Imagine him with a a mustashe and otherwise clean-scaved face and his perfect Eton english.
I first thought of Michael Cain, but he is sort of too obvious for the part.
Not too young, mind. But she has the right look and she's english. Her role in 300 saw her in an action film (and in costumes that shows she isn't shy)
I haven't seen "The Sarah Connor cronicles", but I guess she did some action there.
Although I'd be very interested in seeing Modesty and Willie fully animated in the classic Jim Holdaway style,here's my cast for a live-action Modesty Blaise film:
1)Modesty Blaise played by Emily Blunt(with her hair dyed black and worn up in the her traditional chignon as seen in my avatar).
I think Blunt looks very much like the character facially (pretty,with high-cheekbones,and vaguely "exotic" features).Modesty is of Eastern European heritage but once she decided on an identity, she became British to the core.Blunt also possesses the requisite shapely and athletic figure(check her out in Charlie Wilson's War for a glance at her in bikini underwear)to be acceptable as MB.Additionally,Blunt's a talented actress who can easily take on a variety of different-and convincing- accents(as she demonstrates in Irresistible,for example)--just as the cosmopolitan Modesty,who sometimes finds herself taking on false identities during the course of her various adventures.
2)Willie Garvin played by Kevin McKidd.
Like Garvin, McKidd's a big, blond-haired man with rugged good looks, and a muscular physique.McKidd handles action well-which is absolutely essential for the soldier of fortune who is Modesty's right hand.And like Modesty,Garvin's also a master of dialects.A Scot,McKidd's shown that he can speak with a believable American voice(as in Band of Brothers and Journeyman in which he was cast as Yanks),plus upper-class British tones(as displayed in the Rome TV series)--and he can probably speak with Garvin's regular Cockney voice,as well.
3)Sir Gerald Tarrant played by Charles Dance-Elegant and authoritative...overall,an excellent actor who could easily be made up to look like Tarrant.(At another time,a young Dance,would've been -IMO- a great Willie Garvin).
NOTE-I've intentionally selected established actors who I think physically resemble these characters,are currently available(and affordable),are the correct ages for their (imaginary) roles, and who would not dominate this kind of movie the way major film stars probably would if they were playing the leads.
Peter O'Donnell once went on record as saying that he wanted to see a young and black-haired Julie Christie play Modesty and the young Michael Caine to play Willie Garvin.Of course,this before they became big stars.
* * *
The first film in this imaginary series would be based on either Peter O'Donnell's Sabre-Tooth or A Taste For Death novels--each of which is eminently cinematic.And let's not overlook the MB comic strip itself-because there are plenty of excellent stories to be found in it as well.;)
Above all,in order to be successful and remain true to their source material,these films MUST NOT be played with camp sensibilities--to do so would be to completely go against everything Peter O'Donnell intended when he created Modesty Blaise and her world.These are adventure stories with some elements of dry humor(ala' the classic "Avengers" TV series and the classic James Bond films)and are not slapstick comedies.
Comments
I think I have found sir Gerald Tarrant (you could call him the M of the Modesty Blaise universe)
Hugh Laurie:
http://l.yimg.com/img.tv.yahoo.com/tv/us/img/site/75/48/0000007548_20060920144103.jpg
Imagine him with a a mustashe and otherwise clean-scaved face and his perfect Eton english.
I first thought of Michael Cain, but he is sort of too obvious for the part.
http://www.ce.cn/ent/mx/omxmyw/200609/14/W020060914474613074310.jpg
http://ima.dada.net/image/107900.jpg
http://www.jamesbondlifestyle.com/images/products/ac012.jpg
http://www.commeaucinema.com/images/galerie/22515_41a237feab3a2ca86deb66b0f77d2076.jpg
She is perfect!
http://evagreen.org.ru/gallery/images/logo.jpg
http://www.mcnblogs.com/thehotblog/archives/egreenfiggs500.jpg
http://img1.mtime.com/bi/1508/ac8cd594-fc0a-4dca-8f4d-2d57a4cb42bc.jpg
http://cimg2.163.com/ent/2007/3/29/2007032917334400559.jpg
Must. Stop. Now.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0372176/
Not too young, mind. But she has the right look and she's english. Her role in 300 saw her in an action film (and in costumes that shows she isn't shy)
I haven't seen "The Sarah Connor cronicles", but I guess she did some action there.
1)Modesty Blaise played by Emily Blunt(with her hair dyed black and worn up in the her traditional chignon as seen in my avatar).
I think Blunt looks very much like the character facially (pretty,with high-cheekbones,and vaguely "exotic" features).Modesty is of Eastern European heritage but once she decided on an identity, she became British to the core.Blunt also possesses the requisite shapely and athletic figure(check her out in Charlie Wilson's War for a glance at her in bikini underwear)to be acceptable as MB.Additionally,Blunt's a talented actress who can easily take on a variety of different-and convincing- accents(as she demonstrates in Irresistible,for example)--just as the cosmopolitan Modesty,who sometimes finds herself taking on false identities during the course of her various adventures.
2)Willie Garvin played by Kevin McKidd.
Like Garvin, McKidd's a big, blond-haired man with rugged good looks, and a muscular physique.McKidd handles action well-which is absolutely essential for the soldier of fortune who is Modesty's right hand.And like Modesty,Garvin's also a master of dialects.A Scot,McKidd's shown that he can speak with a believable American voice(as in Band of Brothers and Journeyman in which he was cast as Yanks),plus upper-class British tones(as displayed in the Rome TV series)--and he can probably speak with Garvin's regular Cockney voice,as well.
3)Sir Gerald Tarrant played by Charles Dance-Elegant and authoritative...overall,an excellent actor who could easily be made up to look like Tarrant.(At another time,a young Dance,would've been -IMO- a great Willie Garvin).
NOTE-I've intentionally selected established actors who I think physically resemble these characters,are currently available(and affordable),are the correct ages for their (imaginary) roles, and who would not dominate this kind of movie the way major film stars probably would if they were playing the leads.
Peter O'Donnell once went on record as saying that he wanted to see a young and black-haired Julie Christie play Modesty and the young Michael Caine to play Willie Garvin.Of course,this before they became big stars.
* * *
The first film in this imaginary series would be based on either Peter O'Donnell's Sabre-Tooth or A Taste For Death novels--each of which is eminently cinematic.And let's not overlook the MB comic strip itself-because there are plenty of excellent stories to be found in it as well.;)
Above all,in order to be successful and remain true to their source material,these films MUST NOT be played with camp sensibilities--to do so would be to completely go against everything Peter O'Donnell intended when he created Modesty Blaise and her world.These are adventure stories with some elements of dry humor(ala' the classic "Avengers" TV series and the classic James Bond films)and are not slapstick comedies.