Vote for your Wonder Woman choice.
While acknowledging the (elaborate?) April Fool's Day joke, IMDB now wants your opinion on who Wonder Woman should be. (Free reg. required to vote)
April 13 2006
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1. She is still an unknown, which is what I think Joss wants. He has seemed to resist casting a name actress just to bring publicity to the picture, and I think that's exactly the right decision.
2. She has a versatile acting range, as exhibited in her films--in particular "Sky High, where she had to play types as opposed as popular class president and rampaging super-villain. (Though some might argue they're not all that opposed.) This trend should only continue...she's playing in the "Black Christmas" remake that also stars our own Michelle Trachtenberg.
3. She looks the part. She's beautiful, statuesque at 5'8", and can play more mature than her age...a must, since she's only 21! Seriously, take a look at this photo and tell me this isn't, far and away, the freshest face you've seen for the role. Or if that's too glammed up for your taste, try this one.
As far as I'm concerned, she's the clear choice. Anyone who can bring gravitas to "Final Destination 3" is someone to be reckoned with. Not to mention, appearing in "Sky High" with Lynda Carter would be a great "passing of the mantle" moment in cinematic history.
BAFfler | April 13, 17:55 CET
Storyteller | April 13, 18:30 CET
Oh, go on then ;). Haven't seen that lassie in anything BaFfler though she sort of has the look. Still have to go with Morena all the way though (not for the Whedon connection, she just looks absolutely perfect for the part and can definitely act).
(and because i'm feeling snarky i'm gonna point out that even IMDB's poll has incorrect info. In the April fool's prank Beckinsale was categorically stated as having the part, not being in negotiations. Ho hum)
Saje | April 13, 18:39 CET
Not being a Wonder Woman fan I'll probably only see the movie once. Give Liv the lead role and that once may just become multiple viewings, hehe.
Kaine | April 13, 18:45 CET
I really like the idea of Katherine Heigl as Wonde-y Woman. Either her, or Angelina Jolie, I know, I know, but you have to admit, she's a little too perfect for the job. Except she's a little too interested in Pitt at the moment. That and her baby.
But then again, I am still waiting for Joss to pull SOMEONE out of his hat, who I didnt know existed.
Sania Delian | April 13, 18:47 CET
Beckinsale must be in the lead only because so many people fell for the joke and want to reclaim some dignity.
Carpenter would be good; Gina Torres would be perfect.
Xoynx | April 13, 18:52 CET
But I fear the lesson of Serenity is that even an excellent movie needs some known name. That's where I draw a blank. Is Denise Richards movie-poison?
filops | April 13, 18:52 CET
Umm, yes.
Haunt | April 13, 19:06 CET
Kaine | April 13, 19:16 CET
greeneyes | April 13, 19:17 CET
Maybe its that recent nudie cover to vanity fair talking but how about Kiera Knightly or a wig-clad Scarlett Johansen. Either are statuesque enough and both could fill out the costume well.
alexreager | April 13, 19:18 CET
alexreager | April 13, 19:20 CET
I love Keira Knightly, but she's far too waifish to truly fill out the role.
I don't really get the whole Scarlet Johansen love that goes on, so I may be biased against, but I can't really picture her in the role either.
I love, love, LOVE Gina Torres, and I agree that she'd be the perfect fit... except for that troublesome ethnicity issue. If anyone could pull off a race switch with such an iconic character, I imagine it would be Joss. But I don't for a second believe that Warner Bros/DC would allow such a drastic continuity shift in one of their three flagship characters for what I'm sure they hope to turn into a film franchise. Expect to see the actress ultimately granted the role to more closely resemble the comics page.
As for Charisma Carpenter, I loved her as Cordelia. Everything else I've seen of her? Not so much. Again, just my perception, but in the comics Wonder Woman is a tough-as-nails, no-sense-of-humor, grim and stoic bad-ass chick. In terms of acting, Gina's got that all wrapped up. I'm not convinced that CC could really pull of the dark and not-sarcastically-funny personality necessary. She LOOKS the part more than most of the others suggested, but I don't think she's shown the right kind of "gravitas"... or whatever.
Haunt | April 13, 19:28 CET
Sarah: She really is just way too tiny to be Wonder Woman.
Kate Beckinsale: Could look the part but I'm not sure she has the chops to do justice to Joss dialogue.
Charisma: obviously can do that, but I'm not sure she has the chops to play a warrrior goddess.
