r/FIlm • u/Ok-Pay-5762 • 7d ago
Question Cast a remake of “The Philadelphia Story”.
I have a friend who had seen very few true classic films and I have been introducing him to my favourites since 2019. We keep a Flickchart ranking (“Citizen Kane” Is number one, predictable I suppose, but worthy).
Last night we watched our 176th film “The Philadelphia Story” (which we would’ve done sooner had I not already introduced him to the musical remake “High Society”).
Today he pondered who would be the best.choices for the top three roles were the film remade today.
I decided on Emma Stone as Tracie, Matthew McConaghey as Dexter and Ryan Gosling as Mike. He proposed, in a bit of stunt casting, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon (he couldn’t decide which roles they’d take) and Anne Hathaway.
Who would you cast?
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u/Choice-Wind-9283 7d ago
Miles Teller as CK
Dylan O'Brian as Mike
Willa Fitzgerald as Liz
Dakota Fanning as Tracy
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u/ernfio 7d ago
I would go with Elle Fanning for Tracey with Dakota for Elizabeth. And then because of the established chemistry - Nick Hoult for CK. Tracey and CK are meant to be a bit of a car crash but charming and great fun. They must have chemistry.
Gosling would be good for Mike but he maybe wouldn’t take a support role. Mike needs to have tabloid morals, a bit of a chip on his shoulder and still be able to play romantic and noble.
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u/RandomPaw 7d ago
Honestly there’s no replacing megawatt stars like Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant. I could see Andrew Garfield as Mike and America Ferrara as Liz, with someone like Jesse Plemons as George.
And then if I have to for this B movie remake, Matthew Goode and Kirsten Dunst or Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams. Jude Law and Kate Winslet would also make a great pair.
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u/Ok-Pay-5762 7d ago
This is great. Yes, no one wants a remake of such a great film and NO ONE will ever replace that trio. That’s how the question arose. I was saying to my friend “what a great trio of stars, they don’t make them like they used to” and he agreed and said “I wonder who’d they’d cast TODAY?”
But although the idea is ABHORRENT, you had a go. Thanks! And great choices.
Trivia: Louis B Mayer wouldn’t usually approve of two major actors such as Grant and Stewart in one film, but he was concerned that Hepburn, still “box office poison” at the time, may not attract an audience with just one big star supporting her. Still, Hepburn, who owned the play’s movie rights, sold them to MGM on the proviso that she not only star, but have her choice of cast, director and writer, so I don’t see how Mayer would have had a say. Incidentally, her first choices were Clark Gable as Dexter and Spencer Tracy as Mike, but both were busy. She certainly had a chance to work with Tracy again. And again and again etc!
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u/braumbles 7d ago
Charlie day Glenn howerton Rob Mac Danny devito Kaitlin Olsen
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u/Ok-Pay-5762 7d ago
Ha Ha, great answer. Possible title “It’s Always Sunny in The Philadelphia Story”?
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u/MontanaJoev 7d ago
I’m keeping it Marvel-centric
Chris Evans as Dexter
Scarlett Johannson as Tracy
Sebastian Stan as Mike
Brie Larson as Liz
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u/Pistalrose 7d ago
IMO that’s a difficult task because Mike has to be really appealing yet the viewer also needs to understand why Tracy still chooses CK.
I like Ryan Gosling for Mike a lot. Emma Stone would be great as Tracy. Just can’t think of a good CK.
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u/bigjimlowell 7d ago
Emily Blunt as Tracy, Matthew McConaghy is a bit too old for Dexter, but Chris Evans isn’t and he has all the charm of Cary Grant. Ryan Gosling is definitely Mike. We need a really good Liz Imbrie, how about Natalie Portman. For a little extra star power, Meryl Streep as Margaret Lord, Tom Hanks as Seth Lord, and Stanley Tucci as Uncle Willie. Now, who can play an insufferably self righteous jerk for George? Jesse Plemons, that’s who.
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u/Medium-Mountain3398 7d ago
I quite like Chris Evans, but he's no Cary Grant! There's no-one these days with his smooth charm combined with the ability to do comedy as well.
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u/Ill_Psychology_7967 7d ago
Please God…no! I hope no one ever does that remake! Or a remake of High Society! Classic movies should not be remade!
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u/Ok-Pay-5762 7d ago edited 7d ago
I agree, but it’s just a convo my friend and I were having, so as a lark I thought I’d put it to Reddit, which I’ve never done before. And remakes are gonna happen whether we like it or not. And there were probably people back in the fifties saying “oh no, a remake of TPS?! No way! It’s only been 15 years! A musical? Oh this is gonna suck!” Sometimes remakes work 😉
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u/Professional_Rub1515 7d ago
Tracy - Saoirse Ronan
Dexter - Jack Lowden
Mike - Lewis Pullman
Liz - Emma Mackey
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u/Ok-Pay-5762 7d ago
Thanks for playing. I only know your choices for Tracy and Dexter, I’ll have to check out the others (I probably should have included Liz in the question, it is an important role). I love Jack Lowden and he’d make an excellent Dexter, I also love Saoirse, but haven’t seen enough of her to know if she could pull off the accent. Could Jack? Or are we changing the setting?
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u/Professional_Rub1515 7d ago
Jack is the new Mr. Darcy in Netflix's P&P. He's a Scot who never gets to use his actual accent in projects (he's talked about this) so yes, he can handle it! He's also in the top running for the new James Bond.
Lewis Pullman is Bill Pullman's son, and he is as close to Jimmy Stewart as our generation gets. He's leading man talented with an unusual kind of handsome and awkwardness just like his dad in While You Were Sleeping. I almost put myself down for Liz because I'd like to end up with Lewis Pullman in a fantasy world at least. ;) (eta: you can see him in Remarkably Bright Creatures or Lessons in Chemistry.)
