Thursday, October 28, 2010

As Long as You Spell the Name Right ...


Actor and Producer Mark Kilbane 
(He's the one on the right ...)

Latest on TMWNM in the newspapers. Might see a couple things of interest, such as the possibility of getting a bodybuilder who would be pretty awesome for the role of Bork, four-time Mr. Olympia Jay Cutler (image below). At 5'9", he's a bit shorter than I see Bork, but he's 274 pounds in contest shape, so Lord knows he's big enough ...


17 comments:

steve-vh said...

As long as he has better acting chops than the body builders in Cyborg as in an early Rolf Mueller.

Jim said...

It's your world -- and his movie -- but he seems more like a Sleel than Bork, to me. Bork I just picture as being huge, and obviously muscular, but not "body builder" muscular. More like the old strong men or kind of the classic big ol' farm boy.

Ed said...

How about a screen test with Jay Cutler and Brock Lesnar - if either one can throw a good line they are in - and the loser gets to be one of the bad guys - "....rushing to collide like planetoids...." - seems like I read that somewhere but not in TMWNM ;)

Ed said...

....and Brock/Bork is about the right height.

Steve Perry said...

My recollection of when I introduced Bork was that he was about two meters tall and 125 kilograms. So the weight is dead-on, but the height -- depending on what "about" means -- is short.

He benches 275 kilos for reps, (600#) so he's very strong.

The most important thing for me in casting Bork is that he comes across as a nice guy. He is the nicest guy in the books, gentle, easy-going, slow to anger. I see him smiling a lot. A guy who can pick you up with one hand and throw you through the wall doesn't need an attitude. Sleel feels as if he has something to prove; Bork knows he doesn't.

At one point, somebody asked me if I thought Michael Clarke Duncan could do the role, and I was very much in agreement with that. He had the size and he had the smile.

Steve Perry said...

Mark knows this, but for anybody who read the books and doesn't recall it, the personalities of the four main characters get brief, but I think telling, showcases during the hiring test in Khadaji's bar. The test is to move a bar stool that has been bolted to the floor.

How the three bouncers successfully move the thing when asked tells you a lot about who they are. And that Khadaji sets up the test tells you a lot about who he is ...

Page 175 in TMWNM ...

Justin said...

Cutler has some look. And just remember: A lot of Hollywood's leading men are sub-5'8", so Cutler's height wouldn't be as much of an issue.

Lesnar has more of an ideal size, but his bully look betrays Bork's good-natured soul.

Thinking about it, though, heavy-G planets would likely lead to shorter people anyway. More wide than tall. I digress...

Of course, my buddy J. Anthony McCarthy -- a ~6' tall, ~280-pound actor/stunt fighter who actually turned me on to TMWNM and has worked as an on-camera strongman -- would be a great choice. Might be a little soft, but nothing a few months of training couldn't harden. And he's got the smile/attitude.
If you need a reel, let me know. Here's his IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1159706/

Ed said...

Conveying what the character is all about on screen is the director and actors job. Mark being a fan is a big help in the characters resembling what was done in the book/s. Bork- if I remember right also was one of, if not the most intelligent (which is saying something with that bunch of characters) along with his heart of gold - but on first look - If I remember right too- people were intimidated, challeged by or in awe of him until they got to know he was a teddy inside. I don't think I would be in awe of someone 5'9' no mater how wide he is. 6'5" might do it - but then again I'm pretty short so 6 might do it too. I look forward to a good director/actor team that will bring out on screen the characters I like from the books! Best of luck!!!!

Stan said...

I like the point that Steve makes (again) about Bork's personality being the most important piece of his character. The gentle giant, singer, bouncer and bodyguard learns that his physical strength is not the most important thing. (Arm wrestling with Da' and again with the bouncer in "The Albino Blade.")

I always pictured him as more of a "life-long blacksmith" type of character. He works out because he likes to, not because he has to. He becomes embarrassed with attention, so a bodybuilder / pro-wrestler persona really doesn't fit.

Ed said...

Body builder, corn fed Iowa boy, professional actor, pro wrestler or alligator wrestler - doesn't matter their personality or if they're the biggest ass in the world - as long as they bring to the screen what the character is all about.

Stan said...

I was referring to the character to be brought to the screen and how THAT character is every bit, if not more important than the actor's mere physical condition.

Ed said...

I just think that a taller Bork with all his personality traits from the book is how I pictured him in my mind while reading the books and that is what "I" would like to see on the visual screen. I think both are doable.

J.D. Ray said...

How would Dwayne Johnson (aka "The Rock") fit as Sleel? He certainly has the right skin tone for the setting ("tea colored", IIRC). It's been long enough since I read the books that I don't remember the description of Sleel that well, but I always pictured him as a bit more compact than Bork, whom I always pictured as a large, gentle, wall of humanity.

Johnson pulls of cocky very well, does action well, can act reasonably well (he's surprised me in several of his roles, which was pleasant), and is a known star. Oh, and he can deliver comedic lines when necessary.

Stan said...

I'm not sure, J.D. Personally I always pictured Sleel as a little smaller in stature that D. Johnson. A mixture of "little-man" syndrome along with the attention / nurturing deficit which came from his childhood.

Isn't there a report about Sleel "pulling a muscle" when he tried to pick up Bork at the Matador Academy?

J.D. Ray said...

Hmm... Not sure who he's play, but this Michael Jai White guy seems like a good fit for... something...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFQJrcCAzdI&feature=player_embedded

Stan said...

It's too bad that Ryan Reynolds is in "everything" right now. He has the sarcasm for Sleel...and after working out for theBleade and X-men movies, he built up enough.

One of the movie's traps will be having folks who can "walk the 97 steps." But for TMWNM, I guess only Khadaji and Pen have to make them look good.

But for "Matadora" and "The Albino Blade"....

Justin said...

"The Rock" as Sleel, JD? I gotta disagree.
Sleel is a wiry guy who Emile didn't think was muscular at first. He's cut, not big. He's cagey, not physically intimidating.

I know Dwayne Johnson is smaller now than he was, but I picture Sleel being 6', 180 lbs. -- not 6'4", 220.