making the best possible adaptation of Tolkien’s masterpiece that they could. Everyone on that production, from Weta to the stunt people to the cast to Howard Shore were committed to bringing Tolkien’s vision to life. Was it perfect? No. Was it as close to perfect as we’re gonna get? Yes! There’s a reason it got all the Oscars. People who think that Peter Jackson’s LOTR wasn’t faithful enough are so deluded that it boggles my mind. It’s like people think he could just snap his fingers and turn the book page by page into exactly what you envisioned in your head when you read it. Modern day filmmaking has so many constrictions it’s not even funny. Producers, lawyers, marketers, auditors, people giving the project money who in return are in it for the money. And these are the people that Jackson had to work with in order to get the film made on the scale it was, rather than a home movie shot on a camcorder in his backyard. With this in mind, it’s a miracle that the films were as amazing as they were. You should actually all go watch the behind the scenes appendices footage on the extended edition DVDs. If you can’t get your hands on the DVDs, a lot of it is actually up on YouTube. The part where they talk about the process of converting book to script is very fascinating and explains a lot. Tolkien did not write these books with a movie in mind. The pacing is a screenwriter’s nightmare, he spends a lot of time on details we don’t necessarily need, and the time frame is positively loopy. You say Frodo was thirty three when he received the ring and fifty when he left the Shire, I say did we need to see Frodo moping around in the Shire for seventeen years? You say that the Fellowship’s travels were rushed, I ask if anyone ever wished they could spend a month in Lothlorien while absolutely nothing happens except resting and crying about Gandalf? I love the books, I truly do. But even I admit that a shot-for-shot adaptation would be awkward and at times difficult to watch.

Now, as for the show in question, do I think that Amazon read the Silmarillion and said ‘wow, let’s spend billions of dollars to make a faithful and heartfelt adaptation!’? Um, no. Somebody in a highrise read that Game of Thrones was ending and realized that now there’s gonna be an open market for that genre of show. Now, who else can think of a series that checks the boxes of fantasy, long and complicated af, pre-existing fan base, and minimal barriers when it comes to obtaining rights? Yeah, that’s what I thought. Tolkien is the million dollar answer (or billion, in Amazon’s case). What gives me hope is (now this might be hearsay, don’t take my word for it because I cannot confirm) that apparently they only have the rights to events that take place before The Hobbit and LOTR. Which is essentially just the Silmarillion and/or the appendices. Now, this could be interesting. The Silmarillion doesn’t have a screen adaptation, so whatever they did would be groundbreaking. There would be nothing to compare it to. But what I’m afraid of is that Amazon would be afraid of it. The Silmarillion is a lot to chew. It’s wordy, the characters would be hard to adapt on screen, and it would be really hard to market it because the concept of the Silmarillion has (unfortunately, but truthfully) long been associated with ultimate geekdom.

This is why Amazon is probably going to pick the lower-hanging fruit and reinvent popular characters we already love. I’ve been hearing a lot about how they’re doing it as a young Aragorn prequel. Which, for surface level selfish reasons depresses the heck out of me because Viggo Mortensen is and always will be my Aragorn. If this was happening years ago and they got Viggo to be the character again in a TV show, I’d be all for it. But unfortunately Viggo cannot age in reverse and if they were gonna use him they’d have to use a shit-ton of CGI a la Carrie Fisher in Rogue One which… *shudders* *war flashbacks*. But then again, Viggo has aged remarkably well. Did you see Captain Fantastic? Maybe with some heavy makeup and nice camera angles- Ah, it’s all just a pipe dream anyways. As long as they don’t bring back Stuart Townsend. Cue more shuddering. But I wish Amazon would understand that they’re investing their money in the wrong horse! We don’t want to see Aragorn reinvented! We’re happy with what we have!

