If you could recast The Color of Money...

mattb

mattb

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Reading the thread the other day about Pool Hall Junkies and how some people liked it and others hated it, got me to thinking about The Color of Money cast and what would you do different if it was your choice to remake the movie The Color of Money?

Here is the deal, money is no object and any star you ask will say yes. Who would you put in the roles? You still want to make a great movie so we will leave people like Earl to cameos. But the main cast is wide open.

What about Johnny Depp doing his drunken Captain Jack Sparrow around the pool table in the role of Vincent? Or Anthony Hopkins being cold and calculated, as in Silence of the Lambs style, while working the angles as Fast Eddie? Who would you put in the role of Carmen?
 
Just casting anyone but Tom Cruise would have been a 100% improvement.

But really the storyline sucks and would need a lot of reworking to make into a good movie.





The movie should have been about Eddy's evolution as a person, and where he had ended up and what sort of development had taken place in his persona over the years. That sort of character development is what made the first movie so good.

Vincent's character was a distraction, at best. And a dumb annoying one to boot. He should have been toned wayyyyy down, and relegated to a minor supporting role, at most. The character of Carmen was useless also. Just filler.


Edit: I think Newman himself realized TCOM was a stinker because he pretty much sleepwalked through it. The Oscar was just throwing him a bone.

$.02
 
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michael4 said:
Jack Nicholson
Sofia Vera
Mark Walberg
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A agree with Mark Wahlberg he is great, may be to old though. I think the Fast Eddie needs to be an older Cal, type, no one comes to mind at the moment. I would certainly write in a part for Joaquin Phoenix. He is one wacky dude and would fit right in.
 
DoubleD said:
Interesting one, as Tom Cruise ruined the first.

If this was to be made today...

Most likely I wouldn't actually have pool players make cameo's. Unless the director is great at it they turn into bad parts of the movie--Like Mike Massey in PHJ (and an bad part of PHJ is a dubious honor).

Starting with the director, I'd probably choose Rian Johnson, David Mamet or the Cohen Brothers (troubling because they already made a bowling movie).

Eddy would have to be someone interesting and age appropriate (50's-60's). A few that pop into mind are John Turturro, Steve Buscemi, Gary Oldman...

Vincent is tough. I could see Joseph Gordon Levitt or Emile Hirsch

The love interest is the easy one. Mila Kunis. I think that she can play the sassy, *****y, conniving role while lending a kind edge to the manipulation.

The unfortunate side is that this puts Vincent and whats-her-name in the early 30's, which might be a bit old for the part. With a good script change, maybe like a guy who had lost his job due to the economy it would work.

dld
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Wow, time is not a friend to Tom Cruise. Seriously, when this movie came out, Cruise could do no wrong. I firmly believe the COM boom begins and ends with how popular Tom Cruise was in the 80s. Now, nobody can get past his shit-eating grins.
 
I found Spider 1's answer interesting because that's not only how I feel, but that is the way the book was written. That's right, no stupid Vincent, no Carmen, a totally different story. Not even a Balabushka playing a major part.

Fat's is in the book, retired, fat, happy and fishing in the Keys. Eddie talks Fats into a tour, Fats dies, and Eddie ends up running a rec hall on a college campus then selling art. Then something happens. Who would guess. I would have liked Paul and Jackie doing their parts 20 years later.

The movie script ruined the book.
 
Spider1 said:
But really the storyline sucks and would need a lot of reworking to make into a good movie.

The movie should have been about Eddy's evolution as a person, and where he had ended up and what sort of development had taken place in his persona over the years. That sort of character development is what made the first movie so good.

Vincent's character was a distraction, at best. And a dumb annoying one to boot. He should have been toned wayyyyy down, and relegated to a minor supporting role, at most. The character of Carmen was useless also. Just filler.
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Been a wile since I read The Hustler but I remember the book being very similar to the movie.

The Hustler is hands down the best pool movie. (also listed among the greatest sports movies of all time)

The Color of Money movie is NOTHING like the book Walter Tevis wrote. (Zero Vincent in the book)

Book version of The Color of Money is The Hustler pt 2 with EXACTLY what you are asking for in character development etc

All we need is the real Color of Money to be filmed.
 
Jude Rosenstock said:
Wow, time is not a friend to Tom Cruise. Seriously, when this movie came out, Cruise could do no wrong. I firmly believe the COM boom begins and ends with how popular Tom Cruise was in the 80s. Now, nobody can get past his shit-eating grins.
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Agreed. As much as we all hate to admit it now, it was Tom Cruise who brought the average viewer in to see this movie. Which is why he was added to the film.



