Casting Issue

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cubist
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Post by cubist »

dugpa wrote:I'm ok with Heather Graham, but would have preferred that they kept the Audrey/Cooper romance going on. After rewatching the series, Lara Flynn Boyle's acting in the Second Season was just awful.

Then the casting of Annette McCarthy as Evelyn Marsh was bad. I liked Nicholas Love in Wild at Heart but hated him in Twin Peaks. The whole Jame Hurley leaves Twin Peaks storyline really soured my opinion of the actors in that piece this time around. :P
I've always thought that the unpopular sub-plot with James was deliberately made to be cheesey & bad - like a really poor soap opera. I think its hilarious what they do with the James Hurley character. He's reduced to a caricature - just being mean & moody on his bike and letting everyone down with his serial fickleness. Love it. Maybe looking at it in this way will make it more bearable for some folk!
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Post by cubist »

Audrey Horne wrote:I'll probably blackball myself here -but I just rewatched FWWM for the first time in over ten years (I'm not a fan, sorry) and really don't like Sheryl Lee's performance -as much as it's been praised. I think it's really just the nature of the scenes she's doing -they're heartbreaking and dramatic, so naturally they're going to get attention. But I thought there was no nuance at all -scream, cry, vamp, wild eyed. I thought she was more effective as the photo, and captured briefly in the picnic video. I loved her as Maddy though in the second season.
Just shows that it is different strokes for different folks. It is Sheryl Lee's performance that makes FWWM so rivetting for me - and FWWM is in my Lynch top 3!
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Tonya J
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Post by Tonya J »

Granted I'm only up to about episode 7 or 8 in the 1st season, I have to give top acting honors to Kyle (what he said in A Slice of Lynch was pretty profound I'd say about his connection with Cooper) Richard Beymer, Sherilyn Fenn, Piper Laurie and Zabriskie. The Fenn/Beymer scenes are almost hypnotic to watch; two extremely manipulative people, one who learned at Daddy's knee, circling each other like wrestlers. It's fine acting.

In Leland's "I'm back" scene, where Jerry and Ben actually go with Leland's craziness for a moment and start dancing, I have to wonder if it was Richard's idea to jump up on Ben's desk and do a little soft shoe. Inspired. I keep watching the Ben character to see if the man has one iota of real decency in him, and the only thing I've seen so far that actually broke far, far away from his inherent arrogance, was when Audrey admitted she was responsible for making the Norwegians leave. Ben says, "Laura Palmer has been dead for two days. I lost you years ago."

Joan Chen couldn't be more of a cipher in her role. Uber irritation there. The James and Maddy/Donna song rehearsal made me cringe like one of the most mistreated of Dickens' characters.

But these are quibbles compared to the overall quality of the series. Maybe I'll change my tune once I get into Season 2.
Last edited by Tonya J on Mon Nov 12, 2007 2:55 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Leland's daughter was murdered and the Norwegians left.
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jmichael
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Post by jmichael »

Tonya J wrote: In Leland's "I'm back" scene, where Jerry and Ben actually go with Leland's craziness for a moment and start dancing, I have to wonder if it was Richard's idea to jump up on Ben's desk and do a little soft shoe.
If I recall correctly, Lynch saw Richard doing some soft shoe steps off-camera while they were setting up the scene and he was inspired to add it to the scene.

I love how Ben snaps his fingers in that scene. It's very West Side Story (The movie of which Beymer starred in with Russ Tamblyn).
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Tonya J
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Post by Tonya J »

That's a great story, thanks!
Leland's daughter was murdered and the Norwegians left.
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The Magician
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Post by The Magician »

Okay, I will be honest. There is an actor I did not like in Twin Peaks. So, for this one shining moment I will admit to a fault in TP's second season.

Mak Takano is terrible as Jonathan.

The scene in episode 11 between him and Josie is the worst scene in TP. He cannot speak clearly, his inflections are wooden, and I do not buy his character at all. The scene may have benefited from being subtitled and in Chinese, since I think they would have been speaking in Chinese any way, and his poor acting may not have shone through as much.

There is my honesty. The best actors, though, were Ray Wise, Kenneth Welsh, and Kyle MacLachlan.
Sometimes things can happen just like this. *snap*

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NoiselessFan
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Re: Casting Issue

Post by NoiselessFan »

In response to the original question about Annie, I don't think she performed well because her character was so hastily conceived and stapled into the plot. The plot needed a Coop love interest for Earle to kidnap, so they created one just in time for the kidnapping to occur. The whole idea is prepostorous since this is the worse way to create any form of drama.

