The Catwoman/Selina Kyle Casting Thread - Part 1

[Wildcard]

Interesting thing about Arterton... I dismissed her as too young for so long, not realizing that she's in her thirties, despite the fact that playing sultry characters is right up her alley. Also, she can pull off a convincing American accent, as evidenced by that "Hansel and Gretel" crap. As a bonus, she can pull off a pixie cut:

My God...every time I see Arterton she's more beautiful than before. Another actress that would be perfect for this. Hell, that picture alone is perfectly Selina Kyle-esque.

 

[shauner111]

I don't like her acting though.

 

[regwec]

Yeah, but you liked Hathaway's "Selina".

 

[shauner111]

Aaaand?

You're in the minority if you think Anne Hathaway wasn't a good Selina Kyle or if her acting was not good. Name a good performance from Arterton and maybe ill check it out.

 

[David H.]

Name a good performance from Arterton and maybe ill check it out.

The Disappearance of Alice Creed.

I liked Hathaway and endorse Arterton for Catwoman.

I'm complex like that

 

[The Joker]

Yeah, but you liked Hathaway's "Selina".

And you liked Pfeiffer's "Catwoman". What's your point?

 

[David H.]

You implying Pfeiffer wasn't a good Catwoman?

 

[The Joker]

Definitely. Her "Catwoman" was a crazy immortal revenge driven whack job, who acted like she really was a cat.

 

[David H.]

Definitely. Her "Catwoman" was a crazy immortal whack job, who acted like she really was a cat.

An amazing performance!

 

[KillerWolf]

Aaaand?

You're in the minority if you think Anne Hathaway wasn't a good Selina Kyle or if her acting was not good. Name a good performance from Arterton and maybe ill check it out.

I wouldn't claim we're in minority, or at least it's not a small minority. I know plenty of people who didn't like Hathaway's performance, deeming it boring and lifeless.

As for Arterton, "Byzantium" and "The Disappearance of Alice Creed" come to mind.

 

[The Joker]

An amazing performance!

Nothing against her acting, but the characterization was totally off, like most of the Burton characterizations.

 

[regwec]

Being in a minority doesn't trouble me, as I am not a collectivist. The point I was seeking to make is that fans of the "Selina" played by Hathaway are unlikely to feel comfortable with the more charismatic, dynamic and feminine interpretation that Arterton would be likely to give.

 

[David H.]

Nothing against her acting, but the characterization was totally off, like most of the Burton characterizations.

I like Burton's characterizations. Guy wasn't a comic book person so of course he made Selina an immortal and Penguin an analogue for the Elephant Man.

 

[David H.]

The point I was seeking to make is that fans of the "Selina" played by Hathaway are unlikely to feel comfortable with the more charismatic, dynamic and feminine interpretation that Arterton would be likely to give.

Guess I'm in the minority of that group. I'd love to see Selina with more agency. Arterton would be good.

Thandie Newton would be better.

 

[KillerWolf]

I like Burton's characterizations. Guy wasn't a comic book person so of course he made Selina an immortal and Penguin an analogue for the Elephant Man.

But it's questionable how much of Selina Kyle Pfeiffer was playing. It was Selina Kyle mostly in name. Then again, Nolan was sticking much closer to the source and same can be said about Hathaway's performance.

 

[The Joker]

I like Burton's characterizations. Guy wasn't a comic book person so of course he made Selina an immortal and Penguin an analogue for the Elephant Man.

The thing with Burton was that he usually deliberately went against the comic books e.g. like what DeVito said about the Penguin;

Upon their first meeting, it became apparent that the director wanted a characterisation that bore little or no resemblance to previous Penguins. ''The last thing I wanted to hear from Tim was that we were going to do the Penguin from the comic book or the TV series,'' recalls DeVito.

http://www.angelfire.com/film/batman/movies/returns/cast/penguin.html


Sam Hamm fought against some of his ideas for B'89;

Comic book fans reacted negatively over the Joker murdering Thomas and Martha Wayne. In the comic book, Joe Chill is responsible. Writer Sam Hamm, who is a comic book fan, said it was Burton's idea to have the Joker murder Wayne's parents. "The Writer's Strike was going on," Hamm continued, "and Tim had the other writers do that. I also hold innocent to Alfred letting Vicki Vale into the Batcave," he reasoned. "Fans were ticked off with that, and I agree. That would have been Alfred's last day of employment at Wayne Manor."

https://hubpages.com/literature/the-batman

 

[David H.]

Well, y'know, it just comes down to how close you hold the source material. I don't see anything wrong with playing with the concepts. I like how Burton heard the name "Catwoman" and thought "how literal can I make that and not get fired?"

 

[The Joker]

You don't have to hold close to the source material at all to keep your job. Marvel have gotten away with it several times with characters e.g. The Mandarin. The DCEU are having a field day with it.

 

[David H.]

I didn't mean that Burton would get fired if he strayed away from the source material, I meant that he just didn't give it too much regard and I don't think that decision is any reason for which to discard the product.

He made something unique. Better or worse? That's up to the audience and I liked it.

 

[regwec]

Well, y'know, it just comes down to how close you hold the source material. I don't see anything wrong with playing with the concepts. I like how Burton heard the name "Catwoman" and thought "how literal can I make that and not get fired?"

There is something in that approach. Ultimately I think adaptations of characters that are divergent from the originals but earnestly realised (Pfieffer's Catwoman, Ledger's Joker) tend to prove more satisfactory than adaptations that steer towards dutiful fidelity (all characters in Marvel movies).

A middle-way is probably available in most cases, subject to the flexibility of the director in question.

 

[The Joker]

I didn't mean that Burton would get fired if he strayed away from the source material, I meant that he just didn't give it too much regard and I don't think that decision is any reason for which to discard the product.

It depends. These are supposed to be adaptions of the characters. If you disregard the source material you have what is called by fandom as an INO character. You can come up with something unique while still retaining the core spirit of the character e.g. Ledger's Joker;

http://jokerfans.blogspot.ie/

He made something unique. Better or worse? That's up to the audience and I liked it.

You can say the same thing for the likes of Arnie's Mr. Freeze, or Galactus cloud in FF2. It was unique.

 

[David H.]

Everything in Batman & Robin was a rendition. Everyone knew the kind of movie they were making and went ahead with it for whatever reasons (money). There's no substance like in Burton's Catwoman.

The cloud thing was misguided as an attempt at "realism". It's middle of the road bad. Again, no substance.

Burton made may not have had regard for the character's center but he always made strong, idiosyncratic decisions in making them.

His bat-villains are on a category of their own and that's what counts for me. That these adaptations become singular.

 

[Tacit Ronin]

Ultimately I think adaptations of characters that are divergent from the originals but earnestly realised (Pfieffer's Catwoman, Ledger's Joker) tend to prove more satisfactory than adaptations that steer towards dutiful fidelity (all characters in Marvel movies).

Do you mean personally or in terms of consensus? Because most Marvel characters are faithful and satisfactory.

 

[2kt09]

So...what you're saying is..."hacktivist burglar" a la Watch Dogs...there's a chance?

Spoiler

 

[Tg11]

Not to mention Arterton and Affleck worked together in the past on a film so to reunite them in the Batman universe they would actually have chemistry if they do cast her as Catwoman