Thread: Alice (2007)

Originally Posted by The

It's a real pity, because, the IDEA - a psychotic, dark and twisted take on Alice in Wland is a fantastic premise.[/b]

I knooooooooooow

you know who should fucking play the role? AQUANINA

she's got that freaky tripped out beauty, whereas Gellar is like, omg valley girl like, ya know?

Originally Posted by OpheliaBlue

you know who should fucking play the role? AQUANINA
[/b]

That would be f'ckin Great.

Originally Posted by OpheliaBlue

I knooooooooooow

you know who should fucking play the role? AQUANINA

she's got that freaky tripped out beauty, whereas Gellar is like, omg valley girl like, ya know?
[/b]

HA! Yes! That's awesome.

You're totally right. Somebody like that should be playing Alice.

"The Real Alice"
Alice Pleasance Liddell by Lewis Carrol circa 1859




* OpheliaBlue goes off to photoshop...

well that's the best I could do

I love dark Alice. I've been watching the development of this movie for 2 years.

When I first read that Gellar was playing Alice I threw a fit...and I'm still totally disappointed...but oh well. First of all, she's a blonde. Ew. Second, yeah...an English accent? Hardly. Third, even with that makeup and dyed hair she won't be nearly freaky looking enough. And the Alice from the game is like, stick skinny and gaunt. And Gellar isn't that particularly skinny. Not many girls can pull off a scary kind of beauty. I guess we'll just have to wait and see how bad this movie ends up sucking.

American Mcgee's Alice is probably my favorite computer game...dark, twisted. I was actually hoping someone like Tim Burton would direct it. Granted, it's more dark and gory than what he would typically do...but the darkness of the game, combined with the childlike music/melancholia and whole atmosphere and plot seems like somethinng he could be really awesome with.

So if you guys could cast the perfect Alice, who would it be? My friend and I spent awhile trying to figure out someone who would be right for the role, but we couldn't. We decided that a no name european actress would probably be best.

I agree that a no-name European actress would be best. To many, otherwise great, movies are ruined by trying to tack a well-known (usually to the point of nausea) actor/actress in them.

But, for the sake of arguement, I'll try to think of someone(s) relatively well-known that I think could pull it off.

(Looks good, Ophie. )

I agree with both of you...Gellar is crap, and casting her over a better qualified, albeit lesser known actress from another country, just to boost ticket sales is just a cheap and nasty thing to do.

So after NINA , I'd go with when Helena Bonham Carter was young...she's got that creepy beauty going on

as Ophelia in Hamlet:



I can't think of anyone current.

Originally Posted by Oneironaut

I agree that a no-name European actress would be best. To many, otherwise great, movies are ruined by trying to tack a well-known (usually to the point of nausea) actor/actress in them.
[/b]

Yeah thats what I think, people spend most effort on getting big names for films, they don't spend enough on writing a decent story ect.

As far as actresses for the film I'm guessing Kiera Knightly but then she has too much of an English accent if that makes sense?
Not really sure though.

Haha. Awesome. I was thinking of Kiera Knightly, too.

Still thinking...

Wow...yeah. I would do ANYTHING to get a role like that, hehe.

I think I found someone that maybe wouldn't be bad. Eliza Dushku. I've never been a huge fan of her acting, but she's got the look. The really big forehead, really skinny, and she can definitely pull off that dark look. Only thing...she doesn't have those big green eyes. But contacts and makeup can take care of that. What do you guys think? Anything's better than Gellar in my opinion. Heh.





Any other ideas? And, who would you guys cast as the mad hatter? Marilyn Manson? hehe...



edit: I had thought about Kiera Knightley too...but I almost think she's TOO pretty for the role, and not creepy looking enough...I dunno

Yeah I thought of Kiera too, I just wasn't sure about age. Wait, how old is Alice's character anyway? the girl it was 'loosely' based on was 10 at the time she was told the story

edit: oh dang, that's awesome! Eliza Dushku kinda looks like a young Helen to me. Incidentally, didn't she play Buffy's sister once?

Marilyn would make a pretty damn cool mad hatter. And I think Tommy Chong should be the caterpillar Haha I can so see him sitting on that 'shroom, smoking and "speaking in riddles, maaan." Then maybe lose his train of thought and be like "...wait...what?" *inhaaaaale*

Who's got a big enough mouth to play the cheshire cat? (besides Julia Roberts and Eric Estrada )

Originally Posted by OpheliaBlue

Who's got a big enough mouth to play the cheshire cat? (besides Julia Roberts and Eric Estrada )
[/b]

HAHA

Originally Posted by OpheliaBlue

Yeah I thought of Kiera too, I just wasn't sure about age. Wait, how old is Alice's character anyway? the girl it was 'loosely' based on was 10 at the time she was told the story

edit: oh dang, that's awesome! Eliza Dushku kinda looks like a young Helen to me. Incidentally, didn't she play Buffy's sister once?

