Good on ya, Daniel Alter, you precocious and hulking mogul, you! Daniel Alter first became a "friend of CHUD" [which is like a "Friend of Dorothy" only more sexy] back in the day when we were tight pals with the original Corona’s Coming Attractions crew of Patrick Sauriol, John "Widget Walls" Robinson, and Suni Sidhu. Daniel was Suni’s sidekick and producing partner back then but has since gone on to be a purveyor of genre properties all by his lonesome and has done quite well with it. Every once in a while Daniel would send snips from Variety he was involved in [and Daniel, why never a "How are you doing?" email mixed in you JERK!!!!!] and Dave Davis could always be counted on to run a piece on it. With Dave out of the fold I assume it’s my responsibility to do so. So, without further ado…
According to Daniel’s MySpace page (by way of Ain’t it Cool News, apparently. Remember when they used to link to us?], the Hitman movie is moving forward but not without the fanboy speculated Vin Diesel but with Deadwood and Go legend Timothy Olyphant.
That’s splendid news and apt casting.
Dream casting has always been a fun but infuriating topic but I never understood why it had to be so goddamn literal. The logic is always that if a character is bald, then so must the actor portraying him. It’s why the web populace always envisioned either Patrick Stewart, Ben Kingsley, Telly Savalas and my friend in chemo as the perfect Professor X. You don’t have to be bald to be a brilliant bald character. May I remind you of the gentleman who played Mr. Freeze?
Anyone can be bald. It’s not a skill.
Olyphant has the attitude and look and has proven he can kick ass with competence. He also has a bar code shaped birthmark on the back of his head, which saves costly makeup dollars. He’s an aces choice, one which may upset Hitman’s small but rabid fanbase whose were all but sure Jason Statham or Vin Diesel or my friend in chemo would get the role.
My main concern, and Daniel feel free to pop an email to clarify, is that the games haven’t been able to live up to the classic Hitman 2 in the few incarnations which have followed and I fear that, like Tomb Raider, the real heyday of the game will have passed by the time the film hits.
Granted, it’s a film and not a game but a synergy between the product and the tie-in has value and it’d be nice to see the game at the top of its game when the film [which is apparently greenlit with Skip Woods doing the behind the lens and pen magic and Luc Besson and Chuck Gordon as additional producers] arrives.
I’m looking forward to it, don’t get me wrong. I just wish they’d cast my friend in chemo.