Apr 032015
Steve Marriott, wearing white sweater with rings across chest.
It’s been a while since we cast a film, but with the news that Martin Freeman has been cast as Steve Marriott we have a real life opportunity on our hands! Who plays Kenny Jones? Ronnie Lane? Ian McLagan? How about Ian’s predecessor in the band, Jimmy Winston? Who else might appear as a character in this film?
Scanning Mariott’s Wiki page, I see names such as Marianne Faithful, Brian Epstein, Pete Townshend, Rod Stewart, Peter Frampton, and of course, a scene where Mariott auditions for the Rolling Stones! That’s a lot of casting.
Let’s start by casting the band, then see which other roles we can fill. I’ll start by nominating Danny Strong for the role of Kenney Jones.
Mike Myers as Ronnie Lane:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a1/MikeMyersJune07.jpg/220px-MikeMyersJune07.jpg
http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2014/1/30/1391086587244/Ronnie-Lane-of-Small-Face-015.jpg
You know who would make a fantastic Ronnie Lane would be Freddie Highmore who’s currently doing a great job as Norman Bates on Bates Motel.
https://pmcvariety.files.wordpress.com/2014/02/freddie-highmore.jpg?w=670&h=377&crop=1
or maybe Kenny Jones?
http://cdn03.cdn.justjared.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/farmiga-bmparty/vera-farmiga-freddie-highmore-bates-motel-comic-con-party-10.jpg
I’m totally down with this challenge. My first 2 band members will be cast from the Michael Apted documentary series “7 Up,” which tracked a cross-section of kids from age 7 and up, every 7 years, through age 56.
For Kenny Jones I’m going with little Tony Walker, the kid who wanted to be a jockey and ended up a taxi driver and part-time actor: https://brianwelk.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/42uptony.jpg
Another one of the series’ English mugs, Paul Kligerman, will appear briefly as original keyboardist Jimmy Winston: http://www.psychologymatters.co.za/outreach/paul.jpg
Mike Myers as Ronnie Lane is brilliant!
I’m sorry, but I have to revisit the current casting decision for Steve Marriott. Surely I can’t be the only person who sees Johnny Depp in that face.
http://stream1.gifsoup.com/view1/1111821/steve-marriott-hey-girl-o.gif
http://www.celebrity-sunglasses-finder.com/image-files/johnny_depp.jpg
Hrrundivbakshi, maybe the casting person for this film will see this thread and take all our advice. Could happen! Or not.
I wonder who could play Rod. Part of me thinks Owen Wilson, but then, use your imagination and picture Adrian Brody with a wig:
http://forward.com/image/2/290/0/5/assets/images/articles/b-shmooze-adrien-brody-2-2-11.jpg
http://www.rodstewartfanclub.com/about_rod/bio/images/6X_rod.jpg
That’s a good call, cher. I never would have thought of Brody for the role!
Johnny Depp? I could do without ever seeing another second of that guy in any film. He’s one of those actors who doesn’t want you to forget that you’re watching *him* rather than the character he’s portraying. Not a fan.
One of my favorite stories about Steve Mariott is his allegedly favorable reaction to hearing “Whole Lotta Love” for the first time. He had no qualms with Plant’s nicking his approach to the Muddy Waters tune that inspired it, “You Need Lovin’.”
According to the book about him, as the song played, he shouted “go on, my son!” And later, when he next saw Plant (who he knew), he wished him luck and gave him encouragement.
I’ve read that drugs turned his personality for the worse, but at this point in his life, he comes of as a pretty generous dude.