Marilyn would make a pretty damn cool mad hatter. And I think Tommy Chong should be the caterpillar Haha I can so see him sitting on that 'shroom, smoking and "speaking in riddles, maaan." Then maybe lose his train of thought and be like "...wait...what?" *inhaaaaale*

Who's got a big enough mouth to play the cheshire cat? (besides Julia Roberts and Eric Estrada )
[/b]

Yeah this takes place several years later. So I'd imagine someone in their early 20's playing the role. And yeah, I think she was on Buffy. Haha...gross. I think some of the characters are going to need to be entirely CG, like the chesire cat and probably the rabbit. They're so creepy and skeleton-looking in the game I can't imagine it any other way. I'm going to have to look up who Tommy Chong is though hehe. What about the Queen of Hearts??

edit: This is a cool game site you guys should check out for pics of the characters and stuff http://alice.planets.gamespy.com/info/overview.shtml

Chong is from Cheech & Chong..he's a real hippie pothead, and it would be funny if you wanted it to be a comic relief kinda thing.

Hey on that link you posted, the white rabbit reminds me of Frank's creepy rabbit mask from Donnie Darko. That would be some trippy stuff, but you're right, would have to be all CG.

Except in the play version, then Chong can be the catterpillar, and Nathan Lane as the white rabbit

Oh and Judi Dench as the Queen.

Yeah, this is weird. I can't think of anyone current either. What about the girl from Amelie? Audrey Tatou or something? Maybe not strange looking enough, but she's got an interesting face that could be made strange with makeup.

Edit - and the only person I can see playing the Mad Hatter is Martin Short.

Ooooh I hadn't thought about Audry Tatou, she's an interesting actress. I see what you mean though, she's almost TOO pretty. But I bet she could act the shit out of the role.

And I think Martin Short would be better suited for my cliché musical version

Thought you guys might find the following of interest. Still waiting for this movie to come out!

01 - A horror adaptation of Alice in Wonderland? What for?

Actually, this is not an adaptation of Carroll's books, it is an adaptation of American McGee's video game, which is also called Alice. The video game is set about ten years after the second book, and is NOT a remake of the first Alice book as some seem to believe.

Last updated by skribb 2 months ago


02 - So what's the game like, what is it about?

The game takes place after her second adventure Through the Looking-Glass And what Alice Found There. A candle in Alice's house is knocked to the floor by a cat and causes the house to catch fire - Alice luckily survives, but her parents die. Alice enters a deep state of catatonia and is institutionalised in an Asylum. After being in the asylum for several years, she responds to a mysterious summons to return to Wonderland, and the place is barely recognisable. Something has gone very wrong. Undaunted by the diseased atmosphere, confusion and mortal danger that surrounds her, Alice commits to restore Wonderland to its proper state, in hopes of regaining her sanity as well.

Note: This has nothing to do with Disney's "Alice in Wonderland" film. That was simply another adaptation of Lewis Carroll's books.

Last updated by skribb 2 months ago


03 - Wasn't this movie supposed to come out in 2001?

You are quite right. This project has gone through plenty a change. The film began as a project spearheaded by American McGee in 2000. The project's history is a rocky one and despite initial success, it met with disaster and fell into obscurity for several years. For a long time, it seemed the project was lost and that the film would not happen.

Prior to this announcement, there were earlier attemps to create a film based on the videogame. Unofficially, the project was often referred to as Dark Wonderland. Negotiations began even before the game was finished in 2000. American McGee and two film producers pitched the idea of making a movie to Dimension Films. Head of Dimension Studios, Bob Weinstien was shown the CG trailer for the game and "then he slammed his fist down and said, 'we are making this movie.'". Dimension Films hired John August to write a film treatment and Wes Craven was supposed to direct the film. However, Craven did not care for August's treatment and despite attempts by other writers to put forth ideas for the story, no progress was made. The studio became displeased with the two film producers and the project collapsed.

According to screenwriter John August, neither the alleged title Dark Wonderland nor any rumored casting were real. Wes Craven, in answering questions about the proposed film, also indicated that the project never even reached a stage in which casting would be considered.

For several years, there was no news of the film. Fans sent e-mails to John August and American McGee and both replied that they did not know what was happening with it. Despite being the creative force behind the game, McGee did not own the rights to it. Four years after initial announcements, in April 2004, McGee stated that the film rights had been moved to 20th Century Fox. McGee wrote that they "love the project and are going to make it", but he was skeptical. And in the end, the project would not be produced by Fox, but another year would pass before there was an update.

Finally, On June 21, 2005 news surfaced that the film adaptation was going to be produced. The project had moved to Universal Studios and would be titled, Alice, with Erich and Jon Hoeber adapting the script.

Marcus Nispel was set to direct. The news came in connection with the announcement that actress Sarah Michelle Gellar had been cast as Alice. American McGee was listed as an executive producer on the project.

Originally planned for release in 2006, the release date was later changed to 2007.

On February 3, 2006, it was announced in an interview that the script for Alice had been completed, and that filming could begin as early as the summer.

from Wikipedia.com

Last updated by skribb 2 months ago


04 - I read that the movie will have a completely different plot than the game! Something about a Wicked Aunt.

That is an old script. It's probably been scrapped by now.

