Wednesday, June 22, 2011

CASTING UPDATE: "NEGOTIATIONS" vs "SIGNING A CONTRACT"



Ray Winstone to be cast as the dwarf "Trajan"

UPDATE:  Producer Palak Patel tweeted confirmation of the dwarf casting:

@palakspatel  Thx for all the kind mentions! Very excited about IanMcShane, Bob Hoskins, Eddie Izzard, Toby Jones, Eddie Marsan playing the dwarves #SWATH

@palakspatel  Ray Winstone Rounds Out Cast of Dwarfs in Snow White and the Huntsman! http://t.co/Y2lb1oi #SWATH #SnowWhiteAndTheHuntsman

This is our press release as far as we're concerned.  Now we can breathe, we have our dwarfs.


There has been a little confusion on Twitter with SWATH fans regarding the recent reports of who is currently being cast.  We are being a little cautious here at The Enchanting Beauty because of the "semantics" being used. 

Until we receive an "official press release" from Universal Pictures, we will cite the reports of who is being cast but will proceed with caution with stating that "this is the official cast".

What has to be understood is that entertainment sites and reporters want to be the first to report the "breaking news" or have the "exclusive".  But we all have to be vigilant and make sure what we are reading and hearing is factually correct.


For example without going into all of the details, there has been a recent distribution of misinformation regarding actors Robert Pattinson and Penn Badgley pertaining to the dueling 'Jeff Buckley' movies. There are two separate Buckley movies being made and Pattison "expressed interest" in the film that does not involve Badgley.  One gossip site continues to insist that Pattison was "beat out" for the role Badgley is currently filming which by all reports is not true.

This leads us to our own SWATH casting debacle.  We have built a healthy skepticism when it comes to the semantics of "negotiations" vs. "signing a contract" based upon the Viggo Mortensen fiasco.

Fans were whipped up into a frenzy when it was initially reported that Mortensen was 'The Huntsman'.  Then it became, he was "in talks" to suddenly "talks break down". Negotiating a contract is what it is, a "negotiation".  Mortensen's failed negotiations should have taught us to be wary when casting news is released by third parties without an official press release.  The Hollywood Reporter reported today the following:

"The studio went whole hog with its dwarf casting this week, entering dealmaking with Ian McShane, Eddie Izzard, Bob Hoskins and Toby Jones as well as Eddie Marsan and Stephen Graham."

THR reported yesterday Hoskins, Izzard and the others were in "negotiations".  There has been an apparent update with their status which has not been clearly reported. 

THR places [Ian] McShane with the latest cast signings stating that Universal was busy "deal-making" this week.  McShane was the only dwarf reported to be "signed" to the cast" as of yesterday.

We have to be careful reading between the lines, using semantics or writing what we think or want to be true.  THR is considered a trusted site for entertainment news.  So we will consider the "negotiations" to be completed and the contracts "signed" with the caveat of official confirmation from Universal Pictures.

THR reported today that Ray Winstone is in "negotiations" as the final dwarf to be cast: 

"Ray Winstone is in negotiations to round out the casting of the warrior dwarfs in Universal’s Snow White and the Huntsman...

Winstone is playing Trajan, the twin brother of Hadrian (Marsan)."

THR provides a further description of the dwarf characters as follows:

"In the script, the dwarfs are named after Roman emperors with McShane playing the group’s leader, Caesar, Jones as a timid dwarf named Claudius and Izzard playing Tiberius, described as the biggest and burliest of the crew. Hoskins will play Constantine, a blind dwarf, Graham an angry-looking dwarf named Nero."



We are extremely happy with the casting news.  The actors that have been cast and will be cast as the dwarfs are some of Hollywood's most respected and elite actors around.


From what we are seeing on Twitter, some fans have to be peeled off the ceiling with excitement.  To have such names a Bob "Who Framed Roger Rabbit"  Hoskins, Eddie "Ocean's 12 & 13" Izzard, Ray "The Departed" Winstone be a part of this project is beyond anything a fan of SWATH could have dreamed.


Can Kristen pick a movie or what? 



(Source for Winstone picture: THR) 








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