A Trio of Casting News I’m Excited About: Viola Davis + Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Lee Pace

Now, if only the three of them would actually be starring in ONE film, that’d be an even more spectacular casting news. But hey, I’m just glad that those three are getting more prominent roles and I’m particularly excited about Viola’s news because it involves one of my favorite directors!

Viola Davis & Chris Hemsworth – Michael Mann’s untitled Cyber Thriller

DavisHemsworth_Casting

Now, the concept of the film itself sounds intriguing and it’s something right up Mr. Mann’s alley. He hasn’t done a feature film since Public Enemies back in 2009. That film was sadly quite disappointing, but I still very much regard him as one of my favorite directors. I’ve seen seven out of ten of his feature films, with Heat, The Last of the Mohicans and The Insider being my all time favorites.

According to the Playlist, the film “…will follow a Balkan hacker operating out of South Asia who has an American and Chinese task force on his tail.” Sounds intriguing and with this cast and filmmaker, I’m so game! Not sure which role Chris Hemsworth will play, but I’ve been reading that the Oscar nominee Viola Davis might play an FBI agent. I do hope she’s got the lead role instead of just a supporting character, she’s certainly a charismatic actress with a chameleon-ability to play just about any kind of roles. The hot and in demand Aussie Hemsworth is always watchable in my book, so yeah, I’ll be keeping an eye on this project!


Now, I didn’t mean this to be a THOR reunion of some kind, ahah, but Hemsworth brotherly nemesis in that film is equally in demand. Btw, check out the latest Thor: The Dark World trailer on Tim’s blog.

Tom Hiddleston in The Crow and Robert Capa biopic?

Hiddleston_TheCrow

Looks like Mr. Hiddleston might be clad in skinny leather pants once again, not that I’m complaining 😉 Truth be told, I wasn’t really paying attention to all the rumors about The Crow reboot, though I’m surprised it’s taken them so long to do so. Surely it’ll be tough to forget Brandon Lee in that role, who was tragically shot during filming, but the concept of The Crow is an intriguing one and with Hiddleston [possibly] on board, naturally I’m intrigued. I certainly would rather see him than Bradley Cooper as Eric Draven!

According to The Wrap, “Hiddleston recently had dinner with producers and sent them a makeup test that he did on his own in London. He will undergo a proper makeup test in the coming days, as the character’s appearance is important to fans of the franchise…”

Fingers crossed this will actually happen!

Hiddleston_Atwell_CapaBiopic

Now, this one sounds like a done deal and the concept is more grounded in reality. Hiddleston will play renowned war photographer Robert Capa in the pending biopic, with Paul Andrew Williams directing. Interesting that I had just seen the film by Williams, Unfinished Song. Whilst it’s not a bad film, I sure hope this one would be a lot more compelling.

I’m particularly intrigued by the romantic theme of the film, as the story will focus on Capa’s two-year romance with Spanish war photographer Gerda Taro, which will be played by Hayley Atwell. I really like this casting, Atwell certainly looks the part and no doubt the two would have a nice chemistry together. Funny enough, I actually saw Capa being portrayed on screen not too long ago (by Venezuelan actor Santiago Cabrera) in Hemingway & Gellhorn, and I remember thinking how his life deserved a biopic on his own, ahah.


Lee Pace lands the villain role in The Guardians of the Galaxy

LeePace_GuardiansGalaxyI ‘ve mentioned some casting in this film a while back in the Five for the Fifth post. On that post, I said that I’m not exactly interested in that movie yet, but if Lee Pace ends up being cast, now that’s a different story. Well, talk about dreams come true!! I know a fellow blogger who’s just as enthused about this news.

The Playlist reported that the gorgeous Oklahoma native is indeed going to play the main villain of the Marvel superhero series. Now, I still would prefer that he plays The Flash as he’s my top casting choice and he certainly has the look and personality to pull it off, but hey, just seeing him getting prominent role is always good news to me.

Of course I’m also looking forward to more screen time of him as Thranduil the last two Hobbit films: Desolation of Smaug and There and Back Again. So there’s at least two movies I’ll be looking forward to from Pace, wahoo! I’m still hoping that he’d also land a real career breakthrough in the future though, I’d love to see him lead a drama or thriller as he’s definitely got screen charisma, talent AND rugged good looks like his peers Bradley Cooper or Ryan Gosling who’ve made it big. In fact, I’d rather see Pace ten times over than those two!!