Think about it realistically for a minute, in the hypothetical event that this is a young Aragorn TV show. Amazon is a studio giant, trying to establish themselves among other streaming services known for their original TV shows such as Netflix, Hulu, HBO, etc. We, as Tolkien fans, understand that Aragorn’s history prior to the events of LOTR is pretty straightforward. He grows up in Rivendell, is informed that he’s Isildur’s heir, goes into the wild to become a Ranger, fights for Rohan, fights for Gondor, falls in love with Arwen, etc. There’s a sixty year block of time between his childhood in Rivendell and the War of the Ring. That can’t possibly all be covered in one show, as hard as they try. They won’t be able to resolve his storyline, because his storyline and character arc get resolved during the War of the Ring. They would have to establish the fact that he’s the heir to the throne of Gondor, establish the fact that he’s conflicted about his destiny, establish the fact that he goes into self-inflicted exile as a Ranger, and then end the show without ever showing the resolution that he eventually does reclaim his throne and his destiny. Unless they were to just bite the bullet and remake the original trilogy. And then there’s the matter of a love interest. Arwen is his first and only love. Their courtship is fast-paced and they go long blocks of time without seeing each other. Noooot very marketable for a mainstream audience. So how are they gonna spice it up? Give Aragorn another love interest? That would literally completely ruin his character. How about no. Make it seem like a lot more happened between Arwen and Aragorn before the War of the Ring? I mean maybe, but how!? They still wouldn’t be able to complete a story arc, because the meat of the changes in their relationship take place during the original trilogy: Him lowkey wanting her to go to Valar and not die for him, her refusing because she believes in their love, their ultimately getting married and her being crowned Queen of Gondor. Again, you can’t give us any of that without remaking the original trilogy! Cue all the annoyed Aragorn faces.

So, that was a lot of negativity. Maybe this is too little too late, but: I remain hopeful. All is not lost. There is still some good in this world, Mr. Frodo! And maybe Amazon will prove me wrong. There may yet be light at the end of this tunnel. We may yet prevail, and get a thoughtful, heartfelt adaptation. Because done right, we could all use with some fresh LOTR content so we can stop rewatching the original trilogy. Tolkien wrote a lot, and the current screen adaptations have barely scratched the surface. As a fandom (and I most definitely include myself in this), we get very protective over our material. I think this is because we are one of the rare few whose material has remained untarnished and stayed behind the line of corporate greed and terrible adaptations (The Hobbit trilogy walked that line like a tight rope but even it managed to escape the true jaws of the beast.) Maybe, just maybe, this Amazon series can be a chance for us all to take a risk. Because if it pays off, you can all call me a fool of a Took and we can grab popcorn and watch a kickass LOTR TV show. And what would be more awesome than that?

So, in conclusion, I have a lot of feelings about this Amazon show. If you made it this far, thanks for bearing with me. We’ve got a wild ride ahead.

Woah!! I did NOT know that? Do we know who first choice was for OLLA? (I know it was Benedict for CP) Well, some of the best people in the role were the back up choice so it always works out in the end! (Like Viggo Mortensen coming in second choice for Aragorn! They’d even started production!)

Michael Fassbender. 

Viggo as Aragorn is an excellent example - poor Stuart Townsend. 

I Dreamed an Advanced Version of the Lord of the Rings with Advanced  and Beautifull Armour, Swords, Weapons, Architecture and War but My Hand Move to Grab a Sword and I Woke Up! The Dream Was a Gift from Dream Goddess Freyja of Valhalla and Folkvang to King Harold Godwinson of Anglo-Saxon England! It Was Heaven!

Stuart Townsend, The Original Far More Powerful and Beautiful Aragorn!

The Rains of Kastamere - Karliene 

@thisivyhouse

If I was Stuart Townsend, I would be forever haunted by what happened with Lord of the Rings tbh, like, imagine being cast as Aragorn, doing all that preparation for the film, and after like, the first day of shooting, it's like, actually, you're too young for the role, so you're fired and being replaced with Viggo Mortensen, and then seeing the explosive popularity of the films and how Viggo's career took off while yours faded into obscurity just as quickly as your star initially rose.

Russell Crowe is among the list of actors who turned down the role of Aragorn in Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings film series, and now he's spoken about why he said no to what could have become a career-defining role. Crowe told Howard Stern that it was his impression that Jackson never really wanted him for the part, and he agreed that it was his understanding that the studio went after him because he was so popular at the time.