If you want tension, there have to be stakes. There were no stakes with a character so new to the show, so the majority of the viewing audience was "who cares?" about the whole thing. They would've been better off having the Log Lady get kidnapped, since we at least know and care about her. This seems like Drama 101 to me.

Heather's performance was bad because she probably had no idea what they wanted her to be. The scene with Coop professing his love for her was the stiffest, most manufactured looking element of the show and very insulting to my intelligence.

Couples create excitement from tension and for tension to build there has to be a forbidden quality or a reason why they should not be together, which makes the yearn mean something. Coop and Annie were too much alike to create any friction and there was nothing keeping them apart - this is the definition of boring.

I actually wanted her character to die in the Lodge and this is clearly not the sentiment David & Co were after.
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Agent Sam Stanley
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Re: Casting Issue

Post by Agent Sam Stanley »

I'm also OK with Heather Graham playing Annie. I think she did her job alright, the thing is her character was kind of boring and silly. I blame the character, not the actress.

One of my least favorite actors is James Marshall. He just looks the same way the entire time, and when he tries to get emotional (DONNA! WHY??) or screaming at Evelyn for being set up, it's just a big mess in my book. Not to mention his expression in class when he and Donna find out Laura is dead. It's almost comical. My father laughs at that scene every time we watch it.
Dana Ashbrook also had a really big problem showing Bobby's emotions. I think he portrayed a very cool Bobby, but when it comes to crying (Doc Jacoby's office) or getting emotional (Major Briggs telling him his dream at the Double R), have mercy!
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Brad D
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Re: Casting Issue

Post by Brad D »

my two bits:

-i really enjoy the jacoby/bobby scene.
-the actor that plays jonathan is truly awful
-i know, you all wanted the coop/audrey romance (i do too), but i just dont see audrey as a character that would end up in the lodge.
-the cringe-worthy scene of james singing 'you and i' is completely necessary (and hilarious)
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Audrey Horne
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Re: Casting Issue

Post by Audrey Horne »

-i know, you all wanted the coop/audrey romance (i do too), but i just dont see audrey as a character that would end up in the lodge.

really? even with Lynch directing her to constantly slow dance to her own beat in her head, the use of red drapes in One-Eyed Jacks, and the telepathic prayer scene in the second season premiere?
God, I love this music. Isn't it too dreamy?
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gavriloP
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Re: Casting Issue

Post by gavriloP »

Audrey had great dreamy quality! And Sherilyn Fenn has true iconic film charisma that would've fit perfectly to those scenes. But maybe she would've been little too tough cookie to Windom and lodgers. I mean she didn't bend so easily. In that sense frail Annie was better...
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Coffee
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Re: Casting Issue

Post by Coffee »

Agreed. I love Audrey but she wouldn't have worked as the one trapped in the lodge. I'm also glad that they didn't pursue the Dale/Audrey romance in season two. The moment that Audrey stripped off, offering herself to Cooper and he said no. Then that was it. They where friends from that point and nothing more IMO.

I would have like to of seen there friendship gain more playtime in season three but not romantically.

Annie works very well in the small amount of time she is given. She has a Kim Novak/Vertigo (Lynch was obviously a fan) ghostlike quality that fits perfectly into Twin Peaks.
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Buck's Student
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Re: Casting Issue

Post by Buck's Student »

I have to say that Heather's character came off as very chipper to me. Maybe too chipper. I didn't mind her, though.

I have to say that all of the main cast was superb. Pete is one of my favorites. Hank, the character, got on my nerves, but not nearly as much as the blond woman James goes for. I could have gone for that storyline, but with someone more attractive. That woman was scary. :(

Everett McGill as Ed stands out a lot in my mind, for some reason. He's just so good, and I don't recall reading anyone saying so. He never really laughs, and rarely smiles. He really had no involvement with Laura. He's a big part of the comedic relief of t he show, though, and that's one of the reasons Twin Peaks is so likable.

As for Audrey, I hated it that she and Cooper never got together. Really, John Wheeler was a mistake. It made me shudder the way Coop didn't get in the bed with her when she was waiting for him. There seemed to be such a connection. Dale was so innocent himself, I guess the only way to go was with Heather Graham...
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