Harry Potter fantasy!casting
So here's a silly dilemma. I'd like to make a Moony/Wormtail/Padfoot/Prongs fanvid. But I can't decide whom to cast. (And really, this is such an ambitious idea that I kind of doubt my ability to sustain interest long enough to finish it... but let's not talk about that!)
I've got my Remus.
I've got my Peter.
(And what I love about these two for this is that they were both child actors, so there is an abundance of useable material of them at just about any age up through their early 30s. They aren't British but that's okay because this is a fanvid, where they can essentially be silent movie actors.)
Now the trouble is... Sirius and James. I can't make up my mind about them.
I think Jim Sturgess could play either of them really. But there aren't any films with him as a kid. Charlie Rowe could play a younger Sirius or a younger James. We could maybe pretend Charlie Rowe could grow up to be Jim Sturgess. Or maybe we could buy him growing up to be Ben Barnes <--- my alternate choice for Sirius.
I've seen lots of fanvids cast Ben Barnes as Sirius Black, because all that Dorian Gray footage really does work very well. I haven't seen Jim Sturgess as Black in a vid, but I think that could work too. A goofier, less smoldering, but still wild and cocky (and still with some excellent the world has fallen apart and now he's in jail clips available) Sirius.
So. Sirius = ... either Jim Sturgess of Ben Barnes. For me. I think. And I think they would both be so great that I just can't decide.
James... is the real problem. Since I want to use Jim Sturgess pretty badly, it would be a neat solution to just use Jim as James and Ben as Sirius. They'd go well together, I think. But I don't have young (first-thirdish year at Hogwarts) versions of them to go with my young Lupin and Pettigrew. I have Charlie Rowe, perhaps, but he can only be one of them, and which?
So then I start to look for young actors or actors who began their careers as kids. I thought of Gregory Smith, who's done movies as a kid, and who also conveniently did a movie where he falls in love with his red-headed best-friend girl-next-door. And he does actually look quite a lot like the first-year!James used in the movies (in Snape's flashback)... But we're not really stuck to their casting choices. (They wouldn't have been my choices anyway. Why did they give James and Sirius both sandy-colored hair? if James has sandy hair and Lily has red, where did Harry's nearly-black hair come from?). In any case -- Gregory Smith is a possibility, but he's not perfect. He's lacking some of the dynamism I think James needs. His face isn't very expressive. (And neither is his hair.)
I also thought of James McAvoy. But again, there's the problem of a lack of younger clips of him and the difficulty of finding a young double for him.
I discovered that Logan Lerman exists. He might make a nice James. Except he's still too young to really look right next to Ben Barnes (or Jim Sturgess). I also discovered that I am excited for this book becoming a movie. From that movie, I discovered Ezra Miller who gave me another option for Sirius. But same problem, plus, just. He's not quite. Sirius.
Then there's Aaron Johnson, who actually has been in some things as a younger-looking kid, and still has James-looking footage that would look right alongside Ben Barnes (or Jim Sturgess). In fact, he does look good alongside Ben Barnes -- I know because it's been done. A lot. He seems to have become the fandom's unofficial James. There are many incredibly well-done "marauders-era" vids out there with him as James (and Ben Barnes as Sirius).
And I can see why. I'm tempted to use him too. But if I use two actors that people have already latched onto... what's the point in making it at all? It's been done. And better than I can do it. Some examples which I adore, especially the Lily/James ones which are so flawless I don't even know what to do:
Marauders return to Hogwarts
Lily James - You Wouldn't Let Me Go
Love is Our Resistance (mostly Lily/James
You may notice that these all use Andrew Garfield as Lupin. And I like that choice. In fact, at first I loved it. But then... I don't know. He's just too cute to be Lupin, for me. (And his hair, guys. No one's hair is that big in proportion to their face/head.) Still, I enjoy him as Lupin. It was an inspired choice, and the first time I think I saw it was in this Sirius/Remus vid: Remus/Sirius - As Much As I Ever Could
But like I said, I want to try a different casting. When the idea of Joseph Mazzello as Remus occurred to me, it made me excited and I decided to run with it. But it's just silly if it's a traditional fanon dream-cast with just a different (and potentially controversial (in fact, at best controversial)) choice for Lupin thrown in there. (If I may, I offer up this lovely vid of a short film of his in hopes of winning you over to the idea...)
