In the absence of "having seen any good movies lately" I am relegated to the task of digging up some coherent movie news. I would have given various vital body parts to be able to report on Cannes, but unfortunately I was forced to forgo the French paradise for the dizzying natural beauty and star-power of, er, Toledo, Ohio.
While about my rounds of merciless celebrity gossip and box office numbers, I stopped by Neddie Jingo's, a blogger of whom I am quite fond. Neddie Jingo, as you will see by clicking on the link, has a habit of referring to Mrs. Jingo affectionately as Wonder Woman. This sparked in my memory a reference I had heard to a possible Wonder Woman movie coming out. I hastened to IMDb for confirmation, and lo, there it be in all its glory!! In pre-production, and helmed by none other than my darling Joss Whedon himself! From reports derived from various comic book geek websites, Whedon is currently writing the script for the movie and is set to direct. The question on everyone's mind, of course, is who will play the Amazon princess-warrior, and the forums are abuzz with names, both plausible and ludicrous. A favorite of mine, of course, is Lucy Lawless, but I think she might be a little old for the gig. People have mentioned the usual lolli-pop headed trolls, Mischa Barton, Rachel Bilson, as well as Lindsay Lohan as other possibles. I heard a very funny story in which Kate Beckinsale was asked if she was set to play WW- she laughed hysterically and said, "I think Wonder Woman's supposed to be quite tall."
But the name that keeps popping into my head hasn't really been mentioned: Gina Torres.
Torres is actually a Joss whedon favorite- she premiered on his brilliant-but-cancelled show Firefly as co-captain Zoe, and later played the role in his film version of the series, Serenity. She's also appeared on Angel as a malevolent demi-god. Can you imagine anyone better?
I know what you're thinking- wah?? A black Wonder Woman? Well, why not? Last I checked the Amazonians were a race all their own- they didn't hold with the preconceptions of race within the world of Man. So they'd have no problem with an African-American woman being their divine princess who wields a golden lasso.
According to Whedon, whoever gets the gig will be playing it OSWW- Old School Wonder Woman. "I can tell you that the film will be about introducing you to Wonder Woman," he said to Empire Online last March. "She'll be wearing the outfit and there will be the bracelets, the golden lasso and Greek gods." While comic book purists will be happy with that, what I really want Whedon to keep is the sense of fun and irony that Lynda Carter instilled in her portrayal of the Amazon. There was a whimsical sense of humor that emanated from the 70's era TV show and if Whedon can keep that going, I think it'll be a fabulous addition to the summer movie line-up of 2007 or 2008.
1 comment:
I am really looking forward to Whedon's, well, anything, to be honest.
He's not quite finished with his first Wonder Woman draft yet, but rumor has it he's looking to cast an unknown in the role, a la Brandon Routh (the new Superman), which I think is probably the way to go.
If you hire a "name" actress you're going to have preconceived notions about the character, and if DC and Warner Bros. want this to be as big as it can be, they need to stay away from anyone with "baggage."
Get "name" actors to fill in the supporting roles, like Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor, but for the main character, I think you need someone no one's ever seen before.
That being said, Firefly's Inara would look great in the WW outfit.
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