One Soul, Many Worlds: Cloud Atlas

"Cloud Atlas is all over the place, intentionally. It follows six completely different stories, in genres from science fiction to crime thriller to romance. As with the novel, there are six movies within the movie, set in the past and the future.

(David) Mitchell thought his novel would never make it to the screen: the size of the cast it would take. It doesn't cost a writer a dime to add a character, but it can cost a filmmaker a lot to add an actor to a cast. The Wachowskis (Lana and Andrew Wachowski) got around the problem by having actors play as many as six completely different roles. Tom Hanks, Halle Berry and Hugh Grant, among others, are transformed to the point of being unrecognizable through Hollywood makeup and costume magic.

By casting it this way, Mitchell believes, the filmmakers also made it easier for viewers to understand his concept, of one soul moving through the many different worlds.." [npr]

~ When 'Unfilmable' Books Make Memorable Movies

by Elizabeth Blair

Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
Movie: Cloud Atlas
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Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror

Missing Morgan Freeman: Alex Cross

"Morgan Freeman played Alex Cross in the first two adaptations of this series, Kiss the Girls and Along Came a Spider, but he declined a third. Instead, the role goes to Tyler Perry, a younger actor who is enormously successful within the US and largely unknown beyond its borders... Tyler Perry disappoints in the title role...
This adaptation betrays both Patterson's original novel and the spirit of the two earlier films. The original plot has been put through a Hollywood meat grinder." [BrisbaneTimes]

~ It's just not the same without Freeman

by Paul Byrnes

Cross by James Patterson
Movie: Alex Cross

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