The Great Gatsby Remake

If there were ever a remake of The Great Gatsby, this is who I'd like to see as the three main characters.

*Brad Pitt: Jay Gatsby

I know it's such an overused notion w/the whole Robert Redford look-alike thing going for him but I really do think he's a fantastic actor and could really pull it off. It'd also be a great way to get the "younger" generation more interested in the novel.


*Amy Adams: Daisy Buchanan
I mean come on, did you see her in Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day as Delysia??? She'd have Daisy's role in the bag.



*Christopher Gorham: Nick Carraway
Chris Gorham just seems like the picture of an ideal "genuine/naive" guy next door type; I mean that is relatively the reason why no one ever suspected his character on Harper's Island. I think he'd make for a lovely Nick Carraway.

Edward Norton: F. Scott Fitzgerald

I think Edward Norton would be downright brilliant as the Jazz Age author, F. Scott Fitzgerald. They also look rather similar, wouldn't you say...haha

BONUS!!!

F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896-1940)

F. Scott Fitzgerald was an American writer whose novels portrayed wealthy American society in the 1920s. His first book (called This Side of Paradise) was published in 1920, and itssuccess made Fitzgerald a rich and fashionable member of society.

He married Zelda Sayre and together they traveled to Europe, where Fitzgerald wrote his most famous novel, The Great Gatsby (1925). During the 1930s the couple got into some debt, Zelda became ill and Fitzgerald an alcoholic. These experiences formed the basis of his novel Tender Is the Night, written in 1934. Late in life, Fitzgerald tried to make money writing film scripts in Hollywood. He died leaving one novel, The Last Tycoon, unfinished.

Mammie Gummer: Corday

I think Mammie Gummer would make for a phenomenal Charlotte Corday in a film adaptation about the legendary figure of the French Revolution.

Corday, Charlotte (1768-1793)

Charlotte Corday was a French noblewoman, born in the province of Normandy. When the French Revolution broke out in 1789 she was at first an enthusiastic supporter of the revolutionaries, but she was later horrified by the violence o "Jacobins" such as Robespierre and Marat. She decided to kill one of their leaders.

On July 13, 1793, she gained an interview withMarat by pretending to have information about his enemies. When Marat (who was in his bath) said: "I will have them all guillotined in Paris," Corday plunged a dagger into his heart. Corday was then herself guillotined by the revolutionaries. Some say before Charlotte Corday was guillotined her last words before death were: "I killed one man to save 100,000."

*James McAvoy: Marat

Marat, Jean Paul (1743-1793)

Marat was a French revolutionary politician. He was a doctor and a scientist, and studied electricity and optics, publishing several scientific papers. When the French Revolution broke out in 1789 he began a newspaper called L'Ami du peuple ("The People's Friend") which became famous for its extreme opinions. He supported violence against the aristocracy and the old rulers.

This made him popular with the "mob" in Paris, but also placed him in great danger from his opponents. He often had to flee, and once hid in the Paris sewers. Marat had a skin disease which forced him to spend much time in the bath. There, on July 13, 1793, Charlotte Corday stabbed him to death.

*Rufus Sewell: Robespierre

Robespierre, Maximiilien Marie Isidore de (1758-1794)

Robespierre was one of the most important of the leaders of the French Revolution. He was born in Arras in the north of the country, where he eventually became a lawyer, a judge, and one of the town's leading citizens. When King Louis XVI and his minister Necker summoned the ancient assembly called the "States-General" to Paris in 1789, Robespierre was elected to represent the province of Artois. During the early part of the revolution he spoke regularly in the assembly. His uncompromising opinions made him unpopular with extremists and with the revolutionary mob in Paris. In 1791 he was elected to the "commune" that governed the city, and became a member of the "Jacobin Club," a meeting place for extreme revolutionaries.