Back to the OP casting issue, Eddy was also cool and cocky when he was young (and Newman was way cool at all ages), so any replacement for Newman would also have to be someone very cool and cocky when he was young (sorry steve bushemi wont cut it). John Travolta would work.
 
Try this...

How about this:
Jada Pinkett Smith as the Vincent Character,
Ed Norton as her best Gay Boyfriend - Carmen (and Freddie Prinze as his partner)
Christopher Walken as Eddy
Maria Bello as Eddy's Girlfriend
Mark Wahlberg as Julian

Storyline: With all the classic old smokey pool rooms now closed (except for one - we'll get to that later), Eddy wihile courting his new protegee' is forced to endure the neon light and martini crowd as he teaches the art of the hustle to this fiery youngish lady poolplayer while trying to groom her to hustle and face the world of men's pocket billiards and finally to compete at the pro level of the mens tour and ultimately against his old nemesis. When she is soundly defeated and hustled near to her financial ruin she grudgingly agrees to return with Eddy to that last bastion of smoke-filled rooms, cheap bourbon, pretzels and domestic beer from rusty pipes located somewhere in the heart of Brooklyn where Eddy introduces her to an old road partner and running mate - Jean Balukis, who quit pool years ago because she was sick of the crap. There she perfects the art of the hustle and qualifies for the men's event. You can guess the rest of the story...
 
Its funny everyone focuses on a serious pool movie..But as another poster said how about a comedy in the Lebowski / Kingpin mold.

A pool movie could be just as good with a couple of cheats/sleazes on the road using every trick in the book to bring down the money. All you would have to do is compile the best stories of road agents. Instead of focusing on a squeeky clean movie. Make a movie where you can root for the bad guys/hustlers

George Clooney could make a great lovable sleaze, Vince Vaughn would be great as a fast talking loud mouth.
 
The Kiss said:
Its funny everyone focuses on a serious pool movie..But as another poster said how about a comedy in the Lebowski / Kingpin mold.
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kingpin......
 

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Comedy

A comedy does sound fun. Too bad Chris Farley and John Goodman have both passed on.
 
Buzzard II said:
I found Spider 1's answer interesting because that's not only how I feel, but that is the way the book was written. That's right, no stupid Vincent, no Carmen, a totally different story. Not even a Balabushka playing a major part.

Fat's is in the book, retired, fat, happy and fishing in the Keys. Eddie talks Fats into a tour, Fats dies, and Eddie ends up running a rec hall on a college campus then selling art. Then something happens. Who would guess. I would have liked Paul and Jackie doing their parts 20 years later.

The movie script ruined the book.
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MoonshineMattK said:
Been a wile since I read The Hustler but I remember the book being very similar to the movie.

The Hustler is hands down the best pool movie. (also listed among the greatest sports movies of all time)

The Color of Money movie is NOTHING like the book Walter Tevis wrote. (Zero Vincent in the book)

Book version of The Color of Money is The Hustler pt 2 with EXACTLY what you are asking for in character development etc

All we need is the real Color of Money to be filmed.
Click to expand...


Thank you both so much for these replies, because I've never read the book version of TCOM (mainly because the movie was so horrid). I read The Hustler, and obviously enjoyed the movie immensely, but I've never touched TCOM in book form, thinking I would just be disappointed.

Funny to read that my personal "plot direction hopes" somewhat might mirror the book version. I'm shocked and ordering the book right now.


Cheers Buzzard and Matt, looks like I have a new book to read. :)
 
How can you people not see Johnny Depp playing the part of Vince?

Do they get any flakier than some of the characters he plays???

Maniac
 
michael4 said:
Back to the OP casting issue, Eddy was also cool and cocky when he was young (and Newman was way cool at all ages), so any replacement for Newman would also have to be someone very cool and cocky when he was young (sorry steve bushemi wont cut it). John Travolta would work.
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Travolta is my pick for Paul Newman's replacement. John has aged
gracefully and is a better actor than when he was young.

I'm no Tom Cruise fan...other than Rainman. I'm even less of a fan now
that he has captured the Jack Reacher role.:angry:
If his character was revived, I don't know who could do it...a young Ed
Norton or a young Dustin Hoffman would have been perfect.

I thought the MOVIE-The Hustler-was better than the book.
I thought the BOOK-The Color of Money-was better than the movie.
 
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