What unpretty 🧝Galadriel!

[Illuin]

by Sidhe
To be honest I'm having a hard time thinking of a Hollywood or otherwise stunner who would have carried off the powerful screen presence of Blanchett, any suggestions?

Nicole Kidman in her (“To Die For” 1995) prime. Which of course would have been impossible. From Australia as well. She could have commuted to work (probably in her own plane). Great skill; great everything else. By 2000-2001 she didn't quite look as good. So; I guess we are back to square one .

 

[Sidhe]

Nicole Kidman in her (“To Die For” 1995) prime. Which of course would have been impossible. From Australia as well. She could have commuted to work (probably in her own plane). Great skill; great everything else. By 2000-2001 she didn't quite look as good. So; I guess we are back to square one .

I did even worse, the only actress I could come up with who looks good and can seriously act was Charlize Theron. I'm beginning to see the problem the Casting Director had.

 

[Thorin]

Though Blanchett's looks have grown on me with repeated viewing and personality wise and the way she carried herself are Galadriel-ish, she really didn't fit the part looks wise.

Rebecca DeMornay in her prime would have made a beauty Galadriel. So would have an early '80s Morgan Fairchild. As far as modern day options, I think Callie from CSI:Miami would have been a nice fit looks wise, though she would have been too short.

It's pretty tough to cast a beautiful, 8000 year old Elven Queen with a mere mortal.

 

[Thorin]

I don't bother getting wrapped up in that purist nonsense. I'm too old to fret about pompous superfluous drivel

There is nothing 'nonsensical' or 'drivel' about debating the validity and quality of an adaptation. I guess if you want to be a crappy pants about the whole thing, it was probably better you weren't part of the forum 6 years ago. Whew, the discussions we had!

Elijah Wood was perfect for Frodo, though I thought his character (at times) was a little misinterpreted (but again, saw the Trilogy only once).

I guess if a skinny, afro wearing, big-weepy blue-eyed waif was what you imagined as Frodo when you read LotR some 10-15 times, then I suppose he would have been perfect. Sean Astin came the closest to fitting the role of what a hobbit should look like.

 

[Ithrynluin]

Sean Astin came the closest to fitting the role of what a hobbit should look like for me.

I took the liberty of fixing your post, because you obviously missed an important bit.

You're welcome.

 

[chrysophalax]

Personally, for me, elves are very androgenous, with an other-worldly quality about them. I think Tilda Swinton would have made an amazing Galadriel.

 

[HLGStrider]

Would've been kind of strange to have the same woman play the White Witch and Galadriel, though I suppose since Galadriel was cast first they probably would've cast a different woman as the White Witch. I kind of like Tilda Swinton except that she somehow reminds me of one of the Borg Queen actresses from Star Trek. It's hard to tell exactly what that actress looks like under the weird makeup but I always get the funny feeling they could be related. . .

 

[Thorin]

Hey Ithrynluin, guess what I noticed when watching the movies?

Sean Astin came the closest to fitting the role of what a hobbit should look like.

Notice I said 'came the closest'. That would mean in the movie. According to Tolkien's description of hobbits, Astin came the closest to fitting the bill.

Perhaps if you're feeling in the mood to be the language PC police, you should go back and correct Iliun's 'Elijah Wood was PERFECT' post too.

 

[Ithrynluin]

Oh no, not at all. I actually disagree with Illuin and agree with you (for the most part) about Frodo in the movie.

It's just that you NPWs, or however you choose to style yourselves these days, have a tendency to equate your own views with those of Tolkien and garnish it all with a good dose of righteousness, when in fact, most of the time there's nothing concrete to back up your opinions.

 

[Illuin]

by HLGStrider
I kind of like Tilda Swinton except that she somehow reminds me of one of the Borg Queen actresses from Star Trek.

There was more than one of those things?

by Thorin
Perhaps if you're feeling in the mood to be the language PC police, you should go back and correct Iliun's 'Elijah Wood was PERFECT' post too.

Hey now Master Dwarf; I assume that was a joke . Those asterisks were put in there by me intentionally. That “PS” was not added later either. If it bothers you I'll gladly remove it ; but I believe you were just kidding.

by Thorin
I guess if a skinny, afro wearing, big-weepy blue-eyed waif was what you imagined as Frodo when you read LotR some 10-15 times, then I suppose he would have been perfect. Sean Astin came the closest to fitting the role of what a hobbit should look like.

Actually, I agree with you now. They should have definitely used real Hobbits in the movies .

 

[HLGStrider]

There was more than one of those things?

