Casting for the big-screen "Dallas" movie

[Wallyhorse]

To all:

Here are my thoughts on who I would be looking at (among others) for the big-screen version of Dallas:

J.R.: Tommy Lee Jones or Dennis Quaid
Sue Ellen: Angie Harmon or Mariska Hartigay
Bobby: Chris Noth
Pam: Angie Harmon or Stephanie March
Jock: Sam Waterston
Miss Ellie: Dianne Wiest

Thoughts?

[DUSTI]

I don't really know if I could see anyone else playing the "Dallas-characters" as the ones I've grown acustom to over the past decades !

It's one thing to "revive" Charlie's Angels or Starsky + Hutch - all "nice" series but considering the impact and influence that Dallas had on our TV-society I guess the casting will be a producer's nightmare - good luck !!

I just can't see anyone else playing J.R. but Larry Hagman, or Pam NOT being played by Victoria or can you imagine a better Miss Ellie than Barbara ??

Sorry, I have to pass on this one (not only the casting but also the movie !)

[Wallyhorse]

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Originally posted by ray's ranch hand:
I just can't see anyone else playing J.R. but Larry Hagman, or Pam NOT being played by Victoria or can you imagine a better Miss Ellie than Barbara ??

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Actually, Mariska Hartigay (who BTW just turned 40) looks enough like Linda Gray did for most of the original series where she could pull off playing Sue Ellen, while Dianne Wiest (a two-time Oscar winner) looks enough like Barbara Bel Geddes from when she was on the show's original run to pull off playing Miss Ellie.

I like Angie Harmon mainly very much to play Pam Ewing from her days as Abbie Carmichael on Law & Order as she played Abbie in a very feisty way when she was on there (and in another thread, I noted when Angie was on "L & O" I liked the idea very much of Larry Hagman and Linda Gray guesting as Abbie's parents with both being defense attorneys). She's also a native Texan, which to me would be very important in casting.

I could also see Angie as Sue Ellen, and if so, I then would go for Stephanie March to play Pam. Like Angie, Stephanie not only appeared in the Law & Order franchise (though on spinoff Special Victims Unit in her case) as an Assistant DA, but actually attended the same high school in Dallas that Angie did (though Angie was three years ahead of Stephanie). If that happened, I could see Sue Ellen with much more of an edge to her than how Linda Gray portrayed her on the original series.

As for Jock, I could defintely see Sam Waterston playing him, as he bears enough of a physical resemblance to the late Jim Davis to do so (and has worked with Dianne Wiest both on the big screen and on "L & O", and in fact if Angie were also in the film, it would mean you'd have the entire DA's Office cast from season 11 (2000-'01 season) of "L & O" reunited in a big-screen version of Dallas.

[Chris2]

Chris Noth is about 20 years too old to play Bobby (who was in his late 20s at the beginning of the series). And having Sam Waterston as Jock while Tommy Lee Jones plays J.R. is just absurd because of the age differences.

Bruce Willis as J.R.
Sandra Bullock as Pamela (although she's probably a bit too old now)
Macaulay Culkin as Pee-dur.

[Wallyhorse]

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Originally posted by Chris II:
Chris Noth is about 20 years too old to play Bobby (who was in his late 20s at the beginning of the series). And having Sam Waterston as Jock while Tommy Lee Jones plays J.R. is just absurd because of the age differences.

Bruce Willis as J.R.
Sandra Bullock as Pamela (although she's probably a bit too old now)
Macaulay Culkin as Pee-dur.

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Actually, even at 39-40 I could see Sandra Bullock pulling off playing Pam Ewing. Saying that, and with some feedback here I'd now probably go with Angie Harmon as Sue Ellen (but with a lot more feisty version of Sue Ellen than on the original series) and Stephanie March as Pam, as both fit the ages better.

As for Jock Ewing, I would probably go with Sam Waterston. While he's 63, he looks like he could play a man older than that. As for J.R., as far as I remember, Larry Hagman was 48 when he first played J.R., so you could go with someone between 45-50 playing J.R. in a big-screen version.