A synopsis for this old script can be found here: http://www.abandonent.com/content/films/alice.html

Last updated by skribb 2 months ago


05 - How old is Alice in the movie?

Alice is admitted into the asylum somewhere around age 8-9 (1864). The last date recorded in the case book (that came with the original edition of the game) is 1874, when Alice is 18/19 years old. In the case book, on the date of September 7, 1873, Alice presented her doctor with a picture of the Cheshire Cat (which is the first character she meets up with in the game). This has lead us to assume that she enters Wonderland around the age of 17/18.

The above appears to be a somewhat correct calculation. This is from McGee: I know this one has been asked before. When I wrote the story for the game I did some kind of calculation to ensure that she was aged 18 when the new adventure into Wonderland began. Again, not exactly sure of her age in the movie - and again, not sure it's critical to the story.

Sarah Michelle Gellar was born on April 14th, 1977. That makes her 30 years old, i.e 12 years older than Alice. If you haven't noticed; in Hollywood, it is quite normal to cast actors in much younger roles. Quite weird, but at least we can say that this movie is going by the (Hollywood) book!

Last updated by skribb 2 months ago


06 - Who's providing musical talent for the Soundtrack?

As of yet, no one knows. We can only hope that Chris Vrenna, the composer of the game's soundtrack, will work on this version as well.

Last updated by skribb 2 months ago


07 - I've heard that Marilyn Manson is starring as the Queen of Hearts!

Youve heard wrong! That was simply a rumour. Mr. Manson was cast to play the Queen in another Alice film, "Living Neon Dreams" (http://imdb.com/title/tt0371796/), but is now making his own film about Alice instead. His movie will bear the name "Phantasmagoria: The Visions of Lewis Carroll" (http://imdb.com/title/tt0758775/).

Last updated by skribb 2 months ago


08 - Is this movie going to be completely in CGI like Final Fantasy?

No, although it had been considered for "Dark Wonderland", Alice will be live-action. As you might expect, no live-action movie is without CGI effects these days.

Last updated by skribb 2 months ago


09 - Will SMG be blonde in this movie? SMG is blonde, correct?

Incorrect times two. Alice was light blonde in Disneys movie adaption. Sarah's natural hair colour is brown.

In the original Alice books, her hair colour is blonde (though the illustrations are black and white. They were colorised in "The Nursery Alice"). The REAL Alice, Alice Liddell, had brown hair. This is most probably why McGee has chosen Alice to have brown hair in the game. That, or to illustrate the changes she's gone through.

SMG's hair should be fine - but no - she will not be blonde; that is, if they decide to go by the game. We all know how different the Doom movie turned out.

Last updated by skribb 2 months ago


10 - Is this movie/game about the Alice from the books, or Alice Liddell?

Lewis Carroll DID base his book-Alice on Alice Liddell.

In essence, it IS Alice Liddell in the game, but it is not the "real" Alice Liddell, it is the Alice Liddell that Carroll populated his books with (so in short, it's the book-Alice). Since the Alice books are featured in the game, one might argue that McGee chose to "cast" the real Alice Liddell, that the books appear as a sort of cameo, or that he simply chose to morph/merge these two Alices on purpose.

But consider this: Since the book version of Alice has blonde hair, and Alice Liddell had brown hair, one could also suspect that McGee gave "game-Alice" brown hair to purposely show that it is in fact, the real Alice, the real real Alice - Alice Pleasance Liddell - and not the blonde, book version of her.

Really, you'd have to make up your own mind on this matter. OR NOT! The following is straight from the horse's mouth (that is, American McGee): "Alice in the game is supposed to be Alice from the book. No idea what the film writers are thinking on this subject though. From what I read of the script it isn't critical. It wasn't critical to the game either."[/b]

I bet it'll be completely botched.

I know, right? But I'm hoping it won't comletely blow. Oh and here's the trailer for the video game that the movie is based on. The game kicks so much ass. And so does Alice. Awesome trailer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3o-19MnWlUc

I dunno, the story seems to have a lot of potential, it's just most video game to film stories don't work out that well. House of the dead anyone... /me shudders

yeah, based of the computer game.And such a good game to . I like the whole idea of it actually becoming a movie. Though, it has been denied many times I don't like the idea of Sarah playing Alice. I would like it if someone unknown would play the part.

Still. I'll see it if it comes out.

i think Manson would have made a great Mad Hatter. it's a shame he won't be in the movie :(
appearently he is doing a whole other...thing

anyway i'm sure not getting my hopes up.although the idea of an Alice movie like this is excellent and there is at least a chance they won't totally fuck it up.

(and i agree that nina would be the perfect alice)

I remember in the U.K on the original game cover they censored out the fact that she was holding a knife and replaced it with a fan of cards. What the fuck? I despise stupid mindless censorship like that. So when a kid sees an inch-long knife on a game cover suddenly he'll go off stabbing people because he thinks it's a good idea or he'll run away crying in the corner because of the trauma suffered? Please.

They better not do the same with the movie and cut out half of the stuff. That'll just make it about 10x worse.