Ok, I can see it - she would look great in the stars and stripes. But can she act?

The Hey | April 14, 16:25 CET

She sort of looks like a porn star.

Or Carmen Electra.

Which is sort of the same thing.

[ edited by MySerenity on 2006-04-14 15:23 ]

MySerenity | April 14, 17:22 CET

Wow, never even heard of her :-). She's not the type of women I find attractive, judging from that picture on the website, but that's obviously not a factor. If she can act, I'd say: why not.

Having said that, I don't really believe it's going to be her. She's too much of an unknown. And although Joss'd like that, I don't think the studio'll let him pick an unkown to play the role.

GVH | April 14, 17:25 CET

How to get publicity for a movie no-one has ever heard of, get the PR company to say that the lead actress is in the running for a major Hollywood film. People fall for it every time. I think this is the third or fourth time this happened with Wonder Woman.

This is just drivel. We live in a world where pr releases are taken as gospel and no one does fact checking. Utterly pathetic.

And "auto-thriller"? What the hell does that mean when it's at home.

Simon | April 14, 17:27 CET

GVH, we don't know either way re the known or unknown thing.

How we can find out: actors, keep an eye out on the auditions lists. If it goes out as an open audition, it'll go to an unknown. If there's no auditions, they'll announce a named star I suspect.

There's now been so many actresses publicly say 'I want this role' it's amusing. I am Wonder Woman speculationed out. I still want Joss to be Wonder Boy, though - and dress up as him. Oh yes. £10 on the table, Joss. I will even donate it to the starving. (Yes, I went there).

gossi | April 14, 17:29 CET

Heh, I agree, Simon. I think it keeps working, because most of us (or so I think) enjoy speculating about who's gonna fill Wondy's boots, so these small things end up getting noticed and discussed :-).

Gossi - I know it might still go to an unknown, but I wonder if WW's name alone will be enough to pull in the crowds. I'm thinking if WW is going to be a mainstream hit, it needs a big name star (I mean, we saw with Serenity that Joss Whedon + good script + critically praised movie does not equal hit), and I think the studio'll probably follow that same logic. Now, obviously, Joss'll have some say over who gets the part, so it'll always be someone who can act. And to me, that's a win-win situation: big name to pull in the crowds, good actress to actually make it a good movie.

But, ofcourse, maybe tomorrow they'll cast someone we've never, ever, heard of and prove me wrong. But untill that happens, this is the scenario I'm placing my bets on.

GVH | April 14, 17:36 CET

Frankly, I'm surprised so many actresses want the role. After bombs like Catwoman and Electra, you'd think they'd stay away from female superhero movies like a plague. Is it Joss' name that sparks the interest?

pat32082 | April 14, 17:42 CET

Not really. More likely their agents saying it could be as big as the Superman and Batman franchises.

Simon | April 14, 17:43 CET

Well, like I say, I very much doubt they'll announce an unknown tomorrow - as they haven't had any auditions (that I've heard of