The choices I mentioned here are preliminary ones right now, and I simply could not come up for instance with who I would have play Ray, Donna and Lucy right now (though with Angie as Sue Ellen and Stephanie as Pam, I could then see Mariska play Donna for instance).

[Jessie]

I can't imagine anyone else taking over the role of the Dallas Cast. I guess it would be interesting seeing who could or look the part of the characters.
Pam EWing --I think Ashley Judd would be great.
Sue Ellen Ewing. Katherine Zena Jones
Bobby Ewing---Ben Afflick
JR --I think Dennis Quaid would be good
Miss Ellie : Jane Fonda
Lucy: Hillary Duff.
Jock I think Robert Redford
This is a hard one to think of actors to protray our favourite cast.

[SnarkyOracle!]

Once more:

Miss Ellie: Judi Dench
Jock: Clint Eastwood
Bobby: Ben "Mrs. Matt" Affleck
Pam: Ashleighlyeigh Judd (if she can figure out who played her "Cat" role on Broadway and how to pronounce her name [BBG, that is])
Lucy: Alicia Silverstone ?
Donna Krebbs: Julianne Moore
Sue Ellen: is Kathleen Turner too old now?
JR: is Tommy Lee Jones too old now?

[Robin]

Ashley Judd would be awesome as SE. I'm all for Bruce Willis as JR. Jock would be Robert Redford. As for the rest:

Miss Ellie - ???
Pamela - Jennifer Love Hewitt
Bobby - Luke Wilson
Ray - Brad Pitt
Donna - Jennifer Aniston
Cliff Barnes - Chris Cooper
Lucy - Kirsten Dunst
Peeedurrr - Ben Stiller

[SnarkyOracle!]

Judd as Sue Ellen??? Not as Pamela? Really?

Frankly, I'm all against this draft-Willis-as-JR movement... He's a one-trick pony IMO.

[Robin]

I really feel that Ashley could pull it off. If she were Sue Ellen and Tommy Lee Jones get JR it would really make for some fireworks. They play really well off each other.

[Head of the OLM]

OK, let me first say this. If they will make this work, they have to pick actors that are not well knowm. People that people have never heard of.



Second, I think a good J.R. would be somebody LIKE that guy like Dennis Hopper I think is his name. But play the role like he did in Speed.

[Wallyhorse]

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Originally posted by Head of the OLM:
OK, let me first say this. If they will make this work, they have to pick actors that are not well knowm. People that people have never heard of.

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To some degree, yes. You do need some headline actors, but not the all-star cast some think this is supposed to be.

What I would mainly be looking for are actors who may not necessairly be "A-List", but are very well known and would bring their fans into the mix. In addition, someone who is a native Texan would help as well, which is why (for now) I like the idea of Angie Harmon playing Sue Ellen and Stephanie March playing Pam, as both are Dallas-area natives and attended the same high school in Dallas. Both would bring their Law & Order fans with them and I think this could be the kind of film that could truly vaunt both of them into stardom.

As for Ashley Judd, she definitely at 36 would be the right age to play Sue Ellen (Linda Gray I believe was 34 when she first played Sue Ellen in 1978) and in that scenario, with her as Sue Ellen I would then go with Angie Harmon as Pam.

As for Bobby, I forgot how young Patrick Duffy was when he first played him in 1978. With that in mind, it would be very interesting who could play Bobby. In that regard, I would then go with Chris Noth as Ray Krebbs, as he would bring not only "L & O" junkies (who still wish he'd return as Mike Logan in many instances) but Sex And The City junkies who know him as "Mr. Big."

Cliff Barnes would be very interesting to cast, and I can't think of anyone to play him right now.

quote:

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Originally posted by Head of the OLM:
Second, I think a good J.R. would be somebody LIKE that guy like Dennis Hopper I think is his name. But play the role like he did in Speed.

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I think Tommy Lee Jones or Dennis Quaid would be best for J.R. Both I believe are also native Texans, which to me would be important here.

As for the idea of Sam Waterston as Jock, even though there isn't that big an age difference between Waterston and Tommy Lee Jones in particular, Waterston as noted before happens to look enough like the late Jim Davis to pull off playing Jock, and probably could play someone about 10 years older than his current 63.