"I didn't think Peter Jackson actually wanted me on the film; I think he was forced into talking to me. There was a moment in time where everybody wanted me in everything," Crowe said. "And he's a fellow New Zealander; so I can hear his voice. I'm talking to him on the phone. And it's like, I don't think he even knows what I've done. My instinct was that he had somebody else in mind, which turned out to be Viggo Mortensen. And he should be allowed to hire the actor that he wants."

Other actors who reportedly said no to the role of Aragorn include Nicolas Cage and Daniel Day-Lewis. Stuart Townsend was ultimately cast as Aragorn. He spent months training and filmed multiple days on set before Jackson decided to recast the role with Mortensen.

Stern said, and Crowe nodded in agreement, that Crowe was offered 10 percent of the gross box office performance of the Lord of the Rings series. That would have made him an enormously wealthy person, but Crowe says he doesn't lose sleep over it. After all, Crowe casually dropped $35,000 on a dinosaur skull that he drunkenly bought from Leonardo DiCaprio.

Also in the Howard Stern interview, Crowe talked about passing on another high-profile role: Wolverine. Hugh Jackman was eventually cast, and Crowe praised his performance. "Even if I had done the film, I wouldn't have carried it through with the grace and the direction that Hugh gave it," he said.

The latest Lord of the Rings movie is the biopic Tolkien that tells the story of author J.R.R. Tolkien's life and the events leading up to his writing of the acclaimed series.

from GameSpot - All Content http://bit.ly/2IXi8qV

As some may know, Viggo Mortensen was a late addition to the cast as Aragorn and initially an actor by the name of Stuart Townsend was cast. Townsend was deemed to young and recast, but what I only found out today was that an image of him in the role does exist... Source: https://ift.tt/2lfSkOu

10 attori che sono “quasi” entrati nel MCU nella Fase 1

Nuovo post su italianaradio https://www.italianaradio.it/index.php/10-attori-che-sono-quasi-entrati-nel-mcu-nella-fase-1/

10 attori che sono “quasi” entrati nel MCU nella Fase 1

10 attori che sono “quasi” entrati nel MCU nella Fase 1

10 attori che sono “quasi” entrati nel MCU nella Fase 1

Oggi interpretare un supereroe Marvel è diventato un grande privilegio, oltre che un’immensa responsabilità nei confronti del pubblico (specialmente dei fan dei fumetti); tuttavia non tutti gli attori a cui è stata offerta la possibilità di farlo si sono comportati nella stessa maniera. Alcuni di loro hanno deciso di rifiutare per motivi professionali, altri per ragioni legate ai propri gusti o scelte di carriera. Ma quali sono i più celebri fra questi?

Ecco di seguito 10 attori che sono “quasi” entrati nel MCU nella Fase 1:

Stuart Townsend (Fandral)

Fandral è uno dei personaggi secondari del MCU ad aver subito un cambio di attore nel corso del franchise, ed inizialmente doveva essere interpretato dall’irlandese Stuart Townsend che poi abbandonò la parte a causa di divergenze creative.

L’attore si comportò nello stesso modo lasciando il ruolo di Aragorn ne Il Signore degli Anelli, sostituito lì da Viggo Mortensen e nella saga di Thor da Zachary Levi.

Sam Rockwell (Iron Man)

Sam Rockwell è uno di quegli attori capaci di passare da una piccola produzione indipendente al grande blockbuster con grande facilità, ma che tipo di carriera avrebbe avuto se nel 2008 fosse stato scelto come volto di Iron Man nel primo film del MCU?

Rockwell ha dichiarato che c’erano state delle conversazioni con il regista Jon Favreau e che alla fine non risultò nulla di concreto. Come saprete lo studio lo scelse successivamente per interpretare Justin Hammer in Iron Man 2.

John Krasinski (Captain America)

La scelta di Chris Evans per Capitan America suscitò non pochi dubbi nella fanbase della Marvel, dal momento che l’attore era stato coinvolto nel fallimentare Fantastici Quattro dei primi anni Duemila.

Per fortuna Evans mise a tacere questi sospetti interpretando il ruolo a meraviglia, ma prima di lui altri nomi erano stati considerati, tra cui John Krasinski. All’epoca l’attore era più noto per la sit-com The Office, e stava iniziando a costruire le basi di una solida carriera drammatica.

