Yesterday I Tweeted that Taylor Swift would be playing Joni Mitchell in an upcoming movie. The movie is called "Girls Like Us," and is based on the book with the same title. This movie has been in development forever, but is set to be released in 2014. The book is about the careers of Carly Simon, Carole King, and Joni Mitchell. Taylor Swift is attached to the movie to play Joni Mitchell. Katie Jacobs, who directed House was supposed to direct the movie and make her feature film debut.
ugh, if I was in a grave I would be turning right about now.
ReplyDeleteRainbow & Lolipops Joni Mitchell.
I will say, she is more appropriate height wise for Carly Simon.
Looks wise, strangely I can see this.
ReplyDeleteTalent wise, she had better learn to act.
Joni wise, this feels oh so very wrong. Taylor is a genuine songwriting talent, but minus all of the sense of bare truth and depth that Joni has. Not to mention that Taylor is a media image, whereas Joni was the antithesis of that.
It comes down to - Taylor had better learn to really act. I mean Oscar worthy act. Otherwise, this is as weird of casting as LiLo would be as Betty White.
no no no no no no NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO HELL NO!!!!!
ReplyDeleteFUCK!!!
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ReplyDeleteI wish they'd get someone with more acting chops than Taylor Swift. Oh sure I can see a few reasons they picked her, she writes her own stuff, they could make her look a little like Joni, etc. She just lacks the depth needed for this role.
ReplyDeleteI suppose on the other hand she needs something to do besides trash boyfriends who dumped her and writing songs about being a high school ingenue.
I don't hate on the girl, it's remarkable what she has been able to do given her age. But she needs to start working in a more grown up image along with writing more grown up songs.
Personally, it should be Phil Dunphy:
ReplyDeletehttp://29.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lma3obO9QF1qb3920o1_400.png
Believe it or not, I think Taylor has the ability to be a good actress. It was a small role, but her turn on CSI was solid, and pretty dark for her.
ReplyDeleteI don't buy into this whole they're so wrong for a role tripe. People said the same thing about Heath Ledger when he was cast as the Joker. And he was amazing. Yes, Ledger was a full-time actor with several strong roles under his belt, but the point is that someone will always have something negative to say.
The truth is Mitchell fans will be down on this, no matter who got picked. No one would be good enough.
Why are people hell bent on making Taylor Swift an actress? Yes, she's a pretty girl, but she's NOT an actress. Let her model instead. If Hollywood is so hell bent on making her an actress, create a role for her and stop trying to cast her in important roles, like Joni Mitchell or Eponine. Give her more "New Years Eve" or "Valentine's Day" or music videos.
ReplyDeleteDoesn't one need to be able to act in order to be in a movie? Wait, I just answered my own question.
ReplyDelete@strawberrygirl...not nowadays I'm noticing.
ReplyDeleteNever heard any complaint about heath ledger being the joker, but okay. I think the main complaint about her is that she seems plastic and I am an avid fan of CSI and it was Taylor Swift as girl. She was not good in that role at all.
ReplyDeleteWhat timebob, Vicki, and Crila said.
ReplyDeleteJoni Mitchell is one of the best singer/songwriters who has EVER lived. Taylor Swift can't carry in a tune in a hundred-gallon bucket and writes songs about porch swings, lightning bugs, and the various men who have "wronged" her.
Fuck Hollywood.
@kltx -- "Never heard any complaint about heath ledger being the joker, but okay."
ReplyDeleteThat's because A) Heath Ledger was a great actor, and B) the Joker is a fictional character.
http://arrogantass.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/hil_sideeye.jpg
ReplyDeleteI'm not making it up the Ledger complaints. Why would I bother? *rolls eyes*
ReplyDeleteBut why do I care? I don't own a single Joni Mitchell song. Or Taylor Swift song, for that matter.
I say fuck to all the self-important, no one is ever good enough BS. But hey, that's just my take.
@Layna, if you're not a Joni Mitchell fan, then it's understandable how you wouldn't care about this issue. But don't get all huffy and eyeroll-y about the fact that some of us are perplexed about this casting.
ReplyDeleteOf course, I don't know Joni Mitchell personally -- but I've read a lot about her, and I just don't see how an actress with such limited experience can accurately portray her.
Joni was considered very hot in her day....
