What Actors/Actresses Should Play Royal Roles?

[Carolath Habsburg]

i agree 0_o and even more if  there are a duplicate of this same subject

http://forum.alexanderpalace.org/index.php?topic=1083.0

[Olga Bernice]

Well, now that it is a sticky, and the thread is made, I figured I might as well respond.

Olga: Natalie Portman

Tatiana: Keira Knightley

Maria: Claire Danes

Anastasia: Kirsten Dunst

Of course, most of these actors are really too old to play the parts, but I thought they had a resemblance.

[JamesAPrattIII]

It looks like if they ever do another movie about the IF the roles of of OTMA will be played by some lesser actors unless the movie is about them or about their final days ect. However a movie about OTMA if done right would make a great chick flick so to speak. No doubt young chicks will flock to it wearing "I (heart) OTMA t-shirts" no doubt they will laugh and cry through this movie. Most likely their boyfriends will be laughing and crying as well at different sences. Forunetly for them there is enough bloodshed in this movie so they won't run screaming from the theater half way through the show. No doubt many young actresses would like to play such a role. it might take 3 or more of them to play each daughter as they grow up. Of course they may not like everything they have to do like wearing a corset ("I can't breath! get me out of this thing!), sleeping on a camp bed ("you want me to sleep on this!"), winter scenes ("It freezing") and getting their heads shaved ("you want me to do this!?"). I do feel sorry for the actresses in Romanovy who had to do this I don't think they were acting. This is just me having fun.

[edubs31]

James) I agree, and we all know Natalie Portman (following up on Olga Bernice's comment) probably wouldn't mind having her head shaved..."V for Vendetta" anyone?

As you pointed out the quality of the actresses would largely depend on what type of film it is. Should it be about OTMA specifically you can expect to have some A-list caliber names playing the roles...whereas if it's a broader story about the fall of the Russian Empire some lesser known character actresses would probably be a guarantee.

If it's an OTMA-centric theme I'm guessing the majority of the film would focus on their later years. That way they could get full use out of hiring an appealing quartet of late-teen & 20-something actresses who already have some star power. My guess is a scrip beginning in 1914, including the famous photo shoots, then the outbreak of WWI, their work in the hospital, etc, and carry it through to the end makes most sense.

But even this might require you to use a second actress for Anastasia (maybe Maria too) who was only around the age of 13 in 1914. Would look pretty silly, even with regards to the normal Hollywood cliches of 16 and 17 year old characters being played by actors ten years their senior, to have a well know 20-ish actress try to pull off a 13-year old girl. A small and young looking impish one at that, lol.

[Jen_94]

I totally agree James, It would make a fantastic film!

Edus31, I agree totally. Lives about young Russian Grand Duchesses during WWI would be pretty good, and would indeed make sense. I can see the film opening with perhaps, something like, a prologue, then, skip to the 1914, formals being shot and continue the film on from there, until July 17th 1918? Then it ends there.

[edubs31]

Good thinking Jen...I imagine the ending to any romantically skewed tale of OTMA would need to find a clever way to address the murders. I don't think movie going audiences would warm to a vividly accurate portrayal, but it would be awfully careless to ignore the tragedy altogether.

I imagine something along the lines of a flashback sequence following their descent down the stairs to the cellar of the Ipatiev House. Something similar to but more elaborate than that haunting scene from "The Lost Prince" when George V is given word of the IF's murder. A little cinematic wizardry showing the GDs in happier and more tranquil times...smiling and frolicking around Alexander Palace and the gardens they loved, tennis matches, dancing at balls, playing in the snow, roller skating on the Standart, etc.

Maybe that whole life flashing in front of your eyes effect people talk about prior to death or during moments of severe trauma unfolding. Follow this by cranking up the film's music score and muting the voices of both the guards and victims as everyone enters the room. Then in slow motion we see nothing more than the body of Nicholas falling to the ground. The sound of gunshots firing as the music continues to drown out any shouts and screams from the victims...but all the while the camera itself is stationed outside of the cellar door.

From there just a few more moments in the sequence. The guards open the door and smoke comes pouring out (did actually happen). Then a few slow motion camera shots of more men coming and going in and out of the room for what we can imagine being the purpose of finishing the job. Flashes of gunshots illuminating the smoke as it continues to seep out of the cellar before we fade to black.

I'd want the final scene to show some type of present day memorial service at the Church of All Saints. Or perhaps something less dramatic like children, Russian preferably, learning about the lives of the Romanov's in a classroom setting. Something that leads us into the credits where actual photographs and paintings of the Grand Duchesses' are shown as the list of names scrolls by...

