# Stranger in a Strange Land Casting Call **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 6, 2001, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-in-a-strange-land-casting-call/56988 "2001-03-06T20:03:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Rue\_DeDay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/41988e/32.png) [@Rue\_DeDay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rue_DeDay)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2001, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-in-a-strange-land-casting-call/56988/21 "2001-03-09T13:32:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fenris \* > Is there a law somewhere that says “No one is allowed to make a good Heinlein movie”? It’s not a formal LAW, but it is a good rule of thumb. The better, and more loved a book, the bigger stink-bomb the movie will be perceived to be. I kinda LIKED the movie version of _The Puppet Masters_. Not as good as the book to be sure, but as a stand alone movie… not that bad. Same with _Starship Troopers_. Not bad, as long as you don’t compare it too closely to the book. Lotsa stuff blew up. Kinda the whole point of that movie- no matter what drivel the actual director was spouting. How good will the Harry Potter movie be, really, compared to the book? Or Lord of the Rings? (Most) Books don’t translate directly to film. Different media. Different strengths. Different weaknesses. _Soylent Green_ was a good movie, and the story it was based on, “Roommates”\*, was good too. In an other way. Will _Stranger_ the movie be as good as _Stranger_ the book? Only if the studio wants to drop the money into the project. We’ll see. Also- back on track… Ray Walston would be a great Jubal, but he’s dead. Hume Cronan would be a good Jubal, but he’s dead too. How about Don Ameche? He’s a little old guy, with great range. I just can’t get past Connery though. I’m sure he’d give a good performance, but so would Anthony Hopkins. I can’t see either one as the REAL Jubal Harshaw. (Yes, I know, Hopkins wasn’t mentioned- I’m illustrating a point) Sorry to get so obsessed with this thread, but it just sticks with me. You should have seen me when we were re-casting _The Maltese Falcon_. (In real life, not here on the boards-sorry again) \*or was _Soylent Green_ and “Roommates” both based on _Make Room! Make Room!_? I’ve seen _S G_ and read “Roommates”, and they were both good. I think that’s my point. ---
**Author:** ![Hometownboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5e9695/32.png) [@Hometownboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hometownboy)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2001, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-in-a-strange-land-casting-call/56988/22 "2001-03-09T15:41:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Rue DeDay \* > \*\*I know physically he doesn’t match the book, but John Goodman would make a good Jubal. Gruff yet fatherly. Or that Quaker Oats guy if he’s still around. > \*\* Yes, **Wilford Brimley**. Check out his [biography](http://us.imdb.com/Bio?Brimley,+Wilford). I was thinking not so much of **Cocoon** but of that incredible scene in **Absence of Malice** where he comes in and flat out **dominates** a roomful of strong characters (including Paul Newman) and lays out the way things are going to be. Worth renting the whole movie just to fast-forward to that scene. As for the rest, I dunno. Incredibly hard to think of someone for Mike who has the skill and range to go through all of his changes who isn’t already known to us and marked with other roles. It may need to be a fresh face. And ;;ducking in advance:: after Julia Roberts’ turn in “Erin Brokovich” I wonder if her ability to convey earnest sincerity might translate to Gillian’s character? ---
**Author:** ![Hometownboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5e9695/32.png) [@Hometownboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hometownboy)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2001, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-in-a-strange-land-casting-call/56988/23 "2001-03-09T15:41:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Rue DeDay \* > \*\*I know physically he doesn’t match the book, but John Goodman would make a good Jubal. Gruff yet fatherly. Or that Quaker Oats guy if he’s still around. > \*\* Yes, **Wilford Brimley**. Check out his [biography](http://us.imdb.com/Bio?Brimley,+Wilford). I was thinking not so much of **Cocoon** but of that incredible scene in **Absence of Malice** where he comes in and flat out **dominates** a roomful of strong characters (including Paul Newman) and lays out the way things are going to be. Worth renting the whole movie just to fast-forward to that scene. As for the rest, I dunno. Incredibly hard to think of someone for Mike who has the skill and range to go through all of his changes who isn’t already known to us and marked with other roles. It may need to be a fresh face. And ;;ducking in advance:: after Julia Roberts’ turn in “Erin Brokovich” I wonder if her ability to convey earnest sincerity might translate to Gillian’s character? ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2001, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-in-a-strange-land-casting-call/56988/24 "2001-03-09T17:16:42Z")
Johnny Rico was Filipino – as is made abundantly clear in the novel. We might adopt “Nobody is allowed to make a good Heinlein movie” as Fenris’s Law. I don’t have actors for Jubal or Mike… But it would be a delicious bit of irony to have Anthony Hopkins do a cameo as Tony the cook: “What’s in the pot?” “Boiled policeman.” I can just **see** him delivering that line. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Hometownboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5e9695/32.png) [@Hometownboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hometownboy)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2001, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-in-a-strange-land-casting-call/56988/25 "2001-03-09T19:44:20Z")
::hands head in abject apology:: ::humbly requests fix from worthy mods:: Arrrgh! Please forgive the double post. **Polycarp** , love the Anthony Hopkins cameo. Delicious! ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2001, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-in-a-strange-land-casting-call/56988/26 "2001-03-09T20:59:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Badtz Maru \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > Yeah, you’re probably both right. I’m not a huge military movie fan, so I’m probably tarring Starship Troopers with the wrong brush. > > See, that’s where you got your misunderstanding. The movie has VERY little to do with the book. In fact, I heard that they were pretty far along in the pre-production of the movie before someone said something along the lines of ‘This kinda reminds me of Starship Troopers’ and they decided to buy the rights. That may be an unfounded internet rumor, but the movie IS very different from the book… \*\* This makes sense; I read the book in high school (we don’t need to discuss how long ago _that_ was), and after I watched the movie a couple of years ago, I had a vague sense of “Is that it? Wasn’t there more to the book than just that?” [/hijack] **Polycarp** , your Anthony Hopkins idea is perfect! Too bad Hollywood types have their heads so far up their buttholes that they would never realize it. I agree with everyone who said VMS should be a newcomer; that’s probably the best way to go with such a different, complex type of character. I still can’t think of a perfect Gillian, but it would be a crime if she got turned into eye-candy in the movie. She was a great character in the book, and could be a major coup for an actor to make her come to life. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-in-a-strange-land-casting-call/56988.md?page=1)