Just as I’ve set into the demo level for the Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory game, I see this interview on Moviehole with Peter Berg, Director of the screen adaptation of the game. WARNING however, reading the last paragraph of the interview contains spoilers for Million Dollar Baby. I haven’t seen it yet, so I didn’t read it, I’m just quoting Moviehole’s warning.
However, returning to the interview tells us something about the casting thoughts for the movie and how the whole thing is going. How is the whole thing going?
“It’s going excellent”, says Berg. “J.T (Petty) is doing the weight of the writing on it, but I’m going to take all the credit”.
I love the Moviehole interview, it makes me smile, and I shall pay homage to it here. Apparently he’s a big fan of the spy genre.
“I’m a big fan of that kind of story. I love secret-agent books √¢‚Ǩ‚Äú I love ‘Bourne’ (Identity) √¢‚Ǩ‚Äú with missions, and kidnappings, executions and assassinations. I read books like, all the Ludlum books, I like the Alistair MacLaine books like Guns of Navarone√¢‚Ǩ¬¶. I just like that kind of stuff”.
Okay, I’ll stop. So what about casting? I said before that I was hoping for Michael Ironside to take his role from voice to screen, they have different ideas apparently.
Berg says he√¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s keen to mould a good actor into a hunky action star, rather than simply pluck someone renowned for action movies out and place him in the lead role, something like Doug Liman did with Matt Damon in ‘The Bourne Identity’. A few names come up √¢‚Ǩ‚Äú everyone from Thomas Jane to Eric Bana and Kurt Russell √¢‚Ǩ‚Äú but Berg says it’s too early to decide who should play the role. He does like one guy in particular though, and what a Clancy-fitting action hero this former Funky Bunch vocalist would make.
Next week, says Berg, he meets Tom Clancy, the inspiration behind the ‘Splinter Cell’ game and impending movie. “Next week I√¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢m going to DC to talk with him and Porter Goss, the new head of the CIA. [It’s] very exciting!.
Exciting that does sound, but is the movie going to show Fisher as a young man? A big part of the appeal is the attitude of the guy, his sarcasm and rebellious streak, so how could this work young? I think that Berg was more talking about how he would like to bring a young actor into an action role and build it up with them rather than specifically on this project.
Kurt Russell though, there’s a good second option to Ironside. I don’t mean Ironside from TV fame, I meant Michael Ironside. No way could Ironside sneak around like Fisher, nor would he look good in that tight suit. Ahem.
I also think George Clooney should be him because he looks like him and talks like him and has a dark sense of humor.
Sean Bean. Yeah, I think he could be a choice, I still think Kurt Russell would be ideal for the role, but Bean is a good choice too.
Clooney is far too smooth and clean cut for this role. Even in the Peacemaker he couldn’t shake that.
i think that the entire movie rides on who is cast as Sam. if its a bad choice then the movie would lose that spark in amoungst the political warfare and spy games. the witty sarcasm adds flavour to a somewhat overdone genre, thats why i think the game is so damn good.
i have possibly the best and sometimes overlooked actor for the part, well i think so anyway: Sean Bean!
he is old enough to pass as Sam but not not old to squeze into the black skin tight attire. if he could get the accent right, not only could he pull off the dialogue so well, im positive he could do the physical aspect as well.
i know that John Campea is a fan of Bean’s work, maybe John feels the same way as i do.
I think George Clooney sould be Sam Fisher
Oh yeah Cody, two excellent choices! Kurt Russell would totally rock as Fisher.
I think Kurt Russell or Bruce Willis would look and sound best as Sam Fisher even though Bruce Willis isn’t mentioned in the interview he is mentioned at Team Shadow Net and I think either of them would be best.
That’s an intriguing casting idea, Mark.
James Denton (the Desperate Housewives guy) would possibly be a good choice for this (certainly better than Thomas Jane was for the Punisher). Denton is not young-young, and the producers could probably get him for cheap. It would also help get the women viewers of Desperate Housewives to watch this Clancy flick. I think Denton has the potential to be “moulded” into Sam Fisher.
http://abc.go.com/primetime/desperate/bios/james_denton.html
Yeah, you’re definitely right there Mark. Perhaps not the right way to go, but I think that’s the way he’ll do it.
I have a feeling they’re going to cast against type for this role and go with some hot flavor of the month. You know that guy on Desperate Housewives, the handsome widower with the dog that Teri Hatcher’s character has been eyeing? I could see him being cast for this, and he might not be half bad actually.