Now, I have seen 17 Again, and let me say... Efron, believe it or not, does give a good performance in that. Critics have also praised his work in Me and Orsen Wells. Unfortunately, I have yet to see that, but I'm sure it's good.
The fact of the matter is though, Efron does look the part, perhaps more so than anyone else can come up with (I saw someone someplace else mention a guy who stars in Gilmore Girls who also VERY much looks the part, but fuck that; I can't take someone whose biggest achievement so far in his career is playing on a shitty sitcom that's attracted towards women.). That, plus the fact he's actually a fan of the series, and also that he does have some acting ability.... I wouldn't mind his casting of it one bit. Really, I'd just be more suspicious on the writers and director more so than the actors.
Speaking of which, the writers should be associated with either the series or the live action remake. That's it. Do not hire Hollywood hacks to watch the show, and then come up with something. That will fuck over it more than anything else.
As far as the director, Gore Verbinski would be my first choice. He did such a fantastic job with the American remake of The Ring, but moreover... in the Johnny Depp Pirate films he shows he knows how to use CGI, so I know he wouldn't fuck up Ryuk or Rem.
Now, to the casting.... like I said, Zac Efron doesn't bother me. If it's written correctly, and the guy has a good director to show him how handle the character, he would do just fine. He would also bring a huge fanbase to Death Note, which of course is always a good thing.
But, let me say that he would never put on the level of performance Tatsuya Fujiwara did in the Japanese live action film of Death Note. Listen, that guy is simply phenomenal. I watched the first Death Note film just because he starred in it, and he did not let me down. The dude is an incredible, incredible actor. Perhaps even my favorite Japanese actor period, the more I think about it.
Anyway, for "L"... I mentioned this in the Bar Room, but I can't picture anyone better to play him than Emile Hirsch. Not only does Emile look the part, but the dude is simply a FANTASTIC actor. Watch Into The Wild, Imaginary Heroes, The Mudge Boy, Milk, and Lords of Dogtown for proof of this.
Misa Amane... man, Anna Kendrick, easily. Megan Fox perhaps looks the part the most, but she can't act worth a shit, unfortunately. Kendrick though, not only is she just adorable, but she has an Oscar nomination to her name now, so of course she can act. I have yet to see Up in the Air, but I'm sure she's great in it (I did see Rocket Science, and she was by far the best thing in that piece of shit).
And lastly, I would give my main man Kyle Chandler the role of Soichiro Yagami. Chandler is a bit younger than Soichiro, but that can of course be easily fixed. I just can't think of anyone better to play that part.
But, that's how I would do everything. What the studios will do, who knows. However, I don't mind them doing this at all, even if it turns out to be complete shit. Sure, that'd disappoint me, but it would in no way ruin the two Japanese Death Note films that I have come to love. But the risk is worth it if the remake turns out to be amazing.
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