[Robin]

The reason I picked Ashley Judd for SE is because Linda Gray's facial expressions had a lot to do with her success with that character. AJ could pull that off I think. I don't know about Angie Harmon. She may be okay, but I think we need an all-star cast to make this movie work.

[Wallyhorse]

Sue Ellen:

Ashley Judd would do very well in the role of Sue Ellen, and especially if Tommy Lee Jones would up playing J.R. as they have played husband-and-wife before on the big screen. I just in this case like the idea of bringing in both Angie Harmon and Stephanie March because of their both being Dallas-area natives in addition to their fan bases from Law & Order, as well as Chris Noth and Sam Waterston for the same reason (there are a lot of women who consider Sam one of the sexiest men alive even though he is 63).

In the case of Angie and Stephanie, I actually like Angie better for the role of Pam than Sue Ellen, however, if I can get both Angie and Stephanie, since I don't like Stephanie at all as Sue Ellen (since Stephanie is three years younger than Angie), I'd then have Angie as Sue Ellen and Stephanie as Pam. They are both capable of playing those roles (and as one poster on another board I suggested this on including Dianne Wiest as Miss Ellie, she called it Law & Order -- Ranch Hand, and you can see that post at: http://www.alhenastar.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=513).

As for Mariska Hartigay playing Sue Ellen (as I also mentioned), I like her as well because she looks now a lot like Linda Gray did in the '80s and I think could pull it off (and she also would bring a ton of "L & O", actually in this case "SVU" junkies with her).

[James from London]

Here is my wish list. I chose this cast partly because, apart from Travolta, they're not huge names whose star personas would dwarf the characters, or whose combined asking price would ensure the movie never gets made!

I'd choose Frances Conroy (best known as Ruth in SIX FEET UNDER) as Miss Ellie just because she's such a brilliant, versatile actress and is roughly the same age (late fifties) BBG was when she started in the role:



John Travolta or Bill Paxton as JR: I can't take credit for the JT idea, but he's the best suggestion I've heard. He has a louche, decadent, sensualist look about him - has gone to fat but is still very charismatic. I don't think JR should look outdoorsy or overly macho, and JT oozes smarm.

Maura Tierney as Sue Ellen - sexy, smoky voice, she gives off an air of cynicism and having been round the block a few times. Gives good "damaged" in ER, plus has what sounds to me like a Southern tinge to her accent:



Peter Krause as Ray - outdoorsy, laid back, but with an intense side:



Gillian Anderson as Donna - She's got that fiercely-intelligent-meets-sexy thing goin' on:



Billy Crudup (movies: ALMOST FAMOUS, JESUS' SON, BIG FISH) )or Colin Farrell as Bobby - Both have a "pure" handsomeness, but are also dark and brooding which I think/hope Movie-Bobby should be. Crudup in particular is a brilliant, non-cookie cutter young actor:



Michelle Williams as Lucy - young, sexy, curvy, blonde, "damaged":



Lee Tergesen as Cliff - He was just totally, totally brilliant as Beecher in OZ - intense, tormented, self loathing. Again, ideal casting for Cliff - in my opinion:



Jennifer Garner from ALIAS as Pam - stunning looks, totally kicks ass as Sydney in ALIAS, while being extremely sympathetic. Ideal casting!

[Sid Fairgate]

James, I'm absolutely loving your casting ideas! I have absolutely no problem with new actors being cast in this movie because, while it's influenced by the show, it isn't a continuation of the series like the (awful) reunions.

[Wallyhorse]

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Originally posted by james from london:
Here is my wish list. I chose this cast partly because, apart from Travolta, they're not huge names whose star personas would dwarf the characters, or whose combined asking price would ensure the movie never gets made!

