The traditional Dresden Files tv/movie thread

[thorgrim29]

So, with Cold Days around the corner, I figured the time might be good to discuss what format this series might take if it gets filmed. Most discussions I've seen on that subject are tv series vs film, but I had a tought recently. It's pretty obvious that it's never going to happen on film, but I think it wouldn't work any better as a tv series, because you'd pretty much have to split each season between 3 or so book, and each book into 2 or 3 hour long episodes. It's just not something I can see happening in the states or canada, and dresden is so north american I'm not sure it could work anywhere else (sure you could shoot it in like Vancouver or Montreal, but not London or Barcelona or wherever).

However, if you think less Game of Thrones and more the Sharpe mini-films (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharpe_%28TV_series%29) , things get interresting. You could shoot one or two a year, it wouldn't require a full-time commitment from the actors, and it would give time for the young actors to grow up (mostly Molly and the Alphas).

So anyway, that's my proposed format, now to the fun part, the core cast. I think that would be Harry, Murphy, Thomas, Michael, Susan, Marcone, Bob, Billy, Butters, and Sanya, so I'll start with those. Ground rules, I think we should limit ourselves to TV actors, because as much as Ian McKellen would rock the Merlin, I can't see it happening.

Harry: I know Jim said he wanted Will Smith, but seeing as that's not exactly realistic, we need an actor in his 30s or early 40s who's snarky and a huge geek. Nathan Fillion?

Murphy: Murphy is a small woman who kicks ass and has copious amounts of heroic willpower while having a vulnerable side, I can't help thinking of Sarah Michelle Gellar here. (I know I have a lot of Joss Whedon actors, but that's only because that would be awesome, and I'm used to thinking of them as playing snarky modern fantasy/sci-fi characters)

Thomas: Maybe Zac Efron? Or take it the opposite direction and cast John Barrowman.

Michael: Michael is a tough one, you need a middle-aged guy who can portray a super serious Christian and not come out as an ass or too preachy while still being super sincere and killing things with a sword while in full armor. I got nothing.

Susan: Unknown

Marcone: Bryan Cranston

Bob: Patrick Stewart

Billy: Unknown

Butters: Alan Tudik

Sanya: No idea

[Friv]

Hate to tell you this, but the Dresden Files was already made into a TV show, and it kind of flopped.

As was a good idea, though, they didn't try to make the series fit each book perfectly; instead, they made it more of a "Case Files of Harry Dresden show" with a slowly-developing metaplot. Would have been nice if it had gotten further; I remember finding it pretty fun at the time.

[Eldan]

Well, they changed a lot about that TV series. Especially Harry himself. To sum up:

-Not a geek.
-Not snarky.
-Rarely uses magic.
-When he uses magic, it's tightly controlled and precise evocation.
-No anger issues.

And for the rest... Bob is a ghost who takes human shape. Morgan is a young black cop. Ancient Mai, the only other wizard to show up, may be a dragon in disguise. Murphy... okay, Murphy was good. I liked Murphy.

But see, the books work on a mixture of action, humour and emotional impact, with a good dose of fantasy weirdness and geek culture. Somehow, they managed to leave all those points out of it.

[Avilan the Grey]

Another reason it flopped was because it could never make up it's mind about it's format: Monster Of The Week or Story Arch? The overarching plot never took off and the Monster Of The Week was not exciting enough.

[Mauve Shirt]

I think the mini series is the only possible format for any decent book adaptation. Movies have to cut stuff out, tv shows have to extend everything so it makes sense in hour-long chunks over several seasons. A mini series is exactly what it claims to be, has no required number of episodes and can include everything it wants.
I think Karl Urban would make an AWESOME Harry Dresden. If you don't believe me, watch the movie RED. Sadly, he probably wouldn't switch from film to TV without significant coercion.

[Inglenook]

Harry — Nathan Fillion's looking a little too old at this point, otherwise he'd be a perfect fit. I'm going to go with a controversial choice: James Marsden. I think he's got the right height/look/banter for the job. Or maybe Zachary Levi, although he's quite young.

Murphy — Definitely Sarah Michelle Gellar. Kristen Bell would be great too, although she looks a bit young. Or maybe Julie Benz, if she could pull off the aloof, badass thing.

Thomas — Brandon Routh or Matt Bomer? Both of them have scary eyes, in my opinion.

Michael — Jeffrey Dean Morgan. Full stop.