Rachel McAdams: Just don't see it.
Lindsey Lohan/Liv Tyler: DON'T make me laugh. Out loud. Again.
Mary Elizabeth Winstead: Never heard of her, but in those pictures she looks like a cutesy, quirky Dawson Creek teenager. Pass, thanks. (Although I do wonder if BAFfler is her agent or something)
I see a lot of 'well she's hot, she could do it' and I don't get it. I'm not a big WW fan either but this woman is supposed to be a Greek Goddess-Warrior. You have to have a certain quality to your presence to pull that off well. Gina has that, if Joss wants to tweak the history so WW can be black (and I'm sure he could if he wanted to). Morena certainly looks the greek goddess part even though I'm not sure how well she'd do on the warrior front. Yeah I hate to just push those two, but I've really not heard any better.
I'm thinking they should go with a real unknown maybe. Although I'm not crazy about Brandon Routh for Superman so far so I guess you can't expect all those choices to turn out like Chris Reeve.
Eh, there's been too many movies in the last few years that had plenty of 'big names' that tanked enormously or just did really mediocre business for me to accept that explanation. I still say Serenity's main problem was two-fold: 1-SF is 'OUT' right now. 2- The words 'canceled TV show' put people off like nobody's business...
EdDantes | April 13, 19:29 CET
With that in mind though, wouldn't that make it all the more necessary to cast a youthful looking actress? Liv Tyler would still seem like an appropriate choice for the role, in my opinion. But then I'd cast her in anything, just so I could see her in as many movies as possible. ;)
Kaine | April 13, 19:31 CET
Madhatter | April 13, 19:33 CET
Liv doesn't have that (imho). I'm not sure any of the actresses suggested really have that (except Gina, and I've already talked about the problem there). Even my top choice, Morena, doesn't have the dominant presence necessary.
Wonder Woman absolutely can NOT be "cute" or "pretty". She's got to be "gorgeous" and "commanding".
Haunt | April 13, 19:37 CET
Calledon | April 13, 19:42 CET
Obviously, Lucy is probably a little old for the part now and her history in such a similar role would likely rule her out anyway but the pity is that she actually would be ideal, had the situation been different.
Kaine | April 13, 19:47 CET
BAFfler | April 13, 19:49 CET
Haunt | April 13, 19:53 CET
Simon | April 13, 19:57 CET
Of course, then everyone would be arguing who'd voice her. ;)
NickSeng | April 13, 19:57 CET
(I just thought I'd get the ball rolling.)
BAFfler | April 13, 20:04 CET
This is quite obvious, the way he talks about her... come on: "even if she's old in fact she is like a child since she does not understand the world" [this is to justify that Joss' acting talents are that of a child (anyone remembers Numfar?)], "if I find how to make it work in the story, there will be an invisible plane" [if I find how to make it work = if I manage to understand how to fly this damn thing], etc etc...
Plus, if I say "greek, tall and dark-haired", can you think of anyone besides Joss?
Le Comité | April 13, 20:07 CET
I was just joshin' BAFfler (probably should've put a smiley there). And I didn't mean you were one of those people that go 'well she's hot, so...' But it was kinda funny how you sounded a bit like you were doing a sales pitch, is all.
Hey, I'd go for Eliza. Not that I think she's all that right for the part (although more than Sarah) but I'd just like to see her in that.
(In that role! I meant role. Not outfit or something! Really!)
EdDantes | April 13, 20:15 CET
BAFfler | April 13, 20:38 CET
We need another Lucy Lawless. I'm not sure anyone mentioned so far has that quality.
Lioness | April 13, 20:49 CET
Madhatter | April 13, 20:55 CET
As for this who should be bussiness.... Its difficult to say. I would have to read Josses script to have an idea. Keep in mind that no matter how a canon there is about a character, a movie is, or should be, always a directors ouvre. And canons are to open in their details tomany asspects that are diferent. I mean, hell, Batman is Batman, all eight? But i would never hire the same actor for Neal Adamsses batman than for the one done by Frank Miller. And its not about their times; is about character. Cannons are just guideline.