[Jen_94]

I like your idea of the final moments, dramatic, but very good, I can actually picture it in my head and think it would look wonderful on film.

I like your idea of an ending too, most definitely! Perhaps, I think what would be nice would be, after the ending scene, We go to modern day Russia, perhaps one anniversary of their death, to a school classroom(like you said), where we see children and their teacher, remembering the Romanov family, and learning about them, perhaps? Then, as we see the teacher begin to talk about them, maybe roll into credits, showing pictures of the family? Hmmm...So many ideas buzzing around in my head right now!

Now, who would I cast? I'm not too sure on that one...I'll have to think on that one!

[GrandDuchessIzabella]

If I can add my ideas...Although an OTMA centered movie would be welcomed, I would prefer a TV series (or several?), spanning from Olga's birth to their deaths. That would solve the problem of actors (several could be used) and could include the family's anguish at Alexei's haemophilia (Spala), the 300th anniversary celebrations and how Alexandra came to Rasputin etc. THEN it could go on to WW1 and the hospitals and Revolution, ending with their deaths. I think that this would be better than a film because it would enable more of the major events and everyday ones to be portrayed, building up the audience's relationship with the family so that when their deaths came it brought more of a...I don't know the word...hit? Does that make sense?

And about their (metaphorical) death scenes, I wouldn't want to see it dampened down. I would prefer a hard hitting reality of what happened to ignite more shock into the audience (and to be honest, is it any more gristly that Saw, for instance?). After that, edubs31's idea of flashbacks would work well, with soft music and quotes from earlier in the movie/series being repeated.

Just my ideas!

[edubs31]

Interesting GDI...just some feedback for you...

Although an OTMA centered movie would be welcomed, I would prefer a TV series (or several?), spanning from Olga's birth to their deaths.

We all would. But assuming that this would approximately be a two-hour feature film I think it very difficult not to skip over major events if you're going to A) include everything important that happened from 1895 on, and B) if you're planning on keeping the focus on the siblings...again as you said a mini-series would solve this problem. In that case I'd like to see something along these lines...

Hour 1 (1894-1895) - Nicholas and Alix are engaged, Alexander III dies, Nicholas assumes the throne, the wedding, and Olga is born.
Hour 2 (1896-1903) - Nicholas' coronation and the Khondynka incident, the exhibition,  Hague Peace Conference & births of TMA.
Hour 3 (1904-1906) - Russo-Japanese War, birth of Alexei, pogroms against the Jews, Bloody Sunday, October Manifesto
Hour 4 (1907-1913) - Focus on family life, the Duma, brewing revolution, Sotolypin's assasination, Spala Incident, Enter Rasputin
Hour 5 (1914-1916) - Famous portrait session, World War I, life at the military hospital, Rasputin's murder
Hour 6 (1917-1918) - Bolshevik Revolution, Nicholas' abdication, held captive, Withdraw from WWI, IF murdered

And about their (metaphorical) death scenes, I wouldn't want to see it dampened down. I would prefer a hard hitting reality of what happened to ignite more shock into the audience (and to be honest, is it any more gristly that Saw, for instance?).

Again, consider the theme of the film. A mini-series, documentary type film would make sense to have your hard hitting reality. A romantic portrayal of OTMA/family for the first 1:45 followed by a gruesome killing sequence would be awfully shocking to viewers. It would also make the film R-rated, limiting the size of the audience. Not a smart move when you consider the number of adolescent girls who'd ordinarily like to attend, lol.

[Jen_94]

Hmmm good ideas GDI I never thought of a mini tv series, and I like the way Edubs31 has laid out what each episode would include.

[edubs31]

And about their (metaphorical) death scenes, I wouldn't want to see it dampened down. I would prefer a hard hitting reality of what happened to ignite more shock into the audience (and to be honest, is it any more gristly that Saw, for instance?).

I meant to quote this comment by GDI in my response above...

But to your point about "is it any more grisly than Saw"...in a word, YES! Well perhaps no more "grisly" but certainly more shocking and awful. Unlike "Saw", which I have never seen so correct me if I'm wrong, we are talking about the actual murders of real life people many of us have come to love and admire...they aren't abstract or fictional characters like in some typical horror film.

Such a sequence, that can be very off putting to an audience who up until that point wasn't exposed to such carnage (whether this be in the first 90% of a movie or mini-series), needs to be scripted and filmed with care.

