Mrs T homework on casting

We were each asked to write a pitch for a film plot and in class we tried to cast famous actors in them. I have selected the two that grabbed me the most.

PLOT FOUR

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Working title: "This Train Terminates Here"

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I chose this as the title because the film is about trains and death, and the word "terminate" has connotations with both of these central themes. It is slightly tongue-in-cheek, but that is common of horror films, such as "I Drink Your Blood" (1970) and "Let's Scare Jessica To Death" (1971).

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Tagline: "Bad things happen to good people"

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I chose this because it tells the audience that something bad is going to happen to someone good, but creates an enigma because the audience don't know who the characters are or what the situation is before they watch the film.
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I made up this plot (which is on my blog in full) and I had to come up with a working title, tagline, character names and who to cast (out of a limited choice of celebrities).

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"Rachel"

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I chose Nicole Kidman for the part of "Rachel" because she looks elegant enough to be believable as wealthy, yet she gives off a nice enough vibe that she could be believable as being a really nice person. She is also very beautiful, so it is plausible that someone would stalk her/fall in love with her. I chose this picture of her because she has blonde hair and looks quite innocent, which are some of the qualities needed in her character. Nicole Kidman is an incredibly good actress with an impressive repertoire and would bring in huge audiences. She played "Joanna Eberhart" in "The Stepford Wives", who was trying to keep up with the "perfect" wives in Stepford. She is a nice woman, but finds out that they are robots. It is a fantasy/comedy/thriller, and my film is a horror/thriller, so I think she would do it well. She would bring in male and female audiences because she is such a good actress and is very attractive.

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I chose the name "Rachel" for her character because it is a fairly normal name, and normality is a big theme in this story. It also has connotations of friendliness and I can't think of an evil character called Rachel. The name had to suit the character and the actress, and I think Nicole Kidman could easily be a "Rachel".

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"Mark"
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I chose Tom Hanks for the part of "Mark" (the train driver who stalks and eventually murders "Rachel") because his face looks as though he can play the part of a creepy, disturbed man. He is also a fantastic actor and his name would also bring in big audiences. One of the other reasons I chose Tom Hanks is that he has dark hair, which contrasts the blonde hair of Nicole Kidman, and makes him seem evil as black connotes that. For this role, Tom Hanks needs to be menacing, and that is something I believe he can do. He played "Forrest Gump" in "Forrest Gump" who was a strange individual, much like "Mark", so I think he would play my character well.

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I chose the name "Mark" because it is fairly common, yet quite boring, much like the character. I can imagine it having bad connotations, (for one thing, "mark" rhymes with "dark") and characters called "Mark" are generally the quite ones, sometimes with something to hide. It fits the character and the actor, therefore it is the perfect name for this role.

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I also think that the two actors will work well together and I can see it in my head as a real film.

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PLOT FIVE

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Working title: "Premonition"

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I chose this because the film is about a cynical woman who meets a gypsy and she somehow gets the gift of second sight. She has premonitions about bad things and eventually one about someone's death, who she later finds out is hers. It tells the audience what to expect in terms of psychic content and leads the audience to expect a bad premonition, creating enigma.

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Tagline: "Some gifts are a blessing, others are a curse"

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I chose this tagline because it tells the audience about her gift without them realising what the gift is, so they will want to watch the film to find out. It is quite a snappy tagline and I think it works well because the psychic woman curses the younger woman, but unknowingly passes on her gift to her.

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"Claire"
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I chose Halle Berry for this part because she is beautiful and young-looking, and I can imagine her being cynical about psychic powers and gypsies. She could pass for a "woman in her twenties who is studying at University" (as mentionned in the film pitch) and her acting skills from her previous work have proved her as a serious actress. She has been in films to do with supernatural things before, such as "Gothika" , so I think she fits the character very well. Halle Berry is beautiful, and would bring in male and female audiences.

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I chose the name "Claire" because it is quiet a "straight" name and most characters called "Claire" are very proper and cynical. The name suits Halle Berry and the character, so it works for me!

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"Martha"

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I chose Sigourney Weaver for this role because she is one of the oldest actresses that we were given a choice of, and I believe she can play a bitter psychic gypsy. Her face looks as though she can put on a very serious expression and be believable as someone who would curse someone else. Sigourney Weaver is a very accomplished actress, and would bring in audiences. She played "Warden Walker" in "Holes" who was a stern character, and so she would fit this one nicely.

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I chose the name "Martha" because it is an older name and reminds me of creepiness. It suits her and the character and is the perfect name for this role in my opinion.