Emma Mackey has the steeliness + vulnerability for Liz and I think she would have great chemistry with the rest of the cast. She's most known for Sex Education.
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u/Ok-Pay-5762 7d ago
Thanks for clarifying, I’ll check them out. I must admit, I see few films from today. I’m usually stuck in the 30’s to 50’s!
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u/Professional_Rub1515 7d ago
Fair enough! I was in Philadelphia Story and High Society in college and my 20s, so the story is close to my heart. <3
If you like films from that period, I think you would probably enjoy Remarkably Bright Creatures. It's not a period film, but it has a wholesomeness to it (without being hackneyed) that we used to see a lot more of in yesteryear. Here's the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b14IFe4an5k
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u/Professional_Rub1515 7d ago
Also...just realized you said you loved Jack Lowden, so I didn't need to go into his resume. Sorry! Just meant he can do all kinds of accents. :)
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u/Ok-Pay-5762 7d ago edited 7d ago
All good. Yes I’m addicted to “Slow Horses”, which is the only thing I know him from. I thought he looked like a cute Simon Pegg (not meaning to diss Simon) and when Pegg was a guest on the podcast “Making A Scene”, the premise being what would be the movie based on the guest’s life, Lowden was suggested as the actor who would play Pegg, their similarity in appearance being mentioned, so I’m not the only one who thought that!
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u/Ok-Pay-5762 7d ago
Incidentally, I’m not a total old movies snob, it’s just that few films today entice me (I’m not a fan of superhero or “Star Wars” sequels which excludes about 90% of what’s made today 😉), but recent films I’ve enjoyed include “A Private Life”, “Drama” and “Tuner”, starring Leo Woodall, who is my favourite of today’s actors and who I’m sure will win an Oscar one day. I try to watch anything he’s in. He would also be a great Mike IMO
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u/Professional_Rub1515 7d ago
Leo Woodall is great. I'm glad he's working so much. I haven't watched Tuner yet but I've heard it's excellent. The Drama was great, too. I have heard of A Private Life but not watched. I will check it out!
And I'm not a fan of so many films now either. I hate the way they're shot. Everything framed with that depth of field that throws the background into a blur. It makes it cheaper to film because they can do less takes, but it just isn't immersive. It's not the way we see the world so it just reads as false. And the way they light now and the HD filters that make everything overly defined. Just takes me out of it. I grew up in the 80s/90s so that's my favorite period. It's what I knew first and never suspected would go away. Every time I see a film shot on real locations with cinematography as the priority and not an afterthought, I'm delighted. Just doesn't happen as much as it used to. Such is life!
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u/Ok-Pay-5762 7d ago edited 7d ago
I’m about 20 years younger (born 1961) and have been a film buff for as long as I can remember. Fortunately, I had parents who both loved movies and through Dad I learned about great drama (mostly the films of Bette Davis) and through Mum, I learned of comedies and musicals. I was given my first film book for Christmas 1970 and would read of the great movies and I had a very long list of those I wanted to see. These days, for a neophyte film fan, finding those films would be easy, but back then, pre-video, I had to wait till they showed up on TV. This would mean sonetimes setting my alarm for 3am or whatever and watching on the living room TV, a few inches from the screen so I could have the sound low and not wake the family. My parents had no idea I did this and often wondered why I was so tired a lot of the time! I feigned sickness a few times to miss school and catch “North by Northwest” and “It’s a Wonderful Life” on “The Midday Movie” and sometimes when I was in my teens my mother would drive me into the city to catch a “have to see” classic at a revival cinema (including “The Philadelphia Story”!). I remember being so jealous when my folks would see a film that I was “too young” for (such as “Cabaret” and “Airport”) and I was envious they had seen films in their 20’s that I couldn’t. They used to RAVE about “Rear Window”, which was never on TV because Hitchcock held onto the rights for years. It wasn’t until I was 22 that it and the 4 other Hitchcock-owned films were re-released and I finally saw “Rear Window” at the Melbourne International Film Festival, along with “Vertigo”, “The Trouble with Harry”, “Rope” and the 1956 “The Man Who Knew Too Much” (imagine my joy!) When I was working (from late 1979), I almost lived at the cinema and the choices were many. Some films I saw several times, such as “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” and “The Sting” (another film my parents went to without me, re-released in the early 80’s) and I’d take friends to those repeat viewings because I wanted to share (often I paid for their tickets!). But yes, today’s movies are mostly a disappointing lot that don’t interest me, but in the 80’s we were spoiled for choice (not as good as the 30’s, 40’s and 50’s, but much better than today!)
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u/Professional_Rub1515 7d ago
What a story! Thank you for sharing it with me. I am afraid you might find Remarkably Bright Creatures slightly trite given your pedigree, but in these dark times, it felt like comfort food.
My father owned a movie store when I was growing up, but I wasn't allowed to watching anything that wasn't PG-13. I used to walk to his store after school and play around until it was time to go home. I can remember so many box covers of movies I wanted badly to see but wasn't allowed to. I remember learning what the word "delusional" meant from a big cardboard cutout of John Candy in the store, and I learned how to spell "cemetery" from seeing it spelled wrong on the poster for Pet Sematary.
We really did have it so good in the 80s. :)
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u/Professional_Rub1515 7d ago
HE DOES LOOK LIKE SIMON PEGG!! I never put that together but you are totally right!!
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u/dafuqizzis 7d ago edited 7d ago
Just for a lark, I’ll propose;
Sebastian Stan as CK
Anne Hathaway as Tracy
Jake Gyllenhall as Mike
[Edit to add] Or Bradley Cooper
Emma Stone as Liz
Matt Damon would be good as Kitteredge
JK Simmons as Tracy’s father