ReplyDeleteWonder who will play Carly and my fav Carole King ?
It's not about being a fan. I find the whole 'oh, so-and-so isn't good enough, FUCK THEM!' attitude annoying.
ReplyDeleteAnd I was eye-rolling about the Ledger thing. Again, why would I make that up? Not everyone was complaining, but a number of Batman fans were. They were there. It's kind of insulting to say *I didn't hear it, but OK.* Like I picked it out of the air.
Whatever.
@Layna -- I *do* remember the Ledger controversy, now that you've brought it up. I'm not a comic book superfan by any means, but I remember thinking it was silly -- partly because Heath had already established himself as a great actor. And also because, again, the Joker isn't a REAL person.
ReplyDeleteThere are way bigger things to get upset about -- I know this -- but Girls Like Us was a genuinely great book, and I had big hopes for this adaptation. I would just think that the casting director would pick an actress who could inhabit the Joni role more deeply. I mean, I'm sorry, but Valentine's Day and a stint on CSI doesn't exactly mean that Taylor has what it takes.
She could prove me wrong, though. But I won't hold my breath.
@Layna. I'm with KLTX. I'm confused about your comparison to Heath Ledger playing the Joker and Taylor playing Joni. Heath was always known for his great acting, and when he was cast, everyone thought that was brilliant casting. Never heard a single complaint.
ReplyDeleteHey, if Joni doesn't mind I can't see why anyone else would. 5 foot Naomi Watts playing 5 10 Princess Di, is a travesty. An award winning singer/songwriter playing an award winning singer/songwriter doesn't seem that big of a deal. Then again, I'm not a big Joni Mitchell fan, so what do I know.
ReplyDeleteI can see why for looks and guitar playing and songwriting they cast her. But girlfriend will need some serious acting lessons for sure!
ReplyDeleteHa - exactly one month ago we were talking about this here!
ReplyDeleteJan. 18th's Random Photos part 1 had a photo of Swift reclining on a crushed velvet sofa and wearing a translucent flowered dress, and I said, "Looks like Taylor Swift is going through a Joni Mitchell phase." Several other posters then commented about Swift vs Mitchell.
Clearly, the producers had already picked Swift for the role, hence the photo.
Not everyone thought Ledger's casting as the Joker was a good idea. This was nearly 5 years ago, so I doubt I could dig up the blogs and fan boards. But among Batman fans, there were concerns over whether Ledger was the right man for the role.
ReplyDeleteNo one questioned his talent that much. But there were those who were convinced that he wasn't the best choice. Not everyone thought it was a good choice on Christopher Nolan's part.
Just like most of you think Swift isn't the best choice to play Mitchell.
The Joker being a fictional character does not play a factor. At least not in my mind.
My complaint--the only one--is that none of us have any idea whether Swift can be good in the role. And the assumption that she won't is condescending. Not that you have issues with it, but that most of you are getting pretty smug about it.
I don't appreciate the insinuation that because YOU didn't hear something, it must not be true. Again, WHY WOULD I MAKE IT UP?
The whole "I didn't hear it, but OK" smacks of patronizing. VERY insulting and disrespectful. Just like you didn't appreciate my take on the Swift/Mitchell casting.
So it's OK for my opinion to be questioned, but not yours?
Talk about double standards. What a crock.
Ugh. This is like having Tinkerbell play Janis Joplin.
ReplyDeletePretty good article on MSN Entertainment about controversial casting, including....
ReplyDeleteHeath Ledger as The Joker. For the record, Mark Hamill is my favourite Joker.
http://entertainment.ca.msn.com/celebs/photos/controversial-casting-the-roles-we-didn’t-want-these-actors-in?page=4
As for this, well, I think they might have thought the singer-songwriter idea would be an idea they could market. Now I'm a Carly Simon fan first and foremost, so I have to admit I'm interested in that casting.
Scccrrrreeeeaaaammmm!!! (running around like an idiot in protest).
ReplyDeleteIf you're not a Joni fan, I understand why you don't see this as a fucked up casting idea. But it is.
Taylor doesn't have the depth and life experience to exude Joni's aura. So yeah, she'd better get in some acting classes pronto.
Though I appreciate Joni Mitchell for who and what she did for female artists, I have no deep connection in her music where I am personally affected by this decision.