The Jacobins' opponents were known as the "Girondists," and over the next two years the two groups struggled for control of the government of France. The Girondists succeeded in declaring war on Austria in 1793, against the opposition of Robespierre and the Jacobins. When the war turned out badly for France, the Girondists were weakened. The following year the Jacobins insisted on the execution of King Louis XVI, despite the doubts of the Girondists. The battle between the two groups was finally won by the Jacobins. Robespierre introduced a new constitution and was elected to the "Committee of Public Safety." In this position he became more or less absolute ruler of France. He introduced strict economic measures and programs to feed and care for the poor. In 1794 he proposed a new state religion, based on the worship of the "Supreme Being."

Meanwhile, the Committee of Public Safety mercilessly arrested and executed his pponents--men who were either too moderate (like Danton), or too extreme. This period became known as "The Terror," for Robespierre believed the revolution could not succeed without the use of force. But as the number of executions increased and the state of the economy grew worse, he became increasingly unpopular. In July 1794 the assembly refused to approve his decrees. Members attacked Robespierre, and his supporters were shouted down. He was arrested, and the next day he became victim of the guillotine he had used so often against his opponents.

*Callum Blue: King Louis XVI

Louis XVI (1754-1793)

Louis XVI was the king of France when the French Revolution broke out in 1789. Four years later, through a combination of foolishness, bad advice, and bad luck, he became the revolution's most famous victim when he was brought to trial and guillotined. Louis was the grandson of Louis XV, whom he succeeded as king in 1774. He inherited terrible economic and political problems: a series of wars had cost the French government large sums of money, and as a result the people suffered heavy taxes. Louis improved things a little by repealing the worst of taxes, and for a while he was popular. But then France entered the American War of Independence and the government had to raise extra money to pay for the war.

Louis' minister Necker proposed to tax the aristocracy, but the aristocrats, led by Louis's queen, Marie Antoinette, opposed this and forced Necker to resign. For several years the economy became steadily worse and the people of the country more discontented. Finally, in 1788, Necker was recalled to his old job. He demanded that the king summon the "States-General," an ancient French assembly made up of representatives from all over the the country which could vote on taxes and other policies. The States-General met in May 1789. It was made up of aristocrats, bishops, and the "third estate"--middle-class businessmen and others.

The third estate decided to form their own National Assembly and force the king to accept a new constitution for France. This was the first stage of the French Revolution. The king refused their demands, and tried to silence the calls for change by force. On July 14 revolutionaries in Paris stormed the Bastille fortress and took control of the city. Similar things happened throughout the country, and Louis quickly lost control. Eventually, in 1791, he and his family tried to flee, but they were caught and returned to Paris. He then began plotting with other countries to declare war on the revolutionary government, and it was this that led to his downfall. He was imprisoned, tried, and on January 20, 1793, executed.

*Sophia Myles: Marie Antoinette

Marie Antoinette (1755-1793)

Marie Antoinette was queen of France at the time of the French Revolution. She was the fourth daughter of Maria Theresa, the empress of Austria, and the Emperor Francis I. In 1770 she married the future king of France, Louis XVI. After the couple's ascent to the throne in 1774, Marie Antoinette quickly became unpopular with the French people. She was extravagant and strong-willed. Many people thought she was trying to further the interests of Austria at the expense of France, and when men such as Necker and Turgot suggested reforms of the French economy, she bitterly opposed them.

Louis XVI, who was as weak and indecisive as Marie Antoinette was strong, was often influenced by her. When the French Revolution broke out in 1789, she opposed reform, and when the situation became desperate she tried first to bring the Austrian army to fight for the French crown, and then to flee the country. These things lead to her and her husband's downfall. She was imprisoned by the revolutionaries, then was brought to trial. After two days of questioning she was sentenced to death, and guillotined on October 16, 1793.

Camilla Belle: Marie Taglioni

I think Camilla Belle would make for an unbelievably breathtaking Marie Taglioni, in a film about the famous ballerina's life. Here's a bit more info on Marie Taglioni:

Taglioni, Marie (1804-1884)

Marie Taglioni was an Italian/Swedish ballerina; a central figure in the history of European dance. Born to the Italian choreographer Filippo Taglioni and the Swedish dancer Sophie Karsten (daughter of the Swedish opera singer Christoffer Christian Karsten and the Polish actress Sophie Stebnowska). She is said to have introduced the technique of dancing sur les pointes--on the points of the toes.