So what should I do?
Also, could Skandar Keynes work in there somewhere, as a young James or Sirius??
Plz help.
I've got my Remus.
I've got my Peter.
(And what I love about these two for this is that they were both child actors, so there is an abundance of useable material of them at just about any age up through their early 30s. They aren't British but that's okay because this is a fanvid, where they can essentially be silent movie actors.)
Now the trouble is... Sirius and James. I can't make up my mind about them.
I think Jim Sturgess could play either of them really. But there aren't any films with him as a kid. Charlie Rowe could play a younger Sirius or a younger James. We could maybe pretend Charlie Rowe could grow up to be Jim Sturgess. Or maybe we could buy him growing up to be Ben Barnes <--- my alternate choice for Sirius.
I've seen lots of fanvids cast Ben Barnes as Sirius Black, because all that Dorian Gray footage really does work very well. I haven't seen Jim Sturgess as Black in a vid, but I think that could work too. A goofier, less smoldering, but still wild and cocky (and still with some excellent the world has fallen apart and now he's in jail clips available) Sirius.
So. Sirius = ... either Jim Sturgess of Ben Barnes. For me. I think. And I think they would both be so great that I just can't decide.
James... is the real problem. Since I want to use Jim Sturgess pretty badly, it would be a neat solution to just use Jim as James and Ben as Sirius. They'd go well together, I think. But I don't have young (first-thirdish year at Hogwarts) versions of them to go with my young Lupin and Pettigrew. I have Charlie Rowe, perhaps, but he can only be one of them, and which?
So then I start to look for young actors or actors who began their careers as kids. I thought of Gregory Smith, who's done movies as a kid, and who also conveniently did a movie where he falls in love with his red-headed best-friend girl-next-door. And he does actually look quite a lot like the first-year!James used in the movies (in Snape's flashback)... But we're not really stuck to their casting choices. (They wouldn't have been my choices anyway. Why did they give James and Sirius both sandy-colored hair? if James has sandy hair and Lily has red, where did Harry's nearly-black hair come from?). In any case -- Gregory Smith is a possibility, but he's not perfect. He's lacking some of the dynamism I think James needs. His face isn't very expressive. (And neither is his hair.)
I also thought of James McAvoy. But again, there's the problem of a lack of younger clips of him and the difficulty of finding a young double for him.
I discovered that Logan Lerman exists. He might make a nice James. Except he's still too young to really look right next to Ben Barnes (or Jim Sturgess). I also discovered that I am excited for this book becoming a movie. From that movie, I discovered Ezra Miller who gave me another option for Sirius. But same problem, plus, just. He's not quite. Sirius.
Then there's Aaron Johnson, who actually has been in some things as a younger-looking kid, and still has James-looking footage that would look right alongside Ben Barnes (or Jim Sturgess). In fact, he does look good alongside Ben Barnes -- I know because it's been done. A lot. He seems to have become the fandom's unofficial James. There are many incredibly well-done "marauders-era" vids out there with him as James (and Ben Barnes as Sirius).
And I can see why. I'm tempted to use him too. But if I use two actors that people have already latched onto... what's the point in making it at all? It's been done. And better than I can do it. Some examples which I adore, especially the Lily/James ones which are so flawless I don't even know what to do:
Marauders return to Hogwarts
Lily James - You Wouldn't Let Me Go
Love is Our Resistance (mostly Lily/James
You may notice that these all use Andrew Garfield as Lupin. And I like that choice. In fact, at first I loved it. But then... I don't know. He's just too cute to be Lupin, for me. (And his hair, guys. No one's hair is that big in proportion to their face/head.) Still, I enjoy him as Lupin. It was an inspired choice, and the first time I think I saw it was in this Sirius/Remus vid: Remus/Sirius - As Much As I Ever Could
But like I said, I want to try a different casting. When the idea of Joseph Mazzello as Remus occurred to me, it made me excited and I decided to run with it. But it's just silly if it's a traditional fanon dream-cast with just a different (and potentially controversial (in fact, at best controversial)) choice for Lupin thrown in there. (If I may, I offer up this lovely vid of a short film of his in hopes of winning you over to the idea...)
So what should I do?
Also, could Skandar Keynes work in there somewhere, as a young James or Sirius??
Plz help.