I remember back in the day when Tim Burton's Batman movie was first announced all the speculation as to who would play The Joker. Ray Liotta was mentioned, and that would have been interesting. Jack Nicholson's casting gave the film an extra level of respect and I liked what he did with the role. Still, he never looked right for the part and I had another choice at the time: James Woods. He was tall and lean and was known for playing psychos and high-intensity characters. I would have loved to have seen him as the clown prince of crime.
Jack Nicholson was a FAT Joker. FAT. FAT. Oh, and OLD. James Woods may have been better, but somebody thin, young and wiry - I want to say someone Jim Carrey-esque. Heath Ledger was a much better Joker. A little TOO crazy for my tastes, but better than Nicholson.
ReplyDeleteIt should be interesting to see what this new Spider-Man trilogy brings as far as the Green Goblin...
wasnt woods concidered for riddler or scarecrow?
ReplyDeleteMy opinion of Nicholson's Joker is that his performance was fine; only his appearance was a bit off, and that's forgivable. For me, his portrayal of the Joker caught the character's spirit better than anyone else I've seen, second only to Mark Hamill.
ReplyDeleteI really don't know who I'd try to cast as the Joker if I was doing it today. Maybe Silas Weir Mitchell, if he was willing to shave his beard.
As for this cover, I think it's quite well done, though I'd find the story more believable if it was GG sent out to take the Joker down. That's the only real flaw here, though.
Fun "fact": in an article that came out when casting was still going on (I'll never remember the magazine now, but I want to say EW or Time), the third actor connected with the Joker role then, in addition to Nicholson and Liotta, was...Willem "The Green Goblin" Defoe. So if Defoe was also ostensibly considered Joker material, could a younger Nicholson have pulled off GG? ;)
ReplyDeleteJames Woods was great as the voice of Owlman.
ReplyDeleteBased on his performance in Streets Of Fire, at the time I was hoping Willem Dafoe would get the part of the Joker.
ReplyDeleteYes to Willem Dafoe! After seeing him in "To Live and Die in L.A." I was convinced he would have been incredible, and better than he ended up being as the Goblin.
ReplyDeleteYes here to Dafoe also. And Rutger Hauer should have been Wayne/Batman.
ReplyDeleteWalter Goggins would make a good Joker - if he can lose the southern accent.
ReplyDeleteActually, I think Nicholson's Joker nicely bridged the gap between the Caesar Romero televersion and the feature film role that earned Heath Ledger a posthumous (and, imo, well-deserved) "Best Supporting Actor" Oscar.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I think Nicholson's Joker bridged the gap, quite nicely, between the Cesar Romero televersion and the feature film role Heath Ledger was posthumously Oscar-nominated for.
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