Susan — Eva Mendez or Rashida Jones.

Marcone — In my head I've always seen him exactly as Eric Roberts.

Billy — Jonah Hill is the first person to come to mind, although I'm not sure it's the right fit.

As for the rest, I can't comment since I'm not that far into the series yet.

[KnightDisciple]

Jim has actually gone on record saying Dresden Files would, ideally, be done as an animation/anime.

So maybe just pick the best voice for it, and go from there?

Incidentally, I don't think Nathan Fillion's the best fit. I love the guy, but he's not quite right in every "snarky" role out there.

[Avilan the Grey]

Jim has actually gone on record saying Dresden Files would, ideally, be done as an animation/anime.

Of course if it was done as anime, I couldn't watch it.

Murphy — Definitely Sarah Michelle Gellar. Kristen Bell would be great too, although she looks a bit young. Or maybe Julie Benz, if she could pull off the aloof, badass thing.

Absolutely not. Completely wrong, IMHO.
Now, I am not sure who to cast instead, we need a barely 5-foot blonde who is very fit, quite muscular and cute.

[Inglenook]

SMG and Kristen Bell are both quite short, I thought?

[Avilan the Grey]

SMG and Kristen Bell are both quite short, I thought?

Yes. Kristen Bell is a better match to what I have in my head. She has to work out a lot though.

[Xefas]

Jim has actually gone on record saying Dresden Files would, ideally, be done as an animation/anime.

So maybe just pick the best voice for it, and go from there?

Having listened to the audio books before I got physical versions for them, any cast other than "Everyone is played by James Marsters (including the women)" would bother me at least a little bit.

[lord_khaine]

Of course if it was done as anime, I couldn't watch it.

I wouldnt be able to stop watching

[Eldan]

Having listened to the audio books before I got physical versions for them, any cast other than "Everyone is played by James Marsters (including the women)" would bother me at least a little bit.

Yeah. At least Harry needs to be Marsden.

[Mauve Shirt]

I don't know, James Marsters is starting to look less badass and more middle aged. And I don't like that curly hair on Harry, but that could be changed.

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Now, James Marsden... no, certainly not, he's too pretty. I still think Karl Urban has the right about of brown-haired skinny badass idiot, and can certainly pull off snarky and nerdy.

[Bayonet Priest]

Jim has actually gone on record saying Dresden Files would, ideally, be done as an animation/anime.

I agree, this would be the best thing ever. As an anime you won't be limited by a special effects budget or location for filming. There is plenty of fantastic voice talent out there. People would bitch because anime, but I really think that is the best format for it.

[The Glyphstone]

Having listened to the audio books before I got physical versions for them, any cast other than "Everyone is played by James Marsters (including the women)" would bother me at least a little bit.

No, no, no. Not James Marsden, Morgan Freeman (including the women).

[thorgrim29]

Yeah, I know about the tv series, and it was pretty bad. But yeah, anime, good idea, hadn't tought of it, maybe a bunch of OVAs? And cast Richard Dean Anderson as Harry, just tell him to play wizard O'Neill

[Wyntonian]

I just learned who Karl Urban is, and although I will now permanently visualize Dresden as Mal, I think Urban's a better fit. Dresden's not that young, is he? (I'm at Proven Guilty, so if please spoiler the spoilers).

Seriously, Urban has a really intense glare. Swap the suit for a duster, and the gun for a blasting rod, and this is great.

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[The Glyphstone]

Or just keep the gun. It's not like he doesn't use it frequently.

[Prime32]

I agree, this would be the best thing ever. As an anime you won't be limited by a special effects budget or location for filming. There is plenty of fantastic voice talent out there. People would bitch because anime, but I really think that is the best format for it.

Well there seem to be at least some fans in Japan. As for voices that come to mind...

Harry Dresden - Tomokazu Sugita (Master of sarcasm, enjoys having his characters make geeky references)
Morgan - Norio Wakamato being relatively subtle (Because nothing is scarier than having Norio Wakamoto after your head)
The Merlin - Joji Nakata
Thomas Raith - Hikaru Midorikawa (Known for voicing brooding anti-heroes, cocky guys and yaoi)
Lara Raith - Chiaki Takahashi
The White King - Takehito Koyasu (Because you can't have Midorikawa without making Koyasu some kind of rival or foil)
Lasciel - Rie Tanaka (Has enough range for that incident)

[Mauve Shirt]

I would honestly be disappoint if it was animated in a Japanese style instead of an American comic book style. But that's because I don't want my Dresden turned into Japan's idea of what Chicago is like, and then all his monsters are Japanified and it's just the wrong flavor, y'know?