Taglioni was one of the most celebrated ballerinas of the Romantic ballet era. In 1832 her father, who was a dance master (and also he teacher), choreographed the ballet La Sylphide especially for her. She moved with such lightness that he once said: "If I heard my daughter dance, I would kill her." After a successful career as a dancer, Marie Taglioni became a teacher to the children of the English royal family, but she died in poverty.

Joshua Jackson: Emile Zola

I think Joshua Jackson would make for an exceptional young Emile Zola, in a film about the French writer's life...not to mention his uncanny likeness!!! Here's a bit more info on Emile Zola:

Zola, Emile (1840-1902)

Zola was a French writer. His father died while he was still young, and he was brought up in poverty in the south of France. He wrote many short stories, and became well known when his novel Therese Raquin was published in 1868. It tells the story of a woman who encourages her lover to murder her husband, but who is then plagued by remorse. Like all Zola's novels, it is very realistic.

Zola always took care to research the settings and characters for his novels so that he could create a completely convincing picture of their lives. After the success of Therese, he began a long series of books which dealt with different aspects of 19th-century France, as the country gradually became industrialized. They include La Terre (about a peasant) and Nana (about prostitution). He also wrote essays and articles for newspapers, and in 1898 he wrote a famous letter to the president demanding that the falsely imprisoned army officer Dreyfus be given a new trial. His attack on the army got him into trouble, and he had to escape to England for a time. He died in Paris when he accidentally suffocated himself.

*Here are some of my favorite quotes from Emile Zola:

"Perfection is such a nuisance that I often regret having cured myself of using tobacco."

"I am little concerned with beauty or perfection. I don't care for the great centuries. All I care about is life, struggle, intensity."

"If I cannot overwhelm with my quality, I will overwhelm with my quantity."

"If you ask me what I came into this life to do, I will tell you: I came to live out loud."

"If you shut up truth, and bury it underground, it will but grow."

"The artist is nothing without the gift, but the gift is nothing without the work."

"The fate of animals is of greater importance to me than the fear of appearing ridiculous; it is indissolubly connected with the fate of men."

"The thought is a deed. Of all deeds she fertilizes the world the most."

Angelina Jolie: Colette

I think it would be absolutely amazing if Angelina Jolie portrayed the French novelist, Sidonie Gabrielle Colette in a film about her life. I think she'd do a fantastic job!!! Here's a little more info on Colette:

Colette, Sidonie Gabrielle (1873-1954)

Colette was a French novelist. In 1893 she married the writer Henri Gauthier-Villars, who discovered her talent and kept her prisoner while she wrote her first four novels, which he then published under his own pen name of "Willy." Colette divorced her husband in 1906 and spent some years as an actress in the music hall before she returned to writing.

Her first major success was the novel Cheri, published in 1920. She also continued to write stories about the character "Claudine," who had appeared in the novels stolen by her husband, including Claudine in Paris (1931). Colette's subject is almost always love, and many of her novels were thought scandalous when they were first published. She became very popular, and was given a state funeral when she died.

*Here are some of my favorite Colette quotes:

"A happy childhood is poor preparation for human contacts."

"As for an authentic villain, the real thing, the absolute, the artist, one rarely meets him even once in a lifetime. The ordinary bad hat is always in part a decent fellow."

"I love my past, I love my present. I am not ashamed of what I have had, and I am not sad because I no longer have it."

"If I can't have too many truffles, I'll do without truffles."

"It is not a bad thing that children should occasionally, and politely, put parents in their place."

"Look for a long time at what pleases you, and a longer time at what pains you."

"Sit down and put down everything that comes into your head and then you're a writer. But an author is one who can judge his own stuff's worth, without pity, and destroy most of it."

"Total absence of humor renders life impossible."

"There is no need to waste pity on young girls who are having their moments of disillusionment, for in another moment they will recover their illusion."

"What a wonderful life I've had! I only wish I'd realized it sooner."

"You must not pity me because my sixtieth year finds me still astonished. To be astonished is one of the surest ways of not growing old too quickly."

"You will do foolish things, but do them with enthusiasm."