I don't see Kidman as the Baker's Wife at all. She lacks the earthy element needed. She's more in the Witch mold but I hope she doesn't play it. I'm less than enthused about her singing.
I'd like to see what Rachel Weisz would do with it, actually. Kate Winslet would also interest me.
I know she has no chance, but Carla Gugino talked in an interview recently about doing singing (apparently she can indeed sing) and how she wants to do a Sondheim. She's quite talented and would be a fine choice.
My first guess is Kidman and I actually think she would be good. If you've seen ant of her extremely indie films, she often surprises with the range she has. That would be really interesting. I'm just glad it won't be Arienda.
Glenn Close. I overheard her at Sbarro's the other day saying "If Streisand can play Gypsy, I can play Baker's Wife. If I have to open my checkbook, I will."
Um, hello? I will have my Les Miz Oscar by the time this goes to filming. I will win an Oscar because who can refuse awarding a consumptive, dying mother who takes to whoring and makes herself look ugly for a role?
Blanchett doesn't scream Baker's Wife to me in any way. (And I really adore her-she's a personal favorite. Maybe as the Witch.)
Vocally, Anne Hathaway is a Cinderella. She's too old for the role now, sadly. (She'd have been perfect in that role, too.)
I stand by my desire to see Rachel Weisz or Kate Winslet play the role. Either one could be amazing. (I do think Carla Gugino could be very strong as well. But, I think they want more of an A-lister.)
nasty-I said this awhile back to someone. I think she is a very gifted comedienne and I guess she can sing (she's going to play Joplin). But, they'll likely get a blockbuster name (and who knows, it could be someone really amazing-just because they're A-list doesn't mean they aren't talented).
What I like most about Blanchett is that she has that I won't take any crap from anyone thing that, among so many other things, made Gleason's performance so wonderful.
Much as I love Cate Blanchett, how can someone that obviously beautiful play being shocked by the Prince's overtures to her? Doesn't "Moments in the Wood" depend on her being just an average everyday girl?
At first I really resisted the idea of Blanchett, but Henrik's comparison to Joanna Gleason made me think that Blanchett might be able to find humor in the most surprising moments the way Gleason so beautifully did. She's someone that I'd be happy to see either as the Witch or as the Baker's Wife. I wonder if she'd be hesitant to get involved in another fantasy film with THE HOBBIT coming out during the holidays but the Sondheim factor might interest her. I love Nicole Kidman and her performance in MOULIN ROUGE defines the term "star turn," she's mesmerizing in every way in that film (and in so many others, she's one of the best actresses of her generation) but I completely agree she lacks the earthiness necessary to make the Baker's Wife work, and I'm not sure she'd be particularly funny as the Witch either. Besides, I doubt she's dying to revisit the NINE experience, she also seemed very self-depricating when talking about her singing voice so I wonder if she'd even be interested in singing Sondheim after she was so heavily criticized for NINE.
Much as I love Cate Blanchett, how can someone that obviously beautiful play being shocked by the Prince's overtures to her? Doesn't "Moments in the Wood" depend on her being just an average everyday girl?
Oh, please. Cate can take the makeup off and darken her hair and get just as "plain" as (at least) Kate Winslet or some of these other Oscar beauties.
The Hollywood version of "plain." Just like Mare Winningham is the "fat girl" in St. Elmo's Fire, weighing in at 135.
I also don't think that Joanna Gleason was unattractive in any way, she was clearly dressed down for the production, however, part of what made her so good was that in costume she looked like a "regular person" which worked really well when she was opposite someone like Bernadette Peters or even Kim Crosby. They need to cast someone who can play down her movie star looks, Blanchett, Collette, and Tomei have done it plenty of times, people like Kidman, Paltrow, Weisz, and some of the other struggle a bit more in that department.
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joined:5/20/07
Posted: 10/11/12 at 12:55pm