In other news

[go_team]

I'm rereading Cordelia's Honor for the nth time, because it's like nummy delicious crack, and I've decided it needs to be a feature film, at least in my happy imaginations. So far I've decided it stars Nicole Kidman and George Clooney, although that's mostly because I'd probably watch either of them brushing their teeth and really want to see them share the big screen. The really hard questions for me (besides the obvious problem of casting Miles, which I'm luckily able to avoid by my choice of book) are: who plays Sergeant Bothari? Simon Ilyan is another tricksy one, and that means Alys Vorpatril will have to be carefully chosen as well.... yeah. Anyways, I figured some of the folks who read this journal might have fun opinions (kuddliphish, I'm looking at you in particular) so let the games begin!

Comments

well, um,

[cosyne.livejournal.com]

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119874/

Re: well, um,

[goteam.livejournal.com]

Excellent! I didn't know! That looks like a fine film for drinking to.

[kuddliphish.livejournal.com]

ooooh, but this is a game that I'm very bad at, since I know so few actors. Though I agree that Cordelia's Honor should be a movie, if done well. The biggest question is who should direct...

[porfinn.livejournal.com]

That's a very wise question to ask (and also hope that the right studio gets their greedy paws on it).

[olstad.livejournal.com]

should Cordelia's Honor be one movie, or two? I think it might need to be changed a bit for a one-shot movie... right now it has two distinct bad guys, two distinct story arcs, etc.

[goteam.livejournal.com]

I think a TV (mini)series might be even more the way to go, to allow more time for complicated plots and character development. The problem there is I really want the big screen, and a series of short films with cliffhanger endings probably won't work in that format, let alone sell. A trilogy maybe? The first installment could end where Shards of Honor pauses its action for Cordelia to return to Beta Colony (which would make for a fun opening to the next movie indeed) but Barrayar is so classically Bujold with one "and now here's the worst thing that could happen at this moment! woo!" cliffhanger after another that I'm really not sure at all how to split it up.

[olstad.livejournal.com]

I agree that NK and GC would be good choices for Cordelia & Aral.

I like maybe Ben Kingsley for Illyan (at least old Illyan later- maybe he's too old for the first one?)

Ezar and Piotr both need really formidable scary old men. Maybe Christopher Lee for one? (or both, see below)

I've always imagined Alys as rounder (not necessarily overweight, but not a waif at all); the only actresses I can think of with body types that match my imagination are comedians, but maybe I'm not thinking hard enough.

Koudelka needs to be a nice looking, clean cut boy.

Droushnakovi could maybe be another Miranda Otto ass-kicking role? Or is she too sad all the time?

I think John Rhys-Davies might be able to handle Bothari, but I've mainly seen him in comedy...

I really worry about the tendency of movies of books I like to compound characters for simplicity's sake. It seems like Piotr and Ezar would become the same person, and maybe Kou and Illyan, probably others too. This would be awful for movies based on the later books to untangle, but I can see it being done for this one.

[goteam.livejournal.com]

In my mind Alys is statuesque, the classic Vor aristocratic lady. Not a skinny waif, but a bit slimmer and taller than Cordelia, which means the actress who plays her might have to wear stilts to be taller than NK, who in turn might have to gain a little weight and be all gorgeously cuddly for the part (oh darn!) A younger Uma Thurman would make a good Drou (already I'm starting to suspend the rules of space and time, never a good sign in the casting games). Ben Kingsley could do a formidable Piotr, actually. Young Ilyan is tricksy. Someone good at looking like he's hiding something, who will age into a formidable badass form of nature. If Ron Perlman weren't so darn lovable he'd have Bothari's big and ugly right down, but I have a hard time thinking of him as scary. The cast reduction problem is a right bastard indeed, and one of the reasons to want to make multiple films for sure.

[theshytiger.livejournal.com]

I always saw Lady Vorpatril as played by Majel Barrett , though she's too old to play in Cordelia's Honor now. And Mickey Rouke did a fine job with his Bothariesque role in Sin City. If he doesn't mind being typecast he could do a good job again. I have no good ideas for Simon, and sidestepping the whole Miles issue is definitely a good idea.