Dr. Lecter Invites you to Dinner. The ''Hannibal'' Thread

[Matt]

Shepard FTW!

[Sawyer]

I was originally leaning toward Jared Harris, but yeah, after the way Fuller described the approach to the series, Shepard does seem to be the better fit. He has a natural charm about him, whereas Harris would just immediately come off as creepy.

[Sawyer]

I just had a thought for Crawford: Kyle MacLachlan.

[Pink Ranger]

Originally Posted by Sawyer

I just had a thought for Crawford: Kyle MacLachlan.

Not bad, but remember: Crawford's not supposed to be creepier than Lecter.

[Sawyer]

OR IS HE?!?

[Ultimatehero]

What I want to know - is 'Hannibal Rising' backstory or not? Basically has Hannibal killed anyone yet?

[Sawyer]

I say eradicate it from the canon entirely. It's not like Harris ever really wanted to do it anyway. He wrote the thing with a gun to his head.

[Ultimatehero]

I thought it was alright. Didn't know that's how it comes about. It would be cooler if he hasn't killed anyone yet - it would add more to the ticking time bomb notion.

[Paradox1]

I liked Hannibal rising and I think it fits into this series well. Think about it Hannibal to that point only killed Nazi war criminals. Nobody took pity on them and he could rationalize it as doing the world a favor. This could lead Hannibal down a personal journey of is he really a monster.

[Ultimatehero]

Originally Posted by Paradox1

I liked Hannibal rising and I think it fits into this series well. Think about it Hannibal to that point only killed Nazi war criminals. Nobody took pity on them and he could rationalize it as doing the world a favor. This could lead Hannibal down a personal journey of is he really a monster.

True, that's why I liked it. I'd like them to take some inspirations from it. But I'd also love them to really just unfold this character piece by piece leading to that and him questioning it in the second season.

I might be wrong, but I view Lector as an addict. Once he gets a taste of human blood, he can't stop. He needs more of it. He tries to kill more criminals to get his fix. But, finally it's not enough and a part of him wants to get caught while the other part doesn't - so that's a battle in him when interacting with Will. Of course that would take a while to get it and would personally be how I'd approach how such a guy who wants to stop criminals becomes a monster himself due to his blood cravings. Like an alcoholic.

[Schlosser85]

I feel Lecter has a God complex. He kills people whom he deems to deserve it.

[Sawyer]

Another actor for Crawford just crossed my mind, if he'd be willing to do TV again: Stanley Tucci.

[Pink Ranger]

Originally Posted by Sawyer

Another actor for Crawford just crossed my mind, if he'd be willing to do TV again: Stanley Tucci.

Stanley could be a good Lecter too, for that matter. Heck, Tucci's so versatile he could play Clarice Starling and make it work.

[Sawyer]

Shock Till You Drop:

Exclusive: Hugh Dancy Talks About NBC's Hannibal

Considering the popularity of Thomas Harris' novels about Dr. Hannibal Lecter and the movies that have come from out of them, there's already a keen interest in the planned Hannibal television series that NBC is producing with Bryan Fuller, whose writing on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Voyager led to creating his own shows Dead Like Me, Wonderfalls and Pushing Daisies. (Fuller is also rebooting "The Munsters" for NBC.)

Unlike most television shows, NBC is skipping the "pilot" phase with Hannibal and has already committed to a full season of twelve episodes with plans to start shooting the first episode, directed by David Slade (30 Days of Night), in August, presumably for a mid-season launch.

At the moment, British actor Dancy is the only one who has been cast in the role of FBI agent Will Graham, previously played by William Peterson (in Manhunter) and Edward Norton (in Red Dragon).

While talking to Dancy in New York for his upcoming period comedy Hysteria, our brother site, ComingSoon.net, got around to asking him about the show and its direction, and they got some nice hints about what to expect.

"I'm really excited about it, the script is great, really clever," he told them. "I've read the first episode, but it's not directly adapted because you'd begin with the backstory of Red Dragon, which is when Hannibal is still out and about and before he's even been identified as a criminal. It's all extrapolated from their little bit of backstory in the first novel. Because the source material is there, Bryan has talked me through the first season and potential second season, and it's exciting, it's good stuff."

He told them how he enjoys doing television since it allows him to spend more time developing his character. "I think the characters in this story are really going to benefit from that, because the way that Bryan is painting it as a slow and quite elaborate dance between Hannibal and Will Graham, and the way these two circle each other and lock into each other. Obviously, you can do that in a movie, but I think it works particularly well seeing a character go through a very slow degradation… it's just right for the medium."

As far as developing the character even though he still has another month of his Broadway show Venus in Fur: "I've been thinking about it and I've been reading around the area and I've talked to Bryan a few times and I've actually met a couple of people."

He continued, "What I really like about Bryan when I met him the first time is he said, 'Obviously, there's been great versions of this story told before. We're not doing that. We're doing our own version of the story - we want it to be definitive without trying to undermine anything that's come before. So, that to me is a good ballsy way to go into it and I was very impressed by that."

He wasn't sure if novelist Thomas Harris himself would be involved at all in developing the show, and he's just as excited as everyone else to find out who they're going to get to play Dr. Hannibal Lecter, a role for which Anthony Hopkins won an Oscar.

Look for ComingSoon.net's full interview with Dancy and his co-star Jonathan Pryce talking about Hysteria sometime next week.

