It's a well known trick to get people to watch television programmes, head off to the movies or go to the theatre. It's stunt casting.
You take a regular role, hire a celebrity for that role, and more people are likely to fork out the necessary cash to watch your production. It would certainly explain why my last two trips to the theatre were to see A Few Good Men with Rob Lowe and Patrick Stewart's one-man version of A Christmas Carol.
But heading back from a trip out this weekend, I noticed that Kelly Osbourne has signed up to play the new Mama Morton in Chicago. Chicago has never been averse to a bit of stunt casting: we've had David Hasselhoff, Denise van Outen and a load of other celebs take a turn in various roles. However, the celebs have almost always been actors of some variety or other.
But Kelly Osbourne - an actor she is not. Although I've never been particularly interested in seeing Chicago, the thought of Kelly Osbourne in it has put me off it even more.
So the question is, is it just me or would most people actually like to see Kelly Osbourne in Chicago (assuming they had the time, money, proximity, etc)? And is there a piece of stunt casting that you can think of that has actually put you and everyone you know off from going to see or watching something?
September 24, 2007 | Reply
I'm not sure that Rob Lowe and Patrick Stewart are 'stunt' casting. They're famous for being actors, after all, and you went to see them acting. Lowe has a long history of stage work in Chicago, and Stewart was an RSC stalwart for years, and now is again. I saw Stewart in The Tempest earlier in the year and it was one of the best stage performances I've ever seen. Hardly a 'stunt'. Mind you, Ian McKellen as Widow Twankey was one of the great stunts of all time (and absolutely brilliant, too).
September 24, 2007 | Reply
No. I do take your point. Maybe I should have called it 'celeb casting' since both Stewart and Lowe (and indeed that nice John Barrowman) were very good (although Lowe was crap in the fight scene). But I had Kelly Osbourne in mind when I was writing it... Oops. So apologies to Stewart and Lowe.
September 24, 2007 | Reply
It's an interesting question, though. Was Simon Russell Beale 'stunt casting' in Spamalot? He probably brought in regular theatregoers who know him from straight drama and wouldn't normally go to musicals. How about John Simm in Elling?
I think we'd all agree on Jennifer Ellison in Chicago, though...
I was particularly pissed off by Gwyneth Paltrow in Proof. Especially when she then got the part in the movie. It wasn't her part, originally; it was Mary Louise Parker's. But then, I suppose that's a whinge with a long history. Judi Dench didn't play Sally Bowles in the film of Cabaret.