Tuesday, February 15, 2011

In the Mood for ... Casting a WikiLeaks Movie

There are currently three films in the works documenting WikiLeaks and its publisher Julian Assange. Names being thrown around to play Assange include Robert Downey Jr., Leonardo DiCaprio, and Tilda Swinton. Since I've spent the past month pouring over every bit of information I could find about WikiLeaks I thought I'd try my hand at playing casting director to find actors a bit more fitting.


Character: Julian Assange, founder and publisher of WikiLeaks.
First Choice: Paul Bettany - Tall, lanky and pale, Bettany has what it takes physically and he has proven in past roles that he can play mysterious ("A Beautiful Mind"), creepy ("The Da Vinci Code"), and charming ("A Knight's Tale") a combination of qualities needed to perfect Assange.
Understudy: Neil Patrick Harris - Physically he would make a pretty legen...wait-for-it...dary Assange, but can he pull of a distinguished Australian accent? If a musical version of the story hits the stage, he is definitely a shoe-in.
 

Character: Pft. Bradley Manning, the U.S. soldier accused of uploading classified war documents to WikiLeaks.
First Choice: Amanda Bynes - She recently un-retired her acting career and has the cheeks to make a great Manning. She's done drag before in "She's the Man" and since Manning currently spends 23 hours a day in solitary confinement this role doesn't really require too much.
Understudy: Jonathan Lipnicki - If Lipnicki is still alive, this could make a great comeback for him. A skilled hacker, Manning is surely the kind of guy who would be able to tell you how much the human head weighs when you don't even ask and we already know Lipnicki is up for that challenge.

Character: Bill Keller, executive editor of the New York Times who recently published a book on his dealings with Assange.
First Choice: Anthony John Denison - A staple of television series and TV movies, Denison looks the part and would likely bring something interesting to the role.
Understudy: Brian Williams - It would be no stretch for Williams to play a journalist and he does a fine job playing an exaggerated version of himself on "30 Rock" so he may be up for it.

Character: Alan Rusbridger, editor of The Guardian who also penned a book about working with Assange.
First Choice: Daniel Radcliffe - Just look at these two, so what if  Rusbridger has about 30 years on Harry Potter? That's what CGI is for!
Understudy: Michael Sheen - Having played Tony Blair and David Frost, Sheen has a knack for portraying real people and does resemble Rusbridger in a more age appropriate way.

Character: Anna Ardin, Swedish woman who accused Assange of sexual molestation by having consensual sex without a condom.
First Choice: Noomi Rapace - A native Swede, Rapace won't have to fake an accent and without the Dragon Tattoo she looks a lot like Ardin.
Understudy: Erika Christensen - She also looks the part and played a crazed stalker in "Swimfan," which if some accounts of Ardin's story are true, she will have the chance to pull off again here.

Character: Barack Obama, President of the United States whose administration has called for Assange to be tried on charges of espionage.
First Choice: Harry Lennix - The "24" star is much closer to Obama physically than Will Smith or Denzel Washington who have been rumored to play out president in various projects.
Understudy: Scott Lawrence - The "JAG" star also bares a physical resemblance and has already played Obama once in a short film right after the election.

Character: WikiLeaks Servers, the machines that keep it all going from a top secret bunker in Sweden.
First Choice: Watson - The supercomputer is currently competing (and kicking ass) on Jeopardy so keeping track of at least 3 million super secret sensitive documents should be no problem.
Understudy: HAL 9000 - The sentient computer from "2001: A Space Odyssey" is a little less stiff than Watson, but can be prone to killing sprees.

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