Christopher Walken Will Play Zeus in Modern Day Comedy Gods Behaving Badly
While Daniel Craig is off channeling Edie Falco, Edie Falco will soon be channeling the Greek goddess Artemis in the big screen adaptation of Brit lit bestseller Gods Behaving Badly. Also on board, fleshing out what I'm predicting to be the strangest casting blitz we'll see all week: Phylicia Rashad as Demeter! John Turturro as Hades! Sharon Stone as Aphrodite! Christopher Walken as Zeus! Your full list of '90s stars playing downtrodden gods and goddesses after the jump.
Adapted from Marie Phillips' bestselling novel of the same name, Gods Behaving Badly goes into production this month with more '90s stars-as-has been immortals than you can shake a decanter full of mead at. Behold, the official synopsis and casting announcement:
The film tells the story of the Greek Gods, alive and well and living in a brownstone in New York City, as they cross paths with a young couple, Kate and Neil. The intersection of the Gods and the mortals threatens not only the couple's budding relationship, but the future of everything else. Kate will be played by Alicia Silverstone and Neil by Ebon Moss-Bachrach. The gods are: Aphrodite -- Sharon Stone, Apollo -- Oliver Platt, Artemis -- Edie Falco, Demeter -- Phylicia Rashad, Dionysus -- Nelsan Ellis, Eros -- Gideon Glick, Hades -- John Turturro, Hermes -- Henry Zebrowski, Persephone -- Rosie Perez and Zeus -- Christopher Walken.
Phillips' satire envisioned the gods and goddesses as fallen deities living like normal humans on earth -- working lame low-rent jobs as phone sex operators and dog-walkers, tinkering in one another's affairs, using their powers to become TV stars -- but writers Josh Goldfaden and Marc Turtletaub (who will also direct) transplanted the setting from a London house to a New York City brownstone. Production begins mid-July in New York.
So, randomest cast ever? Here's hoping the Xanadu-esque "gods in modern day America" tale works on-screen. With Walken playing Zeus as the crazy old guy in the attic, how could it not?
[via Press release]
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Comments
ugh... Why do they adapt books and then leave out certain characters and use other characters that have nothing to do with anything in the book... Hera should be there and not Persephone.... Oliver Platt as Apollo? Really? Couldn't they find someone who has no body fat, looks good looking and can carry any facial expression other than a dead pan look? Sharon Stone as Aphrodite? What about uhm Alyssa Milano? or any actress who isnt sixty? Seriously. The only good casting choice is Phyllicia Rashad as Demeter as Demeter is generally considered to be an older person... I will give this a BIG miss...
I've wanted to read this book for quite a while now and could never remember the name or get it quite close enough when I searched for it. So, when I saw(or read) that it was being made into a movie I ordered it immediately. Great book so far (only been reading about 30 mins). Was so pumped about the movie went to IMDB right away and read the cast. Really? Does whoever cast this movie know anything about Greek myth? Were no good looking actors between the ages of 25 to 40 available(besides Nelson ellas)? Sad, turned what could have been a movie to look forward to has now been reduced to something that maybe I'll catch sooner or later. Bummer.
This is going to be an awesome movie!!! The irony is that these gods and goddesses are worn-out looking and mostly old in this modern day setting trying to act young and sexy. The book is one of my favorites and I think this cast is going to nail it on the spot. The only one I would change is Alicia Silverstone. She doesn't act timid enough like the character she'll be playing. But other than that...CAN'T WAIT!!!!