Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Selling the Dragon Tattoo

An interesting article and slide show about selecting the iconic book cover for the "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" can be found here at Wall Street Journal online.

How much does the cover of a book sway you?
What if they had used a version of the book's original Swedish title: Men Who Hate Women?
Do you think they made the right choice?

As the dragon tattoo phenomenon continues (the second Swedish film is being released this month) the debate continues over who should star in the Hollywood-ized version of the novel. Reports say that an entirely new script is being developed rather than translating the screenplay of the Swedish version.

Daniel Craig is, supposedly, confirmed to play journalist Mikael Blomkvist (my mother is happy with this choice although her top pick was Stellan Skarsgard). Personally, I think Craig is a bit too manly for the role. Blomkvist is a bit more average. Part of the joke is that he is not studly but still a ladies man.

The role of Salander will be a coup for any young actress with Carey Mulligan currently in the lead for the part. I just don't see her in that role. Many reviewers say that noone can replace Noomi Rapace (from the Swedish films) as Salander. I found her performance strong but off. She was a bit too mature for the role since Salandar is supposed to look like a teen and not the women in her twenties that she is. I have a feeling that the leading lady might be a no-name or up-and-comer as this tends to be the trend for these types of roles.

I have, of course, my own dream team cast for these excellent roles:

Blomkvist: Aaron Eckhart

Handsome but not too handsome. A gift for the gab, full of charm and the serious presence that the character needs. Check out Thank you for Smoking or his two Neil Butte film roles if you need to be convinced.

Salandar: Ellen Page

She has the youth and the edge. If anyone saw her in Hard Candy, there is no debating that she could handle the material.

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