Well, which one of these casting news intrigue you? Feel free any other recent casting news that make you jump for joy!

49 thoughts on “A Trio of Casting News I’m Excited About: Viola Davis + Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Lee Pace

  1. Anything Hiddleston does intrigues me. Tremendous talent. I am anxious to see Guardians but I’m a comic book kinda fellow! 🙂 It’s going to be tricky though. There are some wild characters that may of may not come off well on screen. Good stuff Ruth!!!

    1. Yeah, tremendous talent is right. Both of his new projects excite me, he’d be great as The Crow I think. I’m not as enthused about Galaxy either, but w/ Pace that changes everything 😉

  2. While I think remaking The Crow is a blasphemy, almost as big as remaking Carrie, Hiddleston may be a good fit. Certainly better than Cooper – I have nothing against him but he is literally the worst possible choice for Eric Draven.

    Oh, YES about Lee news! I’m so happy for him, I know he really wanted to be in that movie.

    But where are all the job offers for Armitage? This is ridiculous!

    1. Y’know, I wasn’t too keen on them remaking The Crow either at first, I mean Brandon Lee was irreplaceable! At the same time, you know it’s inevitable as EVERYTHING is being remade these days, and if they were to do it, I’d rather see an actor I think is worthy of the role to do it, and I think Hiddleston fits the bill. Yeah, I don’t see Cooper as Draven at all!

      Lee really wants to be in that film? Well I’m even happier now that he got it!!

      I know!! I wish Richard will get more roles too, it’s so sad to see there’s no new movie listed in his IMDb page besides the two Hobbits and Black Sky 😦

      1. Yeah, he wanted to be cast as the lead and even talked about his preparations for casting, I’m glad he is going to be in the film even if it’s not his dream role.

        I don’t understand it at all. The guy should be Bond by now. On the other hand if he is free, I guess HBO would have easy job getting him to appear on GoT but I don’t know if they are smart enough to think of it 😛

        1. I guess by now I’ve sort of given up on my dream of seeing RA as Bond, though the producers are missing out I think. I mean even in 5 or so years, I think he’d still look better than Daniel Craig now.

          I’d love to see him getting the roles that now goes to actors like Luke Evans, Ryan Reynolds, Gosling, Cooper, etc. and I’m like, what is it that they have that Richard don’t have?? I just don’t get it, unless it’s Richard himself who doesn’t want to move to the States maybe? It’s mind boggling!!

          1. To me all of those are standard pretty boys. Yes, sure Gosling and Cooper can act, but they don’t have the same icy magnetism Richard has. They are like boys next door and honestly when I see Gosling in the roles where he is supposedly physically menacing it’s a bit…odd. Richard could kill a person just with his eyes 😛

            1. “icy magnetism” I LOVE that phrase and it fits Richard to a ‘t.’ YES, absolutely about Gosling and even Cooper, ‘pretty boys’ that’s not menacing at all. Richard has that ‘it’ factor, the perfect blend of sex appeal and danger as he seems to have this tortured soul thing going but he can also be VERY tender that makes me swoon. I don’t know if you’ve seen the Spooks episodes of him with his ex girlfriend Maya I think her name, there’s a scene where he kisses her ever so s-l-o-w-l-y that I just about fall down on the floor!! But then the next minute he looks as if he could strangle someone. Now THAT’s range.

        1. Oh I certainly think so. He’s got a bit of a dark sensibility in him I saw in The Fall, I think he’s a versatile actor who REALLY needs a breakthrough in Hollywood. I don’t know why he hasn’t a big star already by now.

            1. Yeah, I guess I’ll reserve my utmost optimism until I see a trailer, but I’m just thrilled to see Lee Pace getting a prominent role 😀

  3. Excited about the Michael Mann project Ruth. Totally agree that Public Enemies was mince but my three favourites are the same as yours. I didn’t even know he that film in the pipeline. And Viola Davis? That’ll do nicely!