Emily Blunt (Vedova Nera)

Non tutti sanno che a Emily Blunt venne offerto il ruolo di Vedova Nera in Iron Man 2, e ogni cosa sembrava andare per il verso giusto ma la sovrapposizione di progetti spinsero l’attrice a fare un passo indietro costringendo i Marvel Studios a trovare un’altra candidata. Oggi il personaggio è interpretato da Scarlett Johansson.

Timothy Olyphant (Iron Man)

Mandatory Credit: Photo by Matt Baron/REX/Shutterstock (9474069cu) Timothy Olyphant ‘Santa Clarita Diet’ TV show premiere, Arrivals, Los Angeles, USA – 22 Mar 2018

Timothy Olyphant si è fatto notare nelle serie Deadwood, Justified e recentemente in Santa Clarita Diet, ma al cinema avrebbe potuto mostrare le sua qualità grazie al ruolo di Iron Man per cui sostenne il provino.

A quanto pare questo accadde lo stesso giorno in cui i Marvel Studios stavano testando Robert Downey Jr.

Liam Hemsworth (Thor)

È già raro che dei fratelli riescano a sfondare a Hollywood, ma che succede quando entrambi competono per ottenere lo stesso ruolo in un film ambito? È successo in casa Hemsworth, con Chris e Liam in lizza per interpretare Thor nel MCU. Ovviamente il maggiore dei due ebbe la meglio, favorendo la propria ascesa nel mondo dello spettacolo.

Mel Gibson (Odino)

Il premio Oscar Anthony Hopkins si è rivelata un’ottima scelta per portare sullo schermo il sovrano di Asgard Odino, eppure in fase di progettazione i Marvel Studios avevano considerato un attore molto diverso da Hopkins: parliamo di Mel Gibson, di cui il regista Kenneth Branagh era grande fan, che successivamente dichiarò di aver rifiutato il lavoro perché non gradiva i costumi “stravaganti” del personaggio.

Alexander Skarsgård (Thor)

Alexander Skarsgård ha costruito una solida carriera mescolando film ad alto budget e piccole pellicole indie grazie al carisma e alla prestanza fisica. Ma non tutti sanno che fu ad un passo dall’interpretare il Dio del Tuono.

A quanto pare l’attore aveva parlato con Kevin Feige e il regista Kenneth Branagh della parte realizzando perfino un costume. Suo padre Stellan invece ha vestito i panni di Erik Selvig nel franchise.

Mark Ruffalo (Hulk)

Tra i pochi casi di “re-casting” del MCU il più significativo è sicuramente quello del personaggio di Hulk, interpretato prima da Edward Norton nel film del 2009, e da The Avengers in poi da Mark Ruffalo.

È altrettanto interessante notare che Ruffalo era già in lizza per il ruolo, oltre che il favorito dello studio, ma le preferenze del regista Louis Leterrier hanno impedito che tutto ciò si realizzasse.

Dane Cook (Captain America)

Quando il nome di Dane Cook venne associato al personaggio di Capitan America per l’adattamento del MCU, i fan erano abbastanza fiduciosi sul casting, più di quanto lo fossero dopo l’annuncio di Chris Evans.

Tuttavia la notizia del suo provino sconvolse la comunità Marvel, che individuò presto in Evans l’uomo giusto per interpretare Steve Rogers sul grande schermo.

Leggi anche – MCU: 10 attori che abbiamo dimenticato

Cinefilos.it – Da chi il cinema lo ama.

10 attori che sono “quasi” entrati nel MCU nella Fase 1

Oggi interpretare un supereroe Marvel è diventato un grande privilegio, oltre che un’immensa responsabilit�� nei confronti del pubblico (specialmente dei fan dei fumetti); tuttavia non tutti gli attori a cui è stata offerta la possibilità di farlo si sono comportati nella stessa maniera. Alcuni di loro hanno deciso di rifiutare per motivi professionali, altri per ragioni […]

Cinefilos.it – Da chi il cinema lo ama.

Cecilia Strazza