Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Idris is Out ... And Replaced with WHO?

How could anyone turn this down?
He's just all kinds of delicious!
Back in the 90’s Morgan Freeman brought to live James Patterson’s detective Alex Cross in the movies Along Came a Spider and Kiss the Girls. Fans of Patterson’s books often wondered what happened after that. Why no more Alex Cross movies?

Well, they are now looking at revamping that series and bringing the Cross character back. Initially, Cross was to be played by Idris Elba. To me, the casting would have been perfect given Elba’s intensity and especially after seeing him in the BBC series Luther.

But the producers have changed their minds. They are going into another direction, they scrapped Elba for … wait for it … Tyler Perry. Yes, the actor/writer/director known for playing an old woman in drag, was selected over Idris Elba to take over a role made famous by Morgan Freeman. Does that sound right to you? It doesn’t sound right to me either.

Producer Bill Block explained his casting choice to Entertainment Weekly. “Sure, Idris is a great actor; Tyler Perry is a phenomenon. Tyler Perry is one of the most significant entertainers in all of media. He is a huge cross-media talent and presence — and he’s a terrific actor whose range is going to be shown here. You’re going to see Tyler Perry like you haven’t seen him. He’s 6’5″, he is a linebacker. He is an awesome physical presence and is just going to tear it apart here. It’s an intense, dramatic role.”

Would you rather see Perry or Elba in this role?

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