James Franco as Freddie Quell? It almost happened, the actor revealed during a panel at the Austin Film Festival, until The Master director Paul Thomas Anderson asked Franco one little question: “Do you feel like you can do this?” Franco’s confidence, he says, is what did him in as he and Anderson chatted about The Master ‘s troubled, potion-drinking veteran before Joaquin Phoenix came into the picture. “Paul Thomas Anderson was getting ready to make The Master and he called me and we met,” Franco said (as reported by EW ). “And we talked and we ended up meeting for coffee. We didn’t talk about The Master but I met him to chat. And then he kept calling me and he wanted to talk and talk but I didn’t know what he wanted to talk about because we’d always just kind of bulls— on the phone.” He continued: “So then when he started talking about the role he said, ‘Do you feel like you can do this?’ And I said ‘Yeah, totally. Look, I think you’re like the best American director. I feel confident. I know I can do this.’ And he said to me, ‘But I want this to scare you. I want this role, going on this journey to scare you.’ And I was like ‘Scare?! I know I can do it.” “And so, incredible movie, needless to say I didn’t get the part. I guess I wasn’t scared enough or something, or whatever reason I didn’t get it. And then when I saw Joaquin in that movie I realized ‘Oh, he wanted me to like lose my mind.'” Yes, James Franco! PTA wanted you to completely lose your shit , lick windows, and freak out inside of a prison cell like a caged animal in the name of art. It’s hard to envision anyone other than the feral, Ed Grimley-esque Phoenix as Freddie Quell but I imagine Franco’s version would’ve been a lot more smiley, and a lot less scary. That said: I would in a heartbeat watch two filmed hours of PTA and James Franco calling each other for phone dates. Concluding his Master story, Franco added a zinger at the Oscars, to which he famously contributed one of the more bizarre hosting performances in awards history. “The Oscars was challenging because the material they gave me was CRAP!” Guess Franco and Phoenix have one more thing in common . [via EW ] Follow Jen Yamato on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
Last night’s landing of the Mars Science Laboratory, also known as the rover Curiosity, had all the excitement, drama and pathos of a major Hollywood film. Or, at least, the pre-title sequence of a major Hollywood film. If we do soon find ourselves re-living the historic moment on the big screen, we’ve got some casting suggestions for last night’s adventure. Big shot producers, you don’t owe us a thing — just save us a room on the Ark when it’s time to move to Venus, m’kay? (I don’t know about you, but while everyone was cheering and hugging I expected a quiet guy in the back to rise up from his seat, point at his screen and say, “Guys? Guys? I’m picking up something that I can’t quite— ” And then the lights would flicker, the floor would buckle, all the scientists’ eyes would bleed out and a grotesque voice would shout “WHO DARES DISTURB ME?!?!!?!?!?”) Tom Sizemore as Adam Steltzner Known as the “face of the Mars Science Laboratory,” this media-friendly genius is the designer of the “sky crane” that got Curiosity safely to the otherworldy ground. According to an NPR interview, Steltzner’s career as a scientist came after an adolescence studying sex, drugs and rock and roll. As such, we think Sizemore fits Steltzner like a glove. Taylor Lautner as Bobak Ferdowsi If Steltzner is the face then Ferdowsi is the hair. It isn’t just the mohawk, it’s the colored stars on the side that made him an instant Internet sensation. He went from around one thousand Twitter followers to twenty thousand Twitter followers in as much time as it takes to bounce a radio signal back from Mars. Ferdowski is was known as the “activity lead” on the landing. We’re not 100% sure what that is, but we know what his next mission will be: PR. With Ferdowski’s meme-ready ‘do, NASA got handed its biggest, fattest wet kiss since Alan Shepherd played golf on the moon. As we type, Good Morning America and the Today Show are no doubt engaged in an old school Cold War space race to get Ferdowsi on the air. Let’s throw the guy a bone and cast Taylor Lautner in the role (though we could also see Sanjaya from American Idol doing the job.) Brent Spiner’s Dr. Brackish Okun as Steve Collins Proving that not ALL of NASA are post-racial hipsters with awesome hair, Steve Collins is an old school dork and God love him for it! His position is that of “Attitude Control Engineer,” which means that it’s his job to go up to Miss Thangs that think they’re all that and say “Uh-uh, you BEST adjust your attitude before I come in and need to take control.” Then he snaps his fingers. Clearly the man for the role is Brent Spiner, who already played Steve Collins’ twin brother in Independence Day. Austin Pendleton as Miguel San Martin Miguel San Martin is the Chief Engineer of Guidance, Navigation and Control for the Mash Science Laboratory. In his spare time he’s warning puppets everywhere about the proliferation of frogs legs on fast food menus. Michelle Monaghan as Jennifer Eigenbrode Now that Curiosity has landed it has to collect all sorts of Martian data, right? And somebody back on Earth has to look at that and figure out what it all means. That person clearly isn’t going to be Damon Lindelof , who can’t even give us straight answers for a planet he makes up in his own mind. It’s going to be biogeochemists like Jennifer Eigenbrode . In the role of Dr. Eigenbrode, we cast the sweet and chipper Michelle Monaghan. And we’re totes shippers for an Eigenbrode/Ferdowski love affair. She’s supporting him as he anxiously tries to land the rover, then he frets his brow as she analyzes data. Ahhhh, young smart love!!! Have your own NASA dream stars? Leave ’em below. Follow Jordan Hoffman on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter . [Photos courtesy NASA, Getty Images]