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I do agree you need a couple of big names, but you can also do well if you get some not-as-big names that are very well known and in many cases have cosiderable fan bases of their own that would keep costs down and at the same time bring in a lot of people.

quote:

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Originally posted by james from london:
I'd choose Frances Conroy (best known as Ruth in SIX FEET UNDER) as Miss Ellie just because she's such a brilliant, versatile actress and is roughly the same age (late fifties) BBG was when she started in the role:

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As noted, I like Dianne Wiest, a two-time OSCAR winner in the role of Miss Ellie. She right now is I believe a year older (at 56) than Barbara Bel Geddes was when she first played the role in 1978. I also like Sam Waterston to play Jock since as noted in my opinion he looks enough like the late Jim Davis to pull that off. In addition, those two worked together for two seasons (2000-'02) on Law & Order when Ms. Wiest replaced Steven Hill in the role of the District Attorney (Nora Lewin) while Waterston has played Executive Assistant District Attorney Jack McCoy since September 1994. They also worked together before that in a couple of Woody Allen movies I believe.

quote:

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Originally posted by james from london:
John Travolta or Bill Paxton as JR: I can't take credit for the JT idea, but he's the best suggestion I've heard. He has a louche, decadent, sensualist look about him - has gone to fat but is still very charismatic. I don't think JR should look outdoorsy or overly macho, and JT oozes smarm.

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I can't see John Travolta as J.R. Ewing, mainly because so many of us native New Yorkers know him to too well for so many roles as a New Yorker that for us, it would not work. Tommy Lee Jones probably is ideal to play J.R. in my opinion, though Bill Paxton might also work.

quote:

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Originally posted by james from london:
Maura Tierney as Sue Ellen - sexy, smoky voice, she gives off an air of cynicism and having been round the block a few times. Gives good "damaged" in ER, plus has what sounds to me like a Southern tinge to her accent:

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Maura Tierney would be OK as Sue Ellen (and she's a New Jersey native), but I like the suggestions of Ashley Judd a lot better.

Saying that, I like Angie Harmon or Mariska Hartigay to play Sue Ellen. I really prefer Angie to play Pam, however, since I also like Stephanie March to play Pam and don't like her as Sue Ellen, I like the scenario best of Angie playing Sue Ellen and Stephanie playing Pam. Both Angie and Stephanie as noted before are Dallas-area natives, and I think these for Sue Ellen and Pam in particular, that is extremely important.

As for Mariska, as also noted before she looks enough like Linda Gray to pull off playing Sue Ellen on the big screen. You can see photos of all three women by clicking the links below:

Pictures of Angie Harmon from The Crash Room website.

Pictures of Stephanie March from The Crash Room website.

Pictures of Mariska Hartigay from The Crash Room website.

Any combination mentioned of these three (Angie or Mariska as Sue Ellen, Angie or Stephanie as Pam) I think would be very successful.

A longshot possibility here for Sue Ellen would be Shannen Doherty, however, I think she'd be too busy to do it because she has two projects currently in development: A sitcom scheduled to debut on NBC in the 2005-'06 season (if its picked up) she is scheduled to star in and another series she will be producing if its picked up.

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Originally posted by james from london:
Peter Krause as Ray - outdoorsy, laid back, but with an intense side:

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This is where I like Chris Noth (after originally liking him for Bobby before being reminded how young Patrick Duffy was when he played Bobby). I think he would pull it off very well, and he would bring in a ton of fans from both Law & Order (where he is still beloved as Mike Logan) and Sex and the City (where is still beloved as "Mr. Big").

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Originally posted by james from london: Gillian Anderson as Donna - She's got that fiercely-intelligent-meets-sexy thing goin' on:

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I don't like her as Donna at all. While she does have fans from The X-Files, she's would be well down on the list to play her. This is another spot where I like Mariska Hartigay, as I think she could handle playing Donna quite well (and I'm sure if Chris Noth played Ray as well, a ton of Law & Order franchise fans might then start writing fan fiction of Mike Logan with Olivia Benson, their characters from the original series and Special Victims Unit respectively).

quote:

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Originally posted by james from london:
Billy Crudup (movies: ALMOST FAMOUS, JESUS' SON, BIG FISH) or Colin Farrell as Bobby - Both have a "pure" handsomeness, but are also dark and brooding which I think/hope Movie-Bobby should be. Crudup in particular is a brilliant, non-cookie cutter young actor:

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This probably will be the trickiest casting of the film. An interesting choice here might be Julian McMahon, who currently stars in Nip/Tuck, but before that played Cole on Charmed and that show has an extremely loyal fan base, many of whom only watch "Nip/Tuck" now because Julian is in it. Charmed fans would come out in droves to see a Dallas remake if Julian is in it just because he is. The same holds true for Brian Krause, who currently plays Leo Wyatt on Charmed.

