The Kenblog: The Classic Casting Overreaction. . .Nicole Kidman As Lucy!

There is a bit of history here when it comes to these overreactions and most of the time such responses are completely unjustified. I will give just a few examples here to illustrate my point. The first time I remember such an uproar came with the casting of Bruce Willis, then known primarily as a comic actor for “Moonlighting” as John McClane in the now action classic “Die Hard.” This was pre-internet and pre-social media bullcrap, so the anger was somewhat muted, but it was still there nonetheless and it came before anyone saw a single frame of film with Willis in the lead roll. “Die Hard” became a classic and one of the big reasons is that Willis’ everyman persona makes McClane relatable in an era where supermen like Schwarzenegger and Stallone ruled the box office. The rest is history as Die Hard became a profitable franchise and Willis became one of the biggest action stars of his generation.

The next controversy came a year later with the casting of another comedic actor, one Michael Keaton, in the role of Bruce Wayne in Tim Burton’s “Batman.” The 1989 film is now credited for taking Batman out of the realm of the campy television series and giving the character a serious psychological treatment. Keaton, who was thought to be all wrong for the damaged but driven Bruce Wayne, turns in the films most layered performance and cements his portayal as one of the best ever committed to film. Keaton has since become one of the most respected actors of his generation.

Finally, we get to Heath Ledger as the Joker in Christopher Nolan’s masterpiece “The Dark Knight.” I remember this one very well. All it took was one photo of Ledger in makeup to light up the internet and the reactions were not kind. The puffy scars and strange makeup didn’t resemble the Joker fans had grown to love so well and based on that photo alone the outrage of Ledger’s casting began in earnest and didn’t abate until the first trailers came out and you actually saw portions of what was one of the greatest villain performances in cinematic history. Speaking of history, Ledger won an Oscar (posthumously, unfortunately) for his portrayal of the Clown Prince Of Crime and his performance as the Joker has never been bettered (apologies to Jared Leto and Joaquin Phoenix).

So now we get to Kidman as Lucille Ball and all we’ve seen from her in the initial trailer are small scenes in which she recreates the grape stomping scene in the classic sitcom and, predictably the internet is losing its collective mind. That said, this comes from the mind of Aaron Sorkin, one of the smartest playwrights and screenwriters working today. So to all the doubters I say this. . .trust the process and the filmmakers. They do this shit for a living. Kidman’s performance as Lucille Ball may tank, but recent evidence would indicate that it won’t. In any event, let’s reserve judgement until we see the film shall we? (It comes out on December 10th, so we don’t have long to wait.) So Sayeth The Kendog!

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