Darkness | April 13, 21:27 CET
Wonder Woman isn't quite all that grim, without a sense of humor or anything (because otherwise she would probably be part of the Bat-family). If you read the last run, by Greg Rucka (issue #195-226), before they ended it due to Infinite Crisis (the series starts with a new number one in August), you'd see that, yeah, while she has this massive calling and a huge sense of duty, one big thing that Wonder Woman has is heart. She's vastly compassionate - even empathetic (empathic?) to an extent. She's tough as hell, but only when her duty forces her to be that way. She might not be the world's wittiest woman (in the Wonder Family, that role would probably belong to Wonder Girl, if anyone), but she has her moments, few and far between.
Emma Frost | April 13, 21:32 CET
Pumps | April 13, 21:43 CET
Therefor I suspect that the character we'll see represented onscreen will favor the powerful and commanding Amazonian warrior aspects. However it is written by Joss, so rest assured there will be heart and humor in there. I have no doubt Joss will make her an astounding and well-rounded female icon. But I also have no doubt that DC and Time-Warner will have some say over how she is ultimately portrayed, and that they will push for her to be exactly what she is in the comics... the shade of grey between Singer's good guy Superman and Nolan's badass dark knight Batman.
Haunt | April 13, 21:56 CET
But I fear the lesson of Serenity is that even an excellent movie needs some known name.
Wonder Woman will have something Serenity didn't have though which is the recognition of the character. Wonder Woman has been around for nearly as long as Batman or Superman. You'd be hard pressed to find a person that hasn't at least heard of Wonder Woman. They might not know her "powers" or her back story but they know of her, which is more than you can say about any of the Runaways, Yorick Brown, Mayor Hundred, Electro, Gravity, Guy Gardner, Misty Knight, Iron Fist, Blue Beetle, Entrigan, Speedy, Invincible, Savage Dragon, Albert (the Wolverine robot), or hell even the Reavers.
Though I've been a comic collector for thirty years I've never gotten into WW, so I'm not the most qualified to compare and contrast casting choices with continuity. But my impression is that WW needs to be statuesqe in the sense of "built like a statue". In other words, she needs some "heft" to her.
You are correct. She should look like someone that could concievably kick some ass. She should also be relatively tall as she's at around 6 feet tall, easily as tall as Superman and much taller than your average man. I don't want to sit her and say who should play her, but you are right in that whoever does play her needs to look both strong and femanine. Just read the wiki article for the quotes
war_machine | April 13, 22:56 CET
SpikeBad | April 13, 23:46 CET
She looks the part I confess. But it will take more than looks...
Haunt | April 13, 23:51 CET
It wouldn't be the first time a PR person made something up to promote their client's name.
Simon | April 14, 00:59 CET
I'm so fickle ;).
Saje | April 14, 01:07 CET
Wow, war_machine – I haven't heard of a single one of the superheroes you just mentioned! I'm not a comicbook reader, so not all that surprising. But with a husband who's a devoted comic fan, I thought I might have heard of one, at least... :-)
On the other hand, I loved my Wonder Woman underoos as a kid - lending credence to your theory.
I just skimmed over the Wiki article you mentioned – useful since (like many people, I suspect), I've always known about Wonder Woman but didn't know much about her beyond her physical appearance, the bracelets, lasso, etc. I only learned she was originally an Amazon from all the discussion here on Whedonesque since Joss got the writing gig. It's amazing to me how much her story and character seems to have changed since the beginning (though I guess that isn't so unusual for any of the superheroes who have been around a while).
Does anyone know if Joss has said which run or writer he's basing his story on? From the wiki article, it sounded like Perez (?) was the most respected. But I know he's also said he'll be focusing on her origin story. I'm sure it's a challenge to figure out which incarnation to go with, not to mention how to update a pretty campy figure to modern tastes for superhero realism.
As for the polls, I'm with Simon. I'd be thrilled (though also surprised) if this is the last one we see. Can't we just wait until a name is released? Then let the opinions fly... I'm not happy with any of the ones mentioned in this or other polls, so I'm still hoping for a new name we haven't thought of yet. One that combines the look with great acting chops - which, to me at least, is more important than the appearance.
Edited to speculate... What about Uma Thurman? I'm surprised no one has mentioned her name at all. She has the stature and appearance, and definitely the acting chops. Just a thought off the top of my head (and right after I said i wasn't interested in any more speculation :-)
[ edited by acp on 2006-04-13 23:17 ]
acp | April 14, 01:13 CET
Dana5140 | April 14, 02:04 CET
Haunt | April 14, 02:10 CET
She is playing a superhero scorned in what I believe is a romantic comedy titled "My Super Ex-Girlfriend" starring herself, Luke Wilson, and Anna Faris.
