Pick your cinematic All-Star Team!

Cafe Society
1

The scenario: The ever-present (and never-named) Powers That Be have declared their intention to fully fund a brand new movie studio, and have asked YOU to pick an ensemble of players, directors, producers, etc., to be at the ready for ANY film project that comes along. They’ve given you a “roster” to fill, consisting of some key positions and have given you few restrictions in your choices except for obvious ones (they must be alive, for example, and you can’t “recruit” Clint Eastwood back when he was 35 years old; it’s either Clint as he is now, or not at all), so don’t be concerned about budget. They DO, however, want to maintain a limited stable of talent, for reasons of their own, so you will be limited in the number of people you can bring into the fold.

Guidelines: You’re going to be selecting people to handle ANY project that comes along, anything from period dramas, YT paranormal romances, horror movies, sci-fi, comic book adaptations, romantic comedies, westerns, animated pictures, musicals…you get the idea. Because of the wide range of potential projects, your roster should include a mix of people who can handle such a range well.

The Roster:
Lead Actors: Choice of four males.

Lead Actresses: Choice of four females.

Supporting Actors: Choice of up to eight males.

Supporting Actresses: Choice of up to eight females.

Writers: Choice of four, male or female.

Directors: Choice of four, male or female.

Producers: Choice of four, male or female.

Sound: Choice of four, male or female.

Visual FX (this includes CG and practical effects, as well as makeup and costume; yeah, I know that they’re very different things, but there it is): Since this category covers a lot, TPTB give you a choice of up to eight studios or people to fill this role.

Wild Card: TPTB have decided that you may also choose up to four people or studios to fill roles not already on the roster: so if you have someone you feel absolutely MUST be the cinematographer, here’s your chance to lock in your choice.

(I’ll submit my choices later, but I’m interested to see what others pick first…)

2

OK, so maybe this thread won’t take off like gangbusters, but I’m going to submit my picks anyway…

Lead Actors: Choice of four males.
Gary Oldman (can play almost ANY genre), Charles Dance (his work on Game of Thrones really impresses me), Robert Downey Jr. (has great comedic timing and can still play the hard ass or the sensitive soul), Hugh Jackman (this covers action, drama, and any musicals that might come along pretty well)

Lead Actresses: Choice of four females.
Scarlet Johanssen (not just a pretty face, I’ve been impressed by her acting chops…and yeah, also a pretty face), Zoe Saldana (I predict a bright future for her), Jessica Lange (her American Horror Story work has been awesome), Naomi Watts (thinking primarily of her work in 21 Grams here)

Supporting Actors: Choice of up to eight males.
Tom Hanks (could have easily been a lead), Johnny Depp (his best work has been in a supporting role, I think), Will Ferrell (obvious to me for comedy, but impressed me with his dramatic chops in Stranger than Fiction), Bryan Cranston (could have been a lead as well), Brad Pitt (to me, always a strong performance from Mr. Pitt), Ed Norton Jr. (same with Mr. Norton), Will Smith (comedic timing and action hero, with some good dramatic skills as well, all-around solid), Morgan Freeman (just in case we need someone to play God)
Supporting Actresses: Choice of up to eight females.
Natalie Portman (she’s proven herself to me many times over), Charlize Theron (her performance in Monster was an eye-opener), Tina Fey (might make her do double duty as a writer), Jennifer Lawrence (yeah, I know everyone’s on that bandwagon, so sue me), Halle Berry (a solid choice, I think), Emily Blunt (Always liked her presence on screen), Diana Rigg (another one who has impressed me on GOT lately), Eva Green (she’s on a roll in my opinion with her role in 300:ROAE and the new series Penny Dreadful)

I’ll address the other roster spots later…

3

According to the rules of this game, versatility is a must. An actor must have a track record that shows him being adept at comedy AND drama, at playing both good guys and bad guys, of being physical enough to do action, of being leading men AND good character actors, of being charming enough to pull off romantic comedies and yet show a dark side at least occasionally.

ACTORS:

James Stewart
Henry Fonda
Tom Hanks
Daniel Day-Lewis

4

Hoping you don’t get any action movies, eh?

5

They also have to be alive…

6

Clearly, you haven’t seen the myriad of kick-ass westerns that these guys were in over the years. More depth, heroism, and viciousness than most contemporary actors could muster.

7

If you’d just included actors, I probably would be able to get something in off the hip, but I’ll have to do a bit more research to fill in screenwriters, directors, etc. So don’t feel disillusioned, it just might take a while till some proper responses can come in.

8

D’oh! And Orson Welles/Citizen Kane was gonna rule! Ahh well… :wink:

Actors - Male: Liam Neeson, Daniel Day Lewis, Gary Oldman, Brad Pitt
Supporting: Ben Kinsgley, Matthey McConaughey, Forest Whitaker, Paul Giamatti

Actors - Female: Meryl Streep, Sigourney Weaver, Angela Jolie, Charlize Theron
Supporting: Emma Watson, Kate Winslet, Jodie Foster, Jennifer Lawrence

Directors - Martin Scorcese, Mel Brooks, Terry Gilliam, Tim Burton

Writers: Mel Brooks, Terry Gilliam, William Goldman, Woody Allen

9

This is fun! And frustrating.

Male Leads Bill Murray, Christian Bale, Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe
Male Supporting Joaquin Phoenix, Samuel L. Jackson, Benicio Del Toro, Ed Norton

Female Leads Meryl Streep, Halle Berry, Kate Winslet, Helen Mirren
Female Supporting Jennifer Aniston, Helen Hunt, Julia Roberts, Whoopie Goldberg

Writers Oliver Stone, Will Ferrell, Ethan Coen, Lynne Ramsay

Directors Quentin Tarantino, Paul Thomas Anderson, Christopher Nolan, Sofia Coppola

Producers George Clooney, John Turturro, Megan Ellison, Cameron Mackintosh

Wild Cards Benedict Cumberbatch, Matt Damon, Will Smith, Kathleen Kennedy

10

Clearly, you didn’t read the OP.

11

Never mind for a moment that James Stewart was a REAL hero who saw REAL action in WW2. He starred in numerous Westerns, and proved himself more than capable of handling action.

He could do goofy, aw-shucks roles in comedies, but he was an actor with a dark side, too.

12

Wait for it…