ReplyDeleteHOWEVER, the reason I am peeved about the decion is more along the lines of the way real women are disney-fied in remakes about them in HOllywood. They get these waifish, sell out bitches who pose and prance more than act to play strong ass women- and Im so sick of it.
NOT surprised if they cast Blake Lively as Carole King and Miley Cyrus as Carly Simon- gagggggggg.
Mama noooooo to all this shit~
I read the book and absolutely loved it. I'm a woman of a certain age and grew up listening to those ladies.
ReplyDeleteI think they should cast unknowns. They're going to need someone really strong as James Taylor, too. He loomed large in the book.
LMS&M, they'll probably James Franco or Andrew Garfield.
ReplyDeleteBarf.
can't they wait til they are dead to do this? I am currently reading the book More room in a broken Heart about Carly and its so interesting.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if they had to tell Tay Tay
who Joni Mitchell is? Will she be smoking? I am sorry but Joni's life (the daughter she gave up her first marriage) its all very heavy and this casting just demonstrates that there is little regard in Hwood for the truth.
Tara - Hollywood is as close to truth as a fart in a box is to an oxygen tank.
ReplyDeleteTara - Carly calls out the book you're reading: click through (from her website) http://simonspeaks.typepad.com/simon_speaks/2011/12/youre-so-wrong-new-carly-simon-is-more-like-fiction.html
ReplyDeleteShe authorized Girls Like Us.
I will say first that I am a huge Joni Mitchell fan and grew up idolizing her.
ReplyDeleteI would just point out to those who think Taylor Swift "doesn't have the life experience" to play Joni Mitchell -- she's not being asked to play Joni the seasoned and experienced grand-dame of the folk-rock scene; she's being asked to play Joni as a young singer-songwriter, early in her music career, who (at that time) wrote mostly love songs and songs about her various relationship failures. Taylor Swift is a young woman, early in her music career, who happens to write love songs and songs about her various relationship failures. She also looks very much like the young Mitchell.
How is this a stretch?
I wonder what Joni thinks of this?
ReplyDelete@Dahlia B -- Because Taylor isn't really an actress. That's why many of us think it's a stretch.
ReplyDeleteAnd how is she going to pull off Joni's alto? I'm guessing this role will require some singing, and Taylor and Joni sound VERY different from each other. If they dub over Taylor's voice, this casting decision seems even more lame.
I wish they had given this role to a young unknown, personally.
Well that guarantees that I won't be seeing this since they very obviously aren't taking casting very seriously.
ReplyDeleteTaylor Swift can't act her way through a Cover Girl commercial. The one I saw was painful. ("Make a sexy face, Taylor... no, a sexy serious face... no, you're SEXY... no? Okay, pull the scarf over your face")
ReplyDeleteFor the record, I remember all the Heath/Joker controversy. I'm (somewhat of) a fanboy who also loves Heath, and *I* had a hard time believing he'd be any good. Then he blew me away. Most excellent Joker.
It could be worse. It can always be worse. Rumer Willis could be cast as Carly Simon or Carole King. Not delighted with the Taylor Swift casting, but it could always be worse.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand casting Taylor Swift may help bring in a younger audience that will appreciate this music.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read this book yet, but it's on my list.
ReplyDeleteJust out of curiosity, who do you guys picture doing these rolls?
*ahem.... Roles, not rolls. Was dreaming of carbs when I posted obviously.
ReplyDeleteGood grief. Swift is getting to be like Blake Lively - rumored for all roles, suitable for none, fortunately usually shunted aside.
ReplyDeleteAnyone who thinks the callow, personality-free Swift could even begin to play one of the most complex and intelligent musicians of the last 40 years is deluding themselves. And yeah - Mitchell was a heavyweight even when she was young. Swift as Mitchell is the same as Lohan as Liz Taylor: laughable and an insult at the same time.
I've heard the producers want Alison Pill as Carole King, which is also a terrible choice. Pill is a very good actress, but so wrong as King. That role deserves someone like Lea Michelle or the British actress Ellie Kendrick. As for Carly Simon, Rebecca Hall would have been perfect if she were younger. And sorry - Andrew Garfield would be a great James Taylor.
Another thing: Brett McKenzie should play Cat Stevens, and actually Rooney Mara might be an interesting choice for Mitchell (certainly eons better than Swift).
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