Charlize Theron may be trading mid-20th century secretarial duties for futuristic alien fighting.
Talk about a merry mix-up! Vulture reports that Charlize Theron will NOT appear in Clint Eastwood’s “Hoover.” Theron was (sort of) supposed to play Helen Gandy, J. Edgar Hoover’s personal secretary in the biopic of the powerful FBI director (Leonardo DiCaprio is starring as Hoover). The twist here, though, is that apparently Theron herself never actually accepted the role–her agents jumped the gun and told Eastwood she was in, leaving Theron to make an awkward apology to Eastwood when she confirmed that she didn’t want to take the part (apparently all is well between them–whew!!).
Now, though, it appears that Ms. Theron has a hole in her schedule, and 20th Century Fox is eager to fill it–with the starring role in Ridley Scott’s “Alien” prequel. However, Scott wants Noomi Rapace–the original Swedish “Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”–to play, Elizabeth Shaw, the lead role in the film that will tie in to Scott’s classic “Alien.” Additionally, he also wants to give key roles to Michelle Yeoh and Michael Fassbender, making three actors who are well-regarded but not big box office draws. With a special effects heavy, blockbuster budget planned, Fox is nervous about selling the movie without any bona fide stars (apparently the “Alien” franchise isn’t big enough to carry them, they seem to think). Thus they would love to have Theron, and are supposedly rewriting the Shaw role to make it even bigger and more attractive to Theron or someone else of her caliber.
This puzzles me a little–sure, Theron is a good actress, she’s very beautiful and is a viable choice for lead actress roles. But will her name really open a movie around the world? I don’t know if I’ve ever heard anyone say, “Oh, I want to see the new Charlize Theron movie.” This isn’t an insult–there are very few stars who fit the serious box office draw category, and for better or worse, most of them are men (Will Smith, Tom Cruise, both of whom have huge international support). Angelina Jolie is the closest when it comes to actresses.
That being said, Theron’s presence won’t hurt the movie, but I would like to see Rapace in the role. Why not? Maybe I’m too geeky, but I tend to think Fox is wrong and that the stars don’t matter here. I do think you can sell this one on the “Alien” name. Re-release one or two of the original “Alien” movies in 3D the year before this one opens and you’ll convert a whole new group of fans who will then be interested in the prequel. The originals hold up. Use them.