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Originally posted by james from london:
Michelle Williams as Lucy - young, sexy, curvy, blonde, "damaged":

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Since Charlene Tilton I believe was only 17 when she first played Lucy, I would tend to make Lucy very young, and that would mean going for Hillary Duff, who I believe is 18-19 and is also a Texas native I believe. She also would bring a younger audience to the film and has a considerable fan base. It's the kind of film that might also be good for her, as she would have the chance to show she can handle drama and playing someone becoming an adult.

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Originally posted by james from london:
Lee Tergesen as Cliff - He was just totally, totally brilliant as Beecher in OZ - intense, tormented, self loathing. Again, ideal casting for Cliff - in my opinion:

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OZ has a lot of crossover fans with both Law & Order and Special Victims Unit in particular because of the fact Christopher Meloni, Dean Winters and J.K. Simmons all appeared on "OZ" as well as in "the franchise" (Meloni of course plays Elliott Stabler on "SVU" while Winters and Simmons both have been on "SVU" and Simmons
(as Emil Skoda) on the original as well). This sounds like an excellent choice.

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Originally posted by james from london:
Jennifer Garner from ALIAS as Pam - stunning looks, totally kicks ass as Sydney in ALIAS, while being extremely sympathetic. Ideal casting!

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I don't think Ms. Garner would accept playing Pam Ewing, especially after starring in 13 going on 30. I suspect at this stage of her career, she's want something where she's the star.

As I mentioned, aside from Angie I very much like Stephanie March to play Pamela, mainly because like Angie she is a Dallas-area native. She also has a ton of fans from Special Victims Unit, and I feel for both Angie and Stephanie, a big-screen version of Dallas could vault both of them into superstardom.

Another possibility as Pam would be Holly Marie Combs, who plays Piper Haliwell on Charmed. I don't know if she'd be able to do it however, since Charmed is back for a seventh season and she just had a baby in April. If she did, however, she has developed a big fan base on there and would bring those fans into the mix. She also has played a Texan before in Diane Zamora in The Texas Cadet Murders, so it would not be unfamiliar territory for her. She also at 31 (in December) would be the right age to play Pam as well.

[happygirl]

JR-Kevin Bacon or Richard Gere
Sue Ellen- Elizabeth Shue/ MEg Ryan
Bobby Dylan Mcderment (the Pratice)
Pamela Ashley Judd
Ray Kyle Chandler
Donna Sherry Springfield
Lucy-Ashlee Simpson
Miss Ellie Rue Mcahahn ( Blanche on golden girls)or Olympia Dukias
Cliff-John swartzerber

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Originally posted by SueEllenE_1967:
Ashley Judd would be awesome as SE. I'm all for Bruce Willis as JR. Jock would be Robert Redford. As for the rest:

Miss Ellie - ???
Pamela - Jennifer Love Hewitt
Bobby - Luke Wilson
Ray - Brad Pitt
Donna - Jennifer Aniston
Cliff Barnes - Chris Cooper
Lucy - Kirsten Dunst
Peeedurrr - Ben Stiller

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i don't think there would be pedurr in this dallas movie but that was cute

[Wallyhorse]

Here's how I would now do it:

Jock -- Sam Waterston
Miss Ellie -- Dianne Wiest
J.R. -- Tommy Lee Jones
Sue Ellen -- Angie Harmon
Bobby -- Julian McMahon
Pamela -- Stephanie March
Ray -- Chris Noth
Donna -- Mariska Hartigay
Cliff -- Lee Tergenson
Lucy -- Hillary Duff

It is admittively a bit heavy on current and former Law & Order franchise cast members, but the original and Special Victims Unit are very widely considered the two best shows on television, and I think the suggested cast here reflects that.