[GrandDuchessIzabella]

Hour 1 (1894-1895)[/b] - Nicholas and Alix are engaged, Alexander III dies, Nicholas assumes the throne, the wedding, and Olga is born.
Hour 2 (1896-1903) - Nicholas' coronation and the Khondynka incident, the exhibition,  Hague Peace Conference & births of TMA.
Hour 3 (1904-1906) - Russo-Japanese War, birth of Alexei, pogroms against the Jews, Bloody Sunday, October Manifesto
Hour 4 (1907-1913) - Focus on family life, the Duma, brewing revolution, Sotolypin's assasination, Spala Incident, Enter Rasputin
Hour 5 (1914-1916) - Famous portrait session, World War I, life at the military hospital, Rasputin's murder
Hour 6 (1917-1918) - Bolshevik Revolution, Nicholas' abdication, held captive, Withdraw from WWI, IF murdered

Exactly as I had imagined! Yes, unfortunately the kind of movie I (and possibly others on here) would like to see, is not what would sell. I guess this is what this thread is about, being able to create our own films exactly how we would have wanted them.

P.S What I meant about the death scene was that it would be similar to the death scene in Romanovy, true to life but tasteful. Sorry if it caused misunderstanding!

[GrandDuchessAndrea]

I imagine the ending to any romantically skewed tale of OTMA would need to find a clever way to address the murders. I don't think movie going audiences would warm to a vividly accurate portrayal

Not necessarily... If you think of, say, The Young Victoria, which has it's inaccuracies for sure, but it wouldn't be called "romantically skewed", (well, perhaps, yet nobody could call it a 'chick flick',) and that was a hit, perhaps something along the lines of...I don't know, Downton Abbey, which I've not seen hardly any of but seems to be well-loved... Yet I really do think that it would be rather disrespectful to their memory to make a horribly falsified portrayal, such as the recent Marie Antoinette film, which could certainly be called a chick flick for sure...

Exactly as I had imagined! Yes, unfortunately the kind of movie I (and possibly others on here) would like to see, is not what would sell. I guess this is what this thread is about, being able to create our own films exactly how we would have wanted them.

I would definitely love something like that! And that is what this thread is about, our dreams that there will one day be a quality film portrayal of the family, where nobody is wallpaper and it is well-acted, poignantly touching and funny at times, that would truly make the public see what they family was like.

Love the flashback as they walk down the stairs idea...I've thought of that many times myself, and also the closed door and gunshots, maybe even a shot of the hurried burial, yet no gristly bodies, please!

And most definitely the canonization at the end, perhaps even touching on the history buffs and other such people fascinated with their lives such as ourselves!

Oh, for this to actually come to be! Romanovy...is closest, although the start of the war would have made it even better.

[edubs31]

Not necessarily... If you think of, say, The Young Victoria, which has it's inaccuracies for sure, but it wouldn't be called "romantically skewed", (well, perhaps, yet nobody could call it a 'chick flick',) and that was a hit, perhaps something along the lines of...I don't know, Downton Abbey, which I've not seen hardly any of but seems to be well-loved... Yet I really do think that it would be rather disrespectful to their memory to make a horribly falsified portrayal, such as the recent Marie Antoinette film, which could certainly be called a chick flick for sure...

Well, again, I'm not suggesting we falsify anything. None of the films I've seen have offered an accurate portrayal of the murder scene. Some are closer to the truth than others but you have to consider the actual sequence took much longer than what is actually shown. It would be difficult to film the tragedy accurately since the killing took place, more or less, in two separate parts with a delay (to let the smoke clear out of the cellar) in between.

But think about how it was filmed "Nicholas & Alexandra". How much did we really see? Initial moment of terror followed by a few gun shots, blood smearing the camera lens and then the bloodied bullet filled wall of cellar. Director Franklin Schaffner was able to show what happened without showing the extent it. My "camera outside the door" concept would be very similar to this. Audiences would still be sufficiently shocked and heart broken by the events but not subjected to the full brutality...

Also I want to underline my point about creating an OTMA movie that can reach its targeted audience...many of those would presumably including adolescent girls. Creating a "hard hitting" murder sequence would automatically make this an R-rated movie. Think about "Titanic" which was PG-13, and think about how much less it probably would have grossed had it been rated 'R'.

Lastly while I've not seen "The Young Victoria", I can promise you that movie was not a "hit"...at least not at the box office. It was a $35 million budget that grossed only around $11-million in the U.S. and no way made up the other $24-million elsewhere. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0962736/business

[GrandDuchessIzabella]

Coming back to this topic, I recently saw a post on tumblr suggesting Isabelle Fuhrman for the role of Tatiana. I was a little un-nerved by this, not because I dislike her (on the contrary, you'd be hard pushed to find a bigger supporter) but because she only turned 15 this year. In a few years I think she'd be up to this role, particually because of her Russian heritage but not now. Opinions?