Recast/Reboot the Hustler.......

RFisher

FISHER CUES
Silver Member
Thank you To Mattb for his earlier thread about recasting the color of money......I'm a huge movie buff and I like to think I know actors and acting.

Although I like The Color of Money, I think if you are going to Put up Real Hollywood money, and Real Hollywood Stars, Lets try and do the Hustler,,,,,,Although I'd Hate to see it end up being a hacked version, or some P.O.S,,,,,,I think the hustler Revamped has more appeal at this time, and If it works and is successful, Do the COM in a few years.

by the way, I've been thinking of this for the past year, and I think you need to stick to most of the original script, but things have changed and needs some of the new in it. Such as: Tournaments, drugs, flashbacks to eddie's childhood, Eddie's parents, Eddie's ex, eddie's bastard kid, health insurance, cancer, the reality of older players that can't play at their former level of glory and there lack of money to live/survive and ext..... SO, here are my picks.

Recast/rewrite the Hustler Starring:

Eddie Felson: Ryan Goosling------No one else will do

Charlie (eddies stack horse): David Paymer, Steve Buscemi, Billy Crystal, Lance Henderson, Philip seymore Hofman, Gary Sinise

Sarah: Michele Williams, Mila Kunis, Lindsay Lohan, Emma Stone, Kate hudson---only if she isn't aloud to say a single joke and absolutely no female friends to dance with.

Burt Gordan: Edward Norton, Steve Buscemi, Andy Garcia, Michael Madson, Al Pacino----I know, I know.

I don't think you bring back Mn fats, I think you need a new charactor so aka middle aged guy with a way with words, is a small role (begining and end of the movie:

James Gandofini(oed to fat's), Ray Liotta, David Caruso, Robert Downey JR, Michael Madson, Tom Cruise---yes I'm dead serious.

And then a host of other old/new charactors.

Anyway, not going to give all my ideas away, but wouldn't care if someone used it and got it done.

Just a couple of things: Mars Callahan can't be anywhere near this movie, I mean shot on site. No cameo speaking roles from Jennette Lee or J. Barretta. I think they should do some film shots at The derby, and the US Open. Real pool players to do the shots, Like Willie Mosconi did for The Hustler, and Mike Sigel Did for The color of money. So Shane Can Shoot/break for MR. Goosling. EXT........No stupid gaff hustles aka Pool hall junkie crap. The public that we want to see this film to make it successful don't really shoot pool, so we need to keep the real player cameo's down to a min.....get poker players involved, yes Dippy, and any and everyone willing to be in it,,,,,could have the pool players hustling the poker players and vise versa.

Ok, Thats enough. Have Fun.
 
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I disagree. Fats was central to the original theme of the novel, as well as the classic movie. His very name is engraved in pool history, and imo he has to be a central part of any remake of The Hustler. As far as barring Callahan...that's a given. :D

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com

I don't think you bring back Mn fats, I think you need a new charactor so aka middle aged guy with a way with words, is a small role (begining and end of the movie:


Mars Callahan can't be anywhere near this movie, I mean shot on site. .
 
I disagree. Fats was central to the original theme of the novel, as well as the classic movie. His very name is engraved in pool history, and imo he has to be a central part of any remake of The Hustler. As far as barring Callahan...that's a given. :D

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com

I know, and you need a MN fats type charactor which I gave, but just don't call him MN Fats, I think maybe mention him, honor him, but move on to a new charactor. Just my thoughts.
 
Hmm Jack Nicolson plays Earl the Pearl instead of Minnesota Fats.

I think Jack is too old for the role, but Put him in as a retired Fatz ext.....wouldn't be bad......By the way, Jack was already in my version, but not going to give everything away.

Keep it going, this is fun.
 
Reboot

Instead of Fats maybe it needs to be Mizerak. His name is still known and would bring it a generation closer. Not sure who would play him though.
 
Recast/rewrite the Hustler Starring:



And then a host of other old/new charactors.

Anyway, not going to give all my ideas away, but wouldn't care iEddie Felson: Ryan Goosling------No one else will do

Charlie (eddies stack horse): David Paymer, Steve Buscemi, Billy Crystal, Lance Henderson, Philip seymore Hofman, Gary Sinise

Sarah: Michele Williams, Mila Kunis, Lindsay Lohan, Emma Stone, Kate hudson---only if she isn't aloud to say a single joke and absolutely no female friends to dance with.

Burt Gordan: Edward Norton, Steve Buscemi, Andy Garcia, Michael Madson, Al Pacino----I know, I know.

I don't think you bring back Mn fats, I think you need a new charactor so aka middle aged guy with a way with words, is a small role (begining and end of the movie:

James Gandofini(oed to fat's), Ray Liotta, David Caruso, Robert Downey JR, Michael Madson, Tom Cruise---yes I'm dead serious.f someone used it and got it done.

