Johnny Depp in talks to Play The Thin Man

[Mickey Caesar]

I just read on IMDB.com that Johnny Depp could be playing Dashell Hammetts socialite/detective Nick Charles, The Thin Man:eusa_clap

 

[RBH]

http://www.slashfilm.com/2010/10/20...direct-version-dashiell-hammets-the-thin-man/

 

[LocktownDog]

No. It (among many other films) does not need to be redone.

 

[scotrace]

I like Depp, but leave that one alone.

 

[griffer]

Booo, grumpy old fedora fuddy-duddies!!

I'd love to see this refreshed and make Hammett accessible to another generation. I have seen all of them.

Looking forward to it.

[also, depp does more for the hat trade than any star out there currently, IMHO]

 

[Feraud]

I always wondered how Nicky solved getting his trousers on straight let alone a murder with the amount of booze consumed.

And why not a new version? The ’34 film version is great — breezy, with great rapid-fire dialogue and ideal casting in William Powell and Myrna Loy — but owing to the production code of the time, some of the novel’s more salacious suggestions were glossed over. And while there’s a lot of hard drinking in the film, it’s nothing compared to the book, in which Nora Charles often says “Nick, how about you stay sober today?” before her husband has another drink for breakfast.

I hope this production goes through. With a capable director I think Depp will do the story justice.

 

[Steveb1]

I agree that it should be left alone. If it has to be redone, Depp is a good choice. But... who will play Nora? That's just as important.

 

[1961MJS]

Hi

It appears that I need to steal my Dad's Hammett books when I go home for Thanksgiving. I bought him enough DVD's and books on amazon.com this year. My knowledge of the Thin Man is derived from Murder by Death, which is a parody of the famous detectives. From that knowledge, it's my opinion that the part of Nora is very important too.

later

 

[msm007]

It would be a hard one to do right. It would be interesting to see how they would translate the symbolism to todays society.

 

[Woodfluter]

I'm not clear whether this would be a period piece or updated. My feelings are mixed.

- Hard to pull off with accuracy and charm if set in the 30's, so what's the point? Plus they did lighting and most camera work better in the B&W flicks of that time than they do in current color movies.

- If updated, could be interesting in a different way. Depp is very good and might pull it off, but Nora is again the critical factor...he's got to have the right partner to make it work. The highlight of the original was the interactions between the two.

However, having read the book several times, the MGM version really didn't do it justice. Despite it not being Hammett's best work.

 

[Pompidou]

Depp is good, but imo, Public Enemies was his weakest effort. It's the only movie I can think of where it seemed like he was just playing himself. I don't know if he can play a normal guy. He rules the Tim Burton gothfests, and he's the master of zany in general. He should stick to roles where he can bring imagination to it. Maybe R.Downy Jr. would be a better choice?

EDIT: I've never seen The Thin Man, so I Googled it. If, by any chance, "The Thin Man" can only speak in barely intelligible mumbles, power whispers, if you will, maybe Christian Bale could pull off the role? He always acts the straight man.

 

[Yeps]

Depp is good, but imo, Public Enemies was his weakest effort. It's the only movie I can think of where it seemed like he was just playing himself. I don't know if he can play a normal guy. He rules the Tim Burton gothfests, and he's the master of zany in general. He should stick to roles where he can bring imagination to it. Maybe R.Downy Jr. would be a better choice?

I like the idea of RDJ. He is really good, and better than Mr. Depp at playing believable characters in my opinion.

 

[griffer]

I've never seen The Thin Man

Um, then you don't really have a basis for your analysis. Take his Sleepy Hollow proper school teacher Ichibod Crane and his POTC drunken Capt. Jack, smash them together in fine suits and damask living rooms, and VOILA.

Please, it will be grand.

 

[theinterchange]

God no... tell me this is a late April Fool's joke. [Note the accentuation of fool] Hollywood has positively definitely officially ran out of ideas. The Thin Man is perfect as is, I don't want no stinkin' Depp messing with Nick Charles. [I really like Depp, and think he could do it, but that's beside the point!] More to the point, I don't want to see any modern actresses messing with Nora! [bad]

Randy

 

[Mike in Seattle]

No, no, no, Joe - say it ain't so! IMHO - if you look at his last three or so films - namely, Sweeney Todd, Charlie & the Chocolate Factory and Public Enemies - they were all a lot of sizzle and no steak, and didn't do that well. Disney's just milking all it can from the POTC franchise - pretty much the same format just played over & over again. IMHO, he's got a great imitation of Keith Richards - that's really not showing any acting talent. He's become more of a celebrity from non-acting activities.

Nick Charles needs to have a little style and refinement. Cary Elwes perhaps? The already-mentioned Christian Bale.

 

[bunnyb.gal]

I actually quite like Johnny Depp, and the abovementioned Robert Downey Jr.. And I love "The Thin Man" series. But oh, God, please no.

No one can replace Loy and Powell. Or Asta, for that matter.

 

[CopperNY]

no. can't remake the magic of the original. what? is Hollywood out of bad translations of graphic novels?

 

[Pompidou]

I bet I could walk around town, ask 100 people if they like The Thin Man, and if I got more than 3-5 people who had heard of it at all, much less like it, I would be surprised. If they remake The Thin Man, and they get A-List actors to play it, even if it's a lousy movie (remakes have gone either way), it'll have people looking up the original. No matter what happens, there's a win to be had. If they don't remake it, The Thin Man as an idea will be all but dead to the world. That's not really in anyone's best interest if the movie really is a forgotten gem.

 

[theinterchange]

No, no, no, Joe - say it ain't so! IMHO - if you look at his last three or so films - namely, Sweeney Todd, Charlie & the Chocolate Factory and Public Enemies - they were all a lot of sizzle and no steak, and didn't do that well.

Nick Charles needs to have a little style and refinement. Cary Elwes perhaps? The already-mentioned Christian Bale.

I really enjoyed Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but could really care less about seeing Sweeny Todd or Public Enemies.

In terms of Depp having style, he's much more dapper than Christian Bale. I'd think Elwes is too old for the role as it'd most likely be played today... Heck Depp is probably too old for all intents and purposes.

Were they to remake it, I'd lay money on the fact that Nick Charles added womanizing to his vice of drinking... Gotta have at least one steamy extramarital before/after sex scene to put the film into the now all desirable PG-13 territory. [huh] That and a couple uses of the F-bomb and GD.

Randy

 

[The Wolf]

I love the old movie and Powell is one of my favorite actors but he is not quite right for Hammett's version of Nick, who is essentially like Sam Spade with a rich wife.
I would be interested in a remake but it would be hard to capture the original film's charm.

Sincerely,
The Thin Wolf