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Posted: Sun Mar 28, 2010 9:51 pm
by Hustler
Colin Firth would be perfect for that role.

Posted: Sun Mar 28, 2010 10:22 am
by Damien
Ricky Gervais as Dolittle.

Posted: Sun Mar 28, 2010 7:31 am
by Big Magilla
Reza wrote:
Big Magilla wrote:Mrs. Higgins is such a tiny part.
That didn't stop them from nominating Dame Gladys.
It wasn't just the part. Gladys Cooper had sympathy and name recognition going for her as well.

Cooper was set to reprise her Broadway role in The Chalk Garden but overtime on My Fair Lady and the pending start of her TV series, The Rogues, forced her to drop out with the plum role going instead to Edith Evans who played it in London. Had she played the part she would certainly have been nominated for that instead. Evans indeed was.

At the same time, younger audiences were beginning to discover Gladys Cooper from her 1940s MGM films that were constantly playing on TV - Mrs. Parkington, The White Cliffs of Dover, The Valley of Decision, The Green Years and The Secret Garden among them.

Maggie Smith has experience reprising a Gladys Cooper role. She played the housekeeper in the 1993 remake of The Secret Garden.

Posted: Sun Mar 28, 2010 2:23 am
by Reza
Big Magilla wrote:Mrs. Higgins is such a tiny part.

That didn't stop them from nominating Dame Gladys. Maggie Smith or Judi Dench should be front runners for the part. If either is cast, maybe Emma could expand the role.

After Firth's recent Oscar nod I think he may have the momentum. Although not too sure if I like the idea of a remake in the first place. Isn't Emma keen on Hugh Grant?

Tom Wilkinson as Dolittle???




Edited By Reza on 1269761135

Posted: Sat Mar 27, 2010 3:55 pm
by Okri
The Cukor version is a lumbering bore, but they shouldn't bother anyway.

Posted: Sat Mar 27, 2010 1:55 pm
by Big Magilla
Even if they get the casting right, they'll never match Cecil Beaton's costumes or his art direction, officially credited to Gene Allen.

Mrs. Higgins is such a tiny part. More significant casting would be Pickering and Dolittle.

Posted: Sat Mar 27, 2010 1:31 pm
by Mike Kelly
I wouldn't mind a remake - it'll be almost 50 years. I'd look forward to it more than another A Star is Born with Beyonce and Russell Crowe anyway. Besides, some of the other parts would be nice to see with contemporary performers; Dame Maggie Smith in the Gladys Cooper role for example.

Posted: Sat Mar 27, 2010 11:06 am
by Big Magilla
I agree with Damien. This is a bad idea. The 1964 film version of My Fair Lady was near perfection. Remake Mame or Man of La Mancha or A Little Night Music or one of the other lousy film versions of great stage musicals and leave near perfection alone.

Keira Knightley was the original choice for Eliza. Mulligan seems better suited, but can she sing or will she be dubbed?

Thompson wants Grant, and maybe she'll get him. She hopes to get the film into production by the end of the year so if it comes off a 2011 release date would be possible.

Branagh seems to me the best suited, but I have no idea what his relationship with Thompson is like these days. I voted for Colin Firth, who could pull it off, but is there an audience for this?

Posted: Sat Mar 27, 2010 10:21 am
by Damien
This is such a bad idea that I hope the project dies a bornin'. So the proper response is None of the Above. But of this interesting list of actors, I think Kenneth Branagh is the best suited to play Higgins.

Posted: Sat Mar 27, 2010 8:52 am
by Mike Kelly
Carey Mulligan Cast as Eliza in My Fair Lady Remake
By Troy Rogers

Although Carey Mulligan was nominated for an Oscar in An Education, Mulligan may have another shot at Oscar glory now that Carey is set to play Eliza Doolittle in the upcoming Emma Thompson penned remake of My Fair Lady.

In an interview at the premiere of Nanny McPhee with BBC, Emma Thompson revealed that Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps actress Carey Mulligan is set to play the female lead, Eliza Doolittle, in the My Fair Lady remake that Thompson is writing with John Madden at the helm to direct.

With regard to the My fair Lady casting of Carey Mulligan, Thompson confirmed, "I think Carey is set to play it, yes." But Emma also mentioned that My Fair Lady has yet to cast the part of Henry Higgins despite the hope of landing Hugh Grant.

So, who would you cast? I doubt Kenneth Branagh would be involved with Emma Thompson as part of the creative team. Perhaps I should have put Ewan McGregor in his place.

FYI, Leslie Howard was 45 and Rex Harrison, 56 when they played Henry Higgins in Pygmalion and My Fair Lady. The ages listed for the poll choices are current, but the film is scheduled for 2012.