Emma Frost | April 14, 04:48 CET
The one that seems to fit the bill is famous in europe but only a B-level star in the US, Monica Bellucci. If you dont know her, google her. She IS WonderWoman. (I think she is best known for playing The Merilvingian's wife in the Matrix series.)
alexreager | April 14, 07:58 CET
The one that seems to fit the bill is famous in europe but only a B-level star in the US, Monica Bellucci. If you dont know her, google her. She IS WonderWoman. (I think she is best known for playing The Merilvingian's wife in the Matrix series.)
Bof... non...
Belluci never had any "physical" role (apart maybe for Dobermann, but even then she was only "violent" not really "physical"). Hence, even if she has the beauty and the size, she doesn't have the "energy" associated with WW. And a WW with only beauty and no physical energy is not a good choice in my opinion.
Le Comité | April 14, 11:12 CET
That was partly my point. These are the names of relatively popular comic book characters. I'd have linked to all of their articles but that would have taken too long. Runaways, Ex Machina (Mayor Hundred), and Y The Last Man (Yorick Brown) are all written by B.K. Vaughn. Those are the books everyone should be reading.
war_machine | April 14, 16:20 CET
Saje | April 14, 17:05 CET
war_machine | April 14, 17:59 CET
And Saje, the first "season" of Runaways was fantastic. The second season... not QUITE so much. It's still good, better than most comics on the shelf. But it just isn't really as gripping (for me at least) as the first twelve issues.
And btw, Brian K. Vaughn is a self-professed HUGE Joss Whedon fan, and described his run on Runaways as being broken into twelve issue seasons, comparing it specifically to Buffy. FYI.
Haunt | April 14, 18:06 CET
I think i'm decided on Runaways. I'll try the first 18 issue hardcover edition and see how I like it (i'd get it this weekend if I didn't have about 4000 comics for Infinite Crisis to buy, well, OK, 5 or 6 trades but still...). Cheers for the tips guys.
Yeah, Haunt, I seem to remember something on here a while back about Joss getting a letter published in Runaways and Vaughan talking about him in glowing terms.
Saje | April 14, 19:10 CET
Marvel Civil War, however? Now that is worth every penny of my spare cash. Gonna be HUGE! :)
Kaine | April 14, 20:06 CET
However I'm not a big fan of all the universe-spanning mega-events like Crisis OR Civil War (although I'll confess that the idea of Civil War is really, really cool... I just don't feel like getting sucked into such a massive marketing gimmick anymore.)
And getting back on topic, Monica Belluci is gorgeous I'll grant you. And she's certainly got a kind of exotic presence that would serve WW well. But I can't quite picture her donning the suit and kicking anyone's ass.
Haunt | April 14, 20:25 CET
No doubt there is a marketing aspect to this too, Marvel are a business and want to sell as many books as possible after all, but as long as there is a solid storyline to validate the event then I'm more than happy to go along for the ride.
Kaine | April 14, 20:40 CET
Usually I don't go in for the big cross-over 'events' either but I figure if it's anything like the first Crisis then this mini (hah !) will shape the DCU for the next 20 years. And the DCU is where Batman lives. And Batman's ma boiee, yo ;). One thing, however, that hasn't impressed me is that (as far as I know) DC haven't published a definitive list of essential issues for Infinite Crisis which, to me, seems a pretty cynical attempt to get people to buy a whole bunch of titles they don't normally read (which is why i've waited for the trades to see which comics shake out as being required so I can just buy the one's i'd probably buy anyway).
And, if i'm honest, the only reason I see Monica Belluci donning the suit is to slink out of it again. This may sound weird but she's just too sexy for me to take her seriously in the role (too pouty, too, err, booby ? ;). Wonder Woman is definitely gorgeous but it's in an accidental side-issue kind of way, it shouldn't dominate the character.
(though maybe i've not seen her best acting work and so am being a bit unfair)
Saje | April 14, 21:08 CET
Endless Wake | April 15, 03:59 CET
BTW, Gina Torres is a Cuban-American woman. I always picture Paradise Island as being located near Cuba, in the Bermuda Triangle (although I'm sure it is actually supposed to be in the Aegean, near Greece, makes more sense, I'm sure). Therefore...in my mind, Gina's perfect! ;-)
billz | April 15, 04:20 CET
Endless Wake | April 15, 19:18 CET