Johnny Depp as Nick Charles, The Thin Man?

[PKTrekGirl]

^ In truth, I'm really not happy about anyone. Not even Hanks/Ryan. I love all of the Thin Man movies and have re-watched them several times (I own the set)...and I just don't think there is a credible Nick & Nora out there. William Powell and Myrna Loy are really irreplaceable.

And maybe I have missed all these hilarious roles Clooney has been in. Because something like the Oceans films don't cut it, in terms of the comedic banter required for Nick and Nora. Don't get me wrong, I think Clooney is a good actor...and there is a certain class to him that the character of Nick requires (and Johnny Depp doesn't really have, as much as I adore him). But I just don't see Clooney in the quick, back-and-forth kind of banter required for Nick and Nora. The closest thing to that ability, in my view, comes in the Hanks/Ryan 'partnership'.

But like I said...I'm not even all that happy with that.

I don't know...maybe my real vote is that the films should not be remade at all. People just need to get over their fear of black and white and watch the originals. They are brilliant films, and still work very well today. Who needs a remake when the originals are such treasures?

 

[Kelso]

I LOVE these films. Depp will be fine. Clooney would be too.

I could see Helena Bohnam Carter as Nora... but they'll probably get someone like Anne Hathaway.

 

[Captain Dago]

^ I don't know...maybe my real vote is that the films should not be remade at all. People just need to get over their fear of black and white and watch the originals. They are brilliant films, and still work very well today. Who needs a remake when the originals are such treasures?

QFT

BTW, in case I seemed a bit harsh about Hanks/Ryan, I love them as a team, just not as Nick and Nora. They lack a certain sophistication that is necessary for the Charleses.

Likewise, I'm not really sold on any of my suggestions to date. I'm not sure Maggie Gyllenhall, for example, could portray Nora's essential innocence.

Helena Bonham-Carter is an interesting suggestion, though!

 

[Goliath]

People just need to get over their fear of black and white and watch the originals.

Yes they do. But they won't.

 

[Captaindemotion]

It's been a long time since I saw any of the movies but I do recall that when I last saw one, I laughed out loud. And I was a teenager then.

I think Depp can pretty much play anything so I guess he could pull this off, but he, like RDJ, is at risk of being over-exposed.

Could someone like Jon Hamm, with his old-fashioned movie star looks be a better fit? He looks pretty natural boozing in the middle of the day in Mad Men, doesn't he?!

 

[Out Of My Vulcan Mind]

Christina Hendricks would make a fine Nora, with either Depp or Jon Hamm as Nick.

 

[Professor Zoom]

And maybe I have missed all these hilarious roles Clooney has been in.

Oh Brother Where Art Thou?

Christina Hendricks would make a fine Nora, with either Depp or Jon Hamm as Nick.

I like that. What I've seen of her, she's got a sassy quality and can come off as the smartest one in the room. And that's Nora. She could always get one over on Nick. That's why he loved her.

 

[Captaindemotion]

How about Michael Fassbender as Nick? I'm thinking mostly of his performance in Inglourious Basterds as my basis.

 

[RJDiogenes]

I love the original Thin Man movies. William Powell and Myrna Loy were perfect as Nick and Nora (and Myrna Loy was pretty much perfect on her own). I'm sure Depp could pull off Nick Charles, chameleon that he is. I have no idea who could play Nora or Asta, though.

So Depp is going to play Barnabas Collins, was almost going to play Tonto and now might play Nick Charles. I wonder which classic character he will want to revive next.

 

[jep316]

The fun part about the original Thin Man movies was how much they got away with in a Hays Code era movie.

 

[RJDiogenes]

Pre-code movies are great. Quaint and sexy. The early Tarzan movies are very good in that respect.

 

[Greg Cox]

Pre-code movies are great. Quaint and sexy. The early Tarzan movies are very good in that respect.

Especially Tarzan and His Mate.

 

[jep316]

Pre-code movies are great. Quaint and sexy. The early Tarzan movies are very good in that respect.

Especially Tarzan and His Mate.

Even today that movie will get your attention,I mean basically every Male character wanted to screw Jane and she's running around 1/2 naked not helping the situation any.

 

[Out Of My Vulcan Mind]

Even today that movie will get your attention,I mean basically every Male character wanted to screw Jane and she's running around 1/2 naked not helping the situation any.

Me Tarzan, screw Jane.

 

[Orac Zen]

William Powell and Myrna Loy are really irreplaceable.

This. Myrna Loy in particular was utterly unique; the idea of anyone trying to replace her in a signature role is ludicrous.

