In her amusing article on questionably ethnic screen portrayals (Let’s at least see the films we denounce, 16 December), Helen Lewis refers to Anthony Hopkins’ casting as Othello in the BBC’s 1981 production, which caused something of a furore at the time.
So imagine what might have been the tempest unleashed had Richard Attenborough got his way, years before Ben Kingsley was even a gleam in his eye, and snared Hopkins to play the title role of Gandhi in a long-cherished project. “With careful makeup and by losing a little weight, he would be superb as Gandhi,” the late Lord Dickie purred publicly in the mid-70s.
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So imagine what might have been the tempest unleashed had Richard Attenborough got his way, years before Ben Kingsley was even a gleam in his eye, and snared Hopkins to play the title role of Gandhi in a long-cherished project. “With careful makeup and by losing a little weight, he would be superb as Gandhi,” the late Lord Dickie purred publicly in the mid-70s.
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- 12/16/2015
- by Letters
- The Guardian - Film News
Bob Hoskins dead at 71: Hoskins’ best movies included ‘Who Framed Roger Rabbit,’ ‘Mona Lisa’ (photo: Bob Hoskins in ‘Who Framed Roger Rabbit’ with Jessica Rabbit, voiced by Kathleen Turner) Bob Hoskins, who died at age 71 in London yesterday, April 29, 2014, from pneumonia (initially reported as “complications of Parkinson’s disease”), was featured in nearly 70 movies over the course of his four-decade film career. Hoskins was never a major box office draw — "I don’t think I’m the sort of material movie stars are made of — I’m five-foot-six-inches and cubic. My own mum wouldn’t call me pretty." Yet, this performer with attributes similar to those of Edward G. Robinson, James Cagney, and Lon Chaney had the lead in one of the biggest hits of the late ’80s. In 1988, Robert Zemeckis’ groundbreaking Who Framed Roger Rabbit, which seamlessly blended animated and live action footage, starred Hoskins as gumshoe Eddie Valiant,...
- 4/30/2014
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Bob Hoskins, the celebrated English actor who brought gravitas and a wicked smile to any genre he worked in, from crime thrillers like The Long Good Friday to fantasy comedies such as Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Hook, died from pneumonia Tuesday. He was 71.
The actor claimed to have never taken any acting lessons – according to him, he was waiting at a theatre bar for a friend to finish an audition when someone gave him a script and said, “You’re next.” He scored the part at that audition and soon after, the short-statured Hoskins became a giant on the stage and screen, beloved by audiences around the world.
Hoskins appeared in various UK television series and mini-series during the 1970s, when he also found a calling on the British stage. However, the actor broke through on the big screen in the 1980s. His first major role was in the...
The actor claimed to have never taken any acting lessons – according to him, he was waiting at a theatre bar for a friend to finish an audition when someone gave him a script and said, “You’re next.” He scored the part at that audition and soon after, the short-statured Hoskins became a giant on the stage and screen, beloved by audiences around the world.
Hoskins appeared in various UK television series and mini-series during the 1970s, when he also found a calling on the British stage. However, the actor broke through on the big screen in the 1980s. His first major role was in the...
- 4/30/2014
- by Jordan Adler
- We Got This Covered
British actors with a background in classic theatre are known for bringing some gravitas and credibility to comic book movies, whether it's Anthony Hopkins as Odin in Marvel's Thor, or Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen as Professor Xavier and Magneto in the X-Men films (including the upcoming Days of Future Past).
From that same generation of veterans comes Ben Kingsley, stepping into the role of archnemesis the Mandarin in Iron Man 3.
The movie is Marvel's biggest departure yet from the comic books it publishes, with the studio (now under the aegis of Disney) clearly aiming for a much more populist and comedic approach. It certainly worked with the snappy humour in Avengers and now there's more of that in Iron Man 3, though I'd argue the laughs weren't as effective as Whedon's spot-on quippery.
The characterisation of Mandarin has caused much consternation among the hardcore fanboys, though it works within the movie.
From that same generation of veterans comes Ben Kingsley, stepping into the role of archnemesis the Mandarin in Iron Man 3.
The movie is Marvel's biggest departure yet from the comic books it publishes, with the studio (now under the aegis of Disney) clearly aiming for a much more populist and comedic approach. It certainly worked with the snappy humour in Avengers and now there's more of that in Iron Man 3, though I'd argue the laughs weren't as effective as Whedon's spot-on quippery.
The characterisation of Mandarin has caused much consternation among the hardcore fanboys, though it works within the movie.
- 4/28/2013
- by David Bentley
- The Geek Files
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