I always find myself at least a little bit skeptical with every movie rumor that floats its way onto the Internet, especially with remake news. So, needless to say, when I found this out I was a tad bit shocked.
On the home page of IMDb this morning, I spotted a strange headline. Under the “newsdesk” section of the page, I saw the headline that read: “Bradley Cooper in talks for ‘The Crow’ remake.”
Initially, my gut reaction was probably the same as yours is right now: “What the Hell?!” Bradley Cooper can’t play Eric Draven! That’s like Steve Buscemi playing Judge Dredd (Okay…not exactly like that, but it’s still not right).
Is Mr. Hangover bad-ass enough to fill Brandon Lee's shoes?
Though, after some careful consideration I remembered one thing that continues to keep me grounded when I read even the most ridiculous or bizarre casting information: Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight.
Given the miracles that Hollywood and its filmmakers have been known to produce, it IS quite possible that if Bradley Cooper is cast as Eric Draven, he could do a decent job; but for now, I’m very skeptical. I just don’t see it. It’s true that there have been amazing casting decisions before that nobody would’ve expected, but I only see this being a huge mistake. I’m sure there are plenty of actors out there good enough and talented enough to pull off a stellar portrayal of the iconic character.
A problem I see with remakes now-a-days is that it is all about casting big-name actors to fill the old roles. This is a very common technique being used in the realm of reboots and there is a good reason why: lack of confidence.
The filmmakers aren’t confident in the script alone, so they feel the need to put another big actor in the role so it won’t seem as bad. I’m not saying all of these cases are bad. Look at Robert Rodriguez’s A+ reboot of Predators. As much as I doubted Adrian Brody as the type of action hero to fill the Governator’s shoes, he did a fairly good job (despite the horrible, Christian Bale-esque growl). Then again, that could be because he wasn’t playing Arnold’s actual character. If he were to have, however, I do not think the quality of the character would’ve been the same because Swarzenegger’s character in the first Predator movie was iconic. That is the dilemma plaguing directors of all these Hollywood remakes. Instead of hiring an actor to portray an original character with potential for growth, they must fill the iconic shoes of characters that great actors portrayed many years ago.
And, in this case, Bradley Cooper won’t cut it.
Do you agree? Do you disagree? Let me know.
Would Mr. Hangover be a good replacement for the late Brandon Lee or do you have somebody else in mind?