    1. Hi Mark! We love our Mann don’t we? He’s not very prolific but once he’s set on a film he’s so dedicated, so I’m VERY excited to see him doing another thriller. He seems to have assembled a GREAT cast so far, and I like that it’ll have an international flavor the fact that it’ll be shot in China.

  4. Ted S.

    Can’t say that I’m as excited as you about these casting news, but it would be nice to see something new from Mann. Let’s hope he does something new to the look of this film, his last three looked like home video, worked great for Collateral but Miami Vice and Public Enemies shouldn’t have looked like cheap consumer camcorder. And they both cost well over $100mil!

    As for The Crow remake, I don’t really have any interest in it. I mean the original was a pretty average action flick and if not for Lee’s death, it might not be that well known.

    1. Hmmm, I don’t really feel that way about Mann’s films, I kind of think of ’em as distinctive. I thought Collateral was beautifully-shot. I do hope this thriller will be more like Heat than Public Enemies though, but yeah, nice to see him doing another feature film!

      1. Ted S.

        Mann seems to have fallen in love with digital video after Collateral and used that same style for his last two films. Collateral looked great because it fits the story, it has that documentary style feel to it. But I thought that kind of style didn’t fit Miami Vice or Public Enemies, I felt like I was watching TV movies. Fincher also love shooting digital but at least all of his films looked like they belong on the big screen, not made for TV movie.

    1. That’s awesome Cindy! Yeah, I’m especially thrilled to see Mann ‘back on the saddle again’ as you say. I wish he were more prolific.

  5. Happy a couple of your crushes got gigs, Ruth! 😉 LOL. I’ll be on the lookout for the eventual Michael Mann cyber thriller, I’m hoping for a return to form from him, too. Davis and Hemsworth are a good start!

    1. Ahah, yeah I’m very happy indeed. These are all talented actors who should get more and more roles 😀 Glad to see you’re enthused about Mann’s new thriller too!

  6. I’m not too excited about Hemsworth being in the new Michael Mann film. Sorry, I know he’s handsome but from what I’ve seen, he isn’t much of an actor. Glad Davis may be involved though. 🙂

    Am I the only person in the world who liked Public Enemies?

    1. Awww, not a Hemsworth fan are you? Well I don’t have a huge crush on him or anything, but I think he’s got quite a charismatic screen presence, though his range remains to be seen of course, I’ve only seen him in a couple of movies so far.

      I didn’t hate Public Enemies, but I expect more from Mann.

  7. Super excited about Pace, and even though the thought of a Crow remake gives me pause I can’t think of many people who’d be better for it than Hiddleston. Thanks for the heads up!

    1. Glad to hear it Rorschach! I have the exact same feeling about The Crow remake until I heard Hiddleston’s casting, NOW I’m intrigued 😀

  8. Lee Pace is getting everywhere! So happy about that. Makes me want to go back and revisit Pushing Daisies – I miss that pie maker.

    I’ve lost count of how many times there have been whispers of a reboot for The Crow. Won’t believe it until I see something on paper!

    1. I actually never seen Pushing Daisies but I really must look for them on Netflix and watch a few episodes. My intro to Lee is in The Fall. Been a fan ever since.

      Ahah, well I sure hope it would happen w/ Hiddleston!

  9. I’m most intrigued by The Crow remake, as I’m not a big fan of the original film. I think the makeup would suit Hiddleston, and he’d be great in the role. If they make the film, I hope he gets the part.

    1. Bummer you’re not a fan of the original. I LOVE Brandon Lee in that role. But yeah, I’m only interested in this remake if Hiddleston is playing Draven!

  10. out of all the news, my attention landed on Crow. They still havent decided who will play in that movie yet? wow.

    I think Hiddleton looks a bit like Brandomn Lee…maybe he can be casted

    1. Hmmm, I don’t think Hiddleston resembles Brandon Lee, but in terms of his lean look in general I think he’d make a great Eric Draven!

    1. I sure hope the filmmaker would come up with something fresh and intriguing for The Crow, esp if they’ve got a talented actor like Hiddleston. The story has a lot of potential to be a classic.

        1. Ahah, well mad is a strong word, I just think Channing is not as attractive as Chris, I mean to me, Chris seems to have more going on ‘up there’ than Channing, ahah.

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