[Prime32]

I would honestly be disappoint if it was animated in a Japanese style instead of an American comic book style. But that's because I don't want my Dresden turned into Japan's idea of what Chicago is like, and then all his monsters are Japanified and it's just the wrong flavor, y'know?

Fun fact: Jim Butcher had never been to Chicago when he started writing, and many of the details are wildly inaccurate.

And what do you imagine would be involved in "Japanifying" monsters?

[Vilyathas]

Here's my take. A bit sparse, since I don't know that many actors.

Harry Dresden - Joel McHale from "Community" and "The Soup". He's born to play Harry like you wouldn't believe. He's tall enough at 6'4", has enough comedic experience, and can pull off the tired, rugged, unshaven look.
The Merlin - Sam Neill. Barring that, Sir Patrick Stewart.
McCoy - Billy Connolly
Kincaid - Karl Urban. Because I want to see him play babysitter with his deadpan face.
Aurora - Gillian Jacobs
Leanansidhe - Monica Belucci
Morgan - Bruce Willis
Thomas - John Barrowman would do it, but Matt Bomer fits the bill I think. Or even James Marsden.
Mab - Helena Bonham Carter?
Molly Carpenter - Stephanie Leonidas. No particular preference here, but anyone except Kristen Stewart please. Oh wait...
Maeve - Kristen Stewart.

[The Glyphstone]

Pretty sure you need emotions to play Maeve. Can you really picture Kristen Stewart as a overbearing icy seductress?

[Friv]

Pretty sure you need emotions to play Maeve. Can you really picture Kristen Stewart as a overbearing icy seductress?

Having just seen her in Jack Kerouac's "On The Road", I actually can.

I know, I was surprised too. But I think she could actually pull off Maeve.

[The Glyphstone]

Having just seen her in Jack Kerouac's "On The Road", I actually can.

I know, I was surprised too. But I think she could actually pull off Maeve.

Fair enough. I've only seen her in clips from Twilight and Snow White, maybe she does have emotional acting depth in more complex works.


Hmmm...off-topic, but evil idea. Cast Kristen Stewart and Keenu Reeves to star opposite each other in a romantic comedy.

[Eldan]

Does it turn out they are both robots?

Hm. They are secretly controlled by the evil Nicholas Cage and... does anyone a really crazy hammy female actor?

[darkblade]

Well there seem to be at least some fans in Japan. As for voices that come to mind...

No. Kamen Rider Wizard while so far awesome has pretty much nothing to do with Dresden Files beyond having a Wizard as the main character. Even then their magic system doesn't even vaguely resemble Dresden's

Harry Dresden - Tomokazu Sugita (Master of sarcasm, enjoys having his characters make geeky references)
Morgan - Norio Wakamato being relatively subtle (Because nothing is scarier than having Norio Wakamoto after your head)
The Merlin - Joji Nakata
Thomas Raith - Hikaru Midorikawa (Known for voicing brooding anti-heroes, cocky guys and yaoi)
Lara Raith - Chiaki Takahashi
The White King - Takehito Koyasu (Because you can't have Midorikawa without making Koyasu some kind of rival or foil)
Lasciel - Rie Tanaka (Has enough range for that incident)

I cannot find any fault in your casting though.

[Avilan the Grey]

And what do you imagine would be involved in "Japanifying" monsters?

They would look like they were drawn to fit in Anime?

[Mauve Shirt]

Fun fact: Jim Butcher had never been to Chicago when he started writing, and many of the details are wildly inaccurate.

And what do you imagine would be involved in "Japanifying" monsters?

Yeah you're right, but he does at least get the American city feeling right. I've seen Anime set in US cities that basically just take a Japanese city and give it an American name. That is a problem. The cultures are different.
Similarly, there is a difference between what Japan finds scary and what the US finds scary and it all has to do with cultural norms. I have no problem with the animation style, but if Japan is making it to appeal to Japanese audiences, well they're going to have to change the feel of it so that it only barely resembles the books, the way the TV series had to change them to meet the criteria for TV audiences.

PS I was not sober when I wrote that post and that's why I used the word "Japanified".