I've been wondering about what's been the hold-up casting wise.... maybe they're holding off on announcing whose playing Hannibal until the upfronts next week. It'd be the perfect opportunity to really attract attention, especially since they don't really have anything else to show for it.

Could you imagine that announcement? "And playing Hannibal Lecter...... [insert actor's name]!" And then the actor comes in with the blood of some poor network executive dripping from his mouth, looks around and asks "Did somebody call my name?"

[Crockett]

In the meantime while they're trying to cast Hannibal, couldn't they cast the roles for the all the other characters, or do they want to cast Hannibal first before moving forward with the rest of the characters?

[Sawyer]

I guess it's possible, but I really could'nt say. It just seems odd to me that things are moving at such a slow pace. I mean, we got the news about Dancy over a month ago. You'd think that we would've gotten one or two cast members since then.

Same with Mockingbird Lane. All we have of that is Grandpa and Marilyn, and we've known about them for over a month. Makes me think that dropping casting details during the upfronts is a possibility. But who knows...

[Schlosser85]

Well, I could see Hannibal being a really tricky role to cast.

[Sawyer]

True. I can see them doing screentests between actors up for the Lecter role and Dancy, given that the relationship between Lecter and Graham is going to be such a big part of the show.

[Matt]

I'm guessing that Sawyer is right and that they are going to roll out the cast next week to build some hype.

I mean, NBC really has nothing going into next season. Let's look at what they've got.

- A Jekyll and Hyde adaptation which is basically the same thing that they tried three years ago with My Own Worst Enemy only a lot less intriguing and with much lower quality actors this time around.

- A rip-off of Revenge.

- An expensive, post-apocalyptic serialized drama which will probably be canceled before sweeps despite the big names behind it.

- A Modern Family rip-off (which if the promo shots are any indication, features pregnant gay men....yep middle America is going to eat that up).

- A sitcom starring Anne Heche who becomes a prophet for God and has wacky adventures trying to convert her stoner daughter and womanizing husband (Sheesh NBC, between this and the Modern Family rip-off, it is like you picked the brains of every person in the fly over states and gave them exactly what they've been asking for)

- Perhaps a bit ironically, a Community rip-off starring Matthew Perry and instead of being set in a community college it is being set in....wait for it..........a community center! Inspired!

- I'm not making this one up....a comedy that is essentially House/Becker meets Dr. Dolittle, complete with a chimpanzee medical assistant.

- A sitcom about the first family (worked so well with DAG and That's My Bush). Oh and to make it even better....it is written by a former White House speech writer. Because they're known for being so damn funny.

- A multi-camera, laugh tracked sitcom about single fathers. It's predictably diverse cast features Anthony Anderson. This one will probably last the longest.

As you can see, NBC doesn't really have much to roll out next week. Their new shows are insanely bad. My guess is they have been holding off on revealing the cast of the Lecter show and The Munsters because it is really their only two high profile shows and they need SOMETHING to show off and get some positive press from next week.

[Schlosser85]

True. I can see them doing screentests between actors up for the Lecter role and Dancy, given that the relationship between Lecter and Graham is going to be such a big part of the show.

This is a very valid point.

I really don't envy whoever ends up playing Hannibal. He's going to be scrutinized as all hell. And it's a really tricky balance between feeling like the same character that Hopkins played without (consciously or subconsciously) slipping into a Hopkins impression.

I think Chris Pine as Kirk, and James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender as Xavier and Magneto had the right approach. McAvoy and Fassbender specifically avoided watching Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen's performances (which probably would make it easy to slip into mimicking them even without meaning to), and just went by the comic pages.

You have to make the part your own, or you'll be crucified as an inferior Hopkins impersonator.

[Matt]

Originally Posted by Schlosser85

This is a very valid point.

I really don't envy whoever ends up playing Hannibal. He's going to be scrutinized as all hell. And it's a really tricky balance between feeling like the same character that Hopkins played without (consciously or subconsciously) slipping into a Hopkins impression.

I think Chris Pine as Kirk, and James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender as Xavier and Magneto had the right approach. McAvoy and Fassbender specifically avoided watching Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen's performances (which probably would make it easy to slip into mimicking them even without meaning to), and just went by the comic pages.

You have to make the part your own, or you'll be crucified as an inferior Hopkins impersonator.

The question is, how much freedom will the producers give the actors? The reason NBC picked this up blindly is because it is safe. Lecter is an American icon. They are no doubt going to try to ride that into success. But it really isn't the character that is iconic (like Superman or Mickey Mouse for example). It is Hopkins' portrayal of the character. Will NBC really give the actor the ability to stretch his legs and create something new or are they going to demand Tony Hopkins 2.0? That is my concern.

[Schlosser85]

A valid concern.

[Matt]

You know who would be tremendous in the role that NBC would probably never give it to because he does not fit the Hopkins Lecter model? Bradley Whitford. He was absolutely chilling in his ten minute scene on The Mentalist last year. Here is a clip of the scene.

VIDEO-CLick to Watch!:

Look at how unapologetically evil and sociopathic he is. It would be perfect for Lecter. It would be a departure from Hopkins, but Whitford is a big enough TV actor that NBC might let it slide. He may be a bit old for what they are going for though (52, I think). It could be glorious.

[Sawyer]

Good news, bad news situation.

Bad news is that they didn't announce who'd be playing Hannibal like I thought they would.

Good news is that NBC.com has put up a page for the show.

[Matt]

Aww.

Well, at least they didn't kill my dream. Bradley Whitford for Lecter!