As I skim the warmed-over tributes to Marilyn Monroe on the dubious occasion of her being dead for 50 years, a variation of one headline keeps coming up: “50 Years Dead and More Alive Than Ever.” Rather than post some smart-ass comment about lazy headline writers, I thought I’d work with that idea: If Marilyn was still alive, what would have been some great movie vehicles for her? Below, in no particular order, my Movieline Nine wish list, which mostly ignores what Monroe’s actual would have been when these movies would have been made. This is hypothetical after all, and, besides, if you, type “Marilyn Monroe” and “ageless” into Google, you get more than 3.8 million hits. Okay, Marilyn fans, you’ve been served. Now, in the words of J.J. Hunsecker: “Match me.” Put your wish lists in the comments section below. 1. Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988): Because Monroe playing the voice of Jessica Rabbit and delivering the line, “I’m not bad, I’m just drawn that way,” in her presumably wizened sex-kitten voice voice would have been a beautiful thing. 2. Th e Poseidon Adventure (1972): Actually, no time-space continuum meddling would have been necessary for Monroe to have starred in this movie. Shelley Winters was 52 when she played the part of Belle Rosen and made that unforgettable — and ultimately sacrificial — swim to save Gene Hackman and secure that underwater lifeline. Monroe would have been 46, and I’d like to think she would have been as bawdy and mouthy as Winters at that age. The swimming scene could also have been a great nod to her hot-stuff swimming-pool scenes in Something’s Got to Give , which, in keeping with the premise here, would have actually been finished. 3. Grey Gardens (2009): Given all of the media generated by alleged Monroe’s relationships with John F. Kennedy and his brother Bobby, think of the press frenzy that would have resulted had she portrayed Jacqueline Onassis’ loopy aunt, Edith “Big Edie” Bouvier Beale in Michael Sucsy’s dramatic adaptation of the Maysles Brothers 1975 documentary. 4. Young Adult (2011): This would require putting Diablo Cody and Jason Reitman in the Hot Tub Time Machine and sending them back to 1962, but, lo, the results! Monroe takes Charlize Theron’s homewrecking role, and a young Don Rickles takes over for Patton Oswalt. That’s a movie I want to see. Plus, the subject matter makes the movie much more talked-about in 1960s, thereby getting it more of the Oscar love it surely deserved. 5. Thelma & Louise (1991): Once again, some time-bending would be required since Monroe would have been in her mid-60s when this movie was made. The more important question, though is, would Marilyn have made a better Thelma or Louise? I say Louise, because I bet that by the time she hit middle age, Monroe would have thrilled to play a scene where she shoots a man. 6. Flirting with Disaster (1996): Monroe would have been pushing 70–about 10 years older than Mary Tyler Moore was when the sitcom star turned heads as the acidic, body-conscious Mrs. Coplin. But if Monroe had cared for her her curves, David O. Russell would have pulled a hallmark performance from her. I suspect Monroe would not have been nearly as tart as Moore, but she would have been memorable. 7. Ocean’s 11 (2001): You’re thinking Angie Dickinson’s role, I’m not. I love Elliott Gould, particularly in this movie, but I think Steven Soderbergh directing Monroe as the female Reuben Tishkoff would have been so cool. Clooney and Pitt could have played off her as if they’d had a sexual past in younger days, and Monroe could have had a Mae West Sextette moment. 8. New York, New York (1977): I was planning to include a Hitchcock film on here until I read some of Tippi Hedren’s interviews about her sexual harassment at the hands of the brilliant-but-brutish director. Then it hit me: Marty! Yes, I know the movie has its flaws, but it’s ambitious, and Scorsese would have pushed Monroe to new heights in both the dramatic scenes and the musical numbers. Then again, Marilyn was no Liza Minnelli. So, if you’re really struggling with it, throw reality to the wind and imagine Monroe in Sharon Stone’s role in Casino. 9. Step Sisters (In my dreams) So, in some alternate reality, some super agent convinces Adam McKay to direct a remake of his 2008 comedy Step Brothers starring Madonna and Lady Gaga in, respectively, in the Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly roles. Monroe would play Mary Steenburgen’s part. Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo would write. Yes, I know, it would be easier to raise Monroe from the dead than get Madonna to co-star in anything with Gaga, but just think of the box office. Follow Frank DiGiacomo on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter.