There was only one Borg Queen, but I'm pretty sure there were at least two separate actresses, possibly three. There was the original Borg queen from generations and the Borg Queen from First Contact and then the Borg Queen in Voyager. I am pretty sure they were supposed to be the same character in spite of the fact that she dies at the end of First Contact which supposedly happens before she features so predominantly (and is again killed) in later seasons of Voyager. For love of Tom Paris I am dismissing this inconsistency as a time travel paradox.

Tom Paris . . . sigh . . .

 

[Illuin]

by HLGStrider
For love of Tom Paris I am dismissing this inconsistency as a time travel paradox.

Do you remember the 'Kolvoord Starburst Maneuver' in the episode "The First Duty" (The Next Generation)? The actor that played Tom Paris once played Nicholas Locarno; who was Wesley’s squad leader at Starfleet Academy at the time of that incident.

 

[HLGStrider]

Yep, same actor, similar story to Paris' back story. . . would've just kept the same name if I were the writers.

 

[Illuin]

by HLGStrider
would've just kept the same name if I were the writers

Agreed; a simple redemption tale, and it would have been perfect. They (the writers) indeed missed that one.

 

[HLGStrider]

Looked it up on some sort of Star Trek Wiki and found that while the character of Paris was based on the character of Locarno, they did not originally intend to cast the same actor in the part, according to the writers because Locarno's actions were "irredeemable" (I guess because in Tom's story he himself comes clean over the actions and in Nick's Wesley has to rat him out), though some speculate that if they had kept the name they would've had to pay royalties to the original writer of the episode for every Voyager Tom Paris appeared in . . . which doesn't make a lot of sense in a show with so many recurring characters large and small. I personally have always had an affinity for Tom's character, possibly because Robert Duncan McNeil pulls off blue-eyed-all-American so well. That really isn't my type. Defiite brown-eyed-rogue-in-the-dark-corner preference generally, but Tom Paris. . . burrrrr. . .

We've sort of hijacked this thread for our own uses, though. Maybe we should demand an appropriate ransom and then give it back?

 

[Illuin]

By HLGStrider
We've sort of hijacked this thread for our own uses, though. Maybe we should demand an appropriate ransom and then give it back?

Agreed. "Make it so!"

 

[HLGStrider]

http://thetolkien.forum/showthread.php?t=19337

Demanded the ransom of our own thread. MU HA HA HA HA!

 

[Confusticated]

Big nose, too tall, no curves......

Some people find larger than what is normally considered atractive noses to be attractive. I for one do, on both men and women. A good nose has character, I suffer from a small and unremarkable one myself.

I don't see how she could have been too tall? Galadriel was supposed to be very tall.

No curves.... true, but for me I don't picture the elvish women to be as curvy as a lot of us mortals are.

For those reasons, and also because Cate Blanchet is one of my favorite actresses (I will watch anything based solely on her being in it), I think she was an excellent Galadriel. Any faults in her portrayal were the director's fault IMO. And after seeing her play Bob Dylan I wonder what sort of her brother Finrod she might have pulled off.:*D Not seriously!! (I've yet to see a man who could play Finrod until very recently it hit me that a young Robert Plant is perfect in all ways for it. Has a big nose too ;*))

Someone mentioned Tilda Swinton... that is funny because she looks similar to Cate, and I know someone who swore she was Cate.

Though personally I think Vera Farmiga is more Cate-like and she has that glow and can come off with the same warmth as Cate can.

 

[Persephone]

I think Cate Blanchett was the closest to Galadriel we'll ever get. I don't see any other actress playing the part. Galadriel's character was more of power than beauty. I agree with every one who commented that Cate had a Presence that was required of the character. She is not unpretty, and beauty is in the eye of the beholder. To me, she was gorgeous and perfectly cast.

I do think Elijah for Frodo made the character weaker than what I expected, but Frodo had always been kind of a weakling for me. Reading his adventures would have been unbearable had it not been for Sam. But Elijah's prettiness made Frodo even weaker. Elijah's a gifted actor, though, and I think he brought something to the films that wouldn't have been there had it been someone else. I can't think of anyone playing Frodo anyway. Sean Astin was perfectly cast. He really was a hobbit.

But going back to Galadriel, she wasn't supposed to look like a Victoria's Secret model anyway. I think Cate's beauty and her stance fit the role to a T.

 

[dregj]

totally agree
i remember reading the book and her beguiling beauty was an actual plot point
the rohirrim thought she was a witch that ensnared the unwary with her beauty(glamour)
and it was reiterated several times by gimli
while i agree they needed a presence for the role of galadriel
someone who was pretty would have been nice
someone stunning would have been better
as it stands they got a great actress who dispite the soft focus and flawless make up is VERY plain
kinda breaks the reality of the film for me
as i cant accept her in the role
"oh look there frodo
and there boromir and theres... Cate Blanchett pretending to be galadreil"

i think this is the only big problem with the film