Eddie Felson: Ryan Gosling/Bradley Cooper

Charlie: Paul Giamatti/Philip Seymore Hoffman

Sarah: Michelle Williams/Aubrey Plaza

Burt Gordan: John Slattery/Danny Huston

Fats: Alec Baldwin/Jeff Bridges
 
No "Fats" or the "real" Fats?

I disagree. Fats was central to the original theme of the novel, as well as the classic movie. His very name is engraved in pool history, and imo he has to be a central part of any remake of The Hustler. As far as barring Callahan...that's a given. :D

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com

I agree that Gleason's role was central to the story, but unfortunately it became associated with the "historical" Fats who I believe was actually known originally as NY Fats, but took the name "Minnesota Fats" because of the fame generated for the name by the movie.
Regarding the original post, I wouldn't try to remake the original Hustler. The pool world of the late '50s and early '60s no longer exists and will never be duplicated. It was crucial to the story; I don't think it would work in a later date setting. I was playing back in those days, and found the pool part of the movie very real and accurate. I actually played one of the actors in the movie in 1969 and took a chunk out of his wallet.

Donny L
PBIA/ACS Instructor
 
No, no, no - no recast, no update, no touch. This is a classic which was perfectly cast. You can't do any better folks. Some things are best left untouched.
 
For some reason I feel like with this cast we'd have a hit on our hands:

Fast Eddie - Bradley Cooper
Charlie - Ed Helms
Minnesota Fats - Zack Galifianakis
Sarah - Heather Graham
Burt Gordon - Ken Jeong
Mike Tyson - himself
 
Steve Buscemi, Rat Boy. Well look at him. He looks like a little Rat.
He could fit into any pool hall movie. Stake horse for sure.

And James would make a fine M Fats. I bet he could pull it off better than most.

There would also be a place for Alec Baldwin too.

Great choices so far.
 
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Ok, Jame's woods as a possible Burt Gordan....


Also, my intent isn't to try to make a better Hustler. It's to make a modern day Hustler. You can't make a better Hustler. But you can make a different one.

And If you read my first post, you'd see some of my ideas for the reboot. You can't fallow the original script. It was a kind of period piece. If a new movie was made it would be in modern time's using modern theme's.

Also to some of the other threads about remake's of this movie and the color of money or the color of money 2. One thing I keep seeing or getting a sense of is pool players worried if pool players would like it or be 100% happy with it. First off if this or any other pool movie is to be successful, Guess what? You and I don't matter. The real pool public doesn't really matter. It's about the general public. The movie goers. Yes we fall into that catagory, but most of them don't fall into the catagory of "Real pool players" or the pool community. The people we want to get to come to the movie in the theater have never heard of az billiards, or if we tell them there are cue's worth more than a couple hundred dollars the wouldn't believe it (what? $1000 for a piece of wood) alot of us have heard that one. I'm not saying I/we wouldn't want pool players to go see it, I'm just saying if only us see it, or if a movie was made that "real pool players" respect and say yeah, that's exactly right. Then it might not be playing for the right crowds. I don't want to see a movie were it's showing 100% trick shot's, or every stupid/gaff hustle is used. But You have to play tword the non-playing crowd. That's why we want to use real actors and not pro-pool players in the movie. So it doesn't end up being another straight to dvd or another p.o.s that make's me want to shoot the writer, director, star (aka Mars Callahan).

Just Saying, if you want a movie that could start another pool boom in this world like the color of money did. You had better do it up Hollywood style.

Done for now.
 
Kid Delicious as Fats

I would like to see Danny Basavich as Fats(PERIOD).........Johnny Depp as a Fast Eddie "type" and lets get Alex "The Lion" in for a cameo, Angelina Jolie as Depps distracting girlfriend.......she can play a great wacko! Did somebody say Tom Cruise???????? Aggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhh I bet Depp could play the drunk part perfectly.
 
Another angle:

What if Fast Eddie, years down the road actually decided to make some
money again in "a big time pool room" as he was broke again, with cancer
and was only going to live a limited time anyway.

So Eddie wants to reclaim his glory that was stolen from him by Gordon,
however Gordon learns that Eddie is "back in the game" and now this
decades old feud fires up again.

Just a thought.

I would like to see Bill Cobb (Orvis) in the new movie to keep that character
alive for the 3d Fast Eddie movie.

Maybe Bill Cobb could progress (or regress) from being the janitor
in The Hustler to the room owner in COM to Fast Eddies' stakehorse in
the new movie.
 
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Am I alone in thinking these classics should be left alone? Why do a remake? How could you possible do better?

I would rather see another great director take on the "pool" movie. All Hollywood does is remakes anymore. Doesn't anyone have a fresh idea?


:cool:
 
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