I don't know...maybe my real vote is that the films should not be remade at all. People just need to get over their fear of black and white and watch the originals. They are brilliant films, and still work very well today. Who needs a remake when the originals are such treasures?

Agreed. It won't happen, of course - it's extraordinary how many people seem to believe anything made before 1980 or so (never mind in the 30s or 40s) is automatically crap or not worthwhile or whatever - but it would be good if people would just watch some of these movies with an open mind. They'd probably be surprised at how "modern" (for lack of a better term) a lot of them actually are.

 

[Greg Cox]

William Powell and Myrna Loy are really irreplaceable.

This. Myrna Loy in particular was utterly unique; the idea of anyone trying to replace her in a signature role is ludicrous.

.

Then again, I'm sure people would have said the same thing about Sean Connery as Bond, or Bela Lugosi as Dracula, or Douglas Fairbanks as Zorro, or Jack Nicholson as the Joker, or William Shatner as Kirk . . . .

 

[RJDiogenes]

Pre-code movies are great. Quaint and sexy. The early Tarzan movies are very good in that respect.

Especially Tarzan and His Mate.

I agree. It was great to finally be able to see that uncut.

 

[CaptainCanada]

William Powell and Myrna Loy are really irreplaceable.

This. Myrna Loy in particular was utterly unique; the idea of anyone trying to replace her in a signature role is ludicrous.

I think the idea of someone being "irreplaceable" is silly. Nora was created by Dashiell Hammett, whose characters have been interpreted numerous times by different actors (and, in the case of the Thin Man movies, radically revised into a comedy). The great roles in the theatre have been played by thousands of different people.

 

[PKTrekGirl]

BTW, in case I seemed a bit harsh about Hanks/Ryan, I love them as a team, just not as Nick and Nora. They lack a certain sophistication that is necessary for the Charleses.

Yes. I see what you are saying there and I agree, which is the reason why I'm not quite happy with them either. I was mainly thinking of their talent for the snappy banter, which is another trademark, along with the sophistication, of Nick and Nora.

I mean, let's face it...Johnny Depp (as much as I totally love him) is not exactly 'sophisticated' either. Johnny Depp in a tux (which was William Powell's chief costume, it seems to me! Not just in the Thin Man films..but in many of his films) is alot less believable than is Tom Hanks in a tux. Clooney has the tux thing down for sure...but I'm not sold at all on the idea of Clooney doing snappy comedic banter.

My feeling is that if Johnny Depp wants to remake a William Powell movie, he ought to do My Man Godfrey. That would require a tux also...but I could actually see Depp being a splendid Godfrey...assuming they were able to find an actress who was able to pull off Carole Lombard's part....

And maybe I have missed all these hilarious roles Clooney has been in.

Oh Brother Where Art Thou?

Well, put it this way: I have tried, on 3 separate occasions, to watch that movie. Never made it all the way through it - I thought it was boring and hokey.

Further, pretending to be a hokey yokel is not the same kind of comedy as would be required for the snappy banter of Nick Charles. Granted, I have not seen all of George Clooney's movies. But Oceans (where the comedy was carried mainly by other actors) and Oh Brother Where Art Thou? (more hokey yokel) are not close enough to The Thin Man to give me confidence in Clooney's ability to pull off a convincing Nick Charles.

 

[Professor Zoom]

I mean, let's face it...Johnny Depp (as much as I totally love him) is not exactly 'sophisticated' either. Johnny Depp in a tux (which was William Powell's chief costume, it seems to me! Not just in the Thin Man films..but in many of his films) is alot less believable than is Tom Hanks in a tux.

Have you ever seen him in Finding Neverland? Depp looks quite believable in a tux.

Clooney has the tux thing down for sure...but I'm not sold at all on the idea of Clooney doing snappy comedic banter.

My feeling is that if Johnny Depp wants to remake a William Powell movie, he ought to do My Man Godfrey. That would require a tux also...but I could actually see Depp being a splendid Godfrey...assuming they were able to find an actress who was able to pull off Carole Lombard's part....

And maybe I have missed all these hilarious roles Clooney has been in.

Oh Brother Where Art Thou?

Well, put it this way: I have tried, on 3 separate occasions, to watch that movie. Never made it all the way through it - I thought it was boring and hokey.

Further, pretending to be a hokey yokel is not the same kind of comedy as would be required for the snappy banter of Nick Charles. Granted, I have not seen all of George Clooney's movies. But Oceans (where the comedy was carried mainly by other actors) and Oh Brother Where Art Thou? (more hokey yokel) are not close enough to The Thin Man to give me confidence in Clooney's ability to pull off a convincing Nick Charles.

Ok. Fair enough. Not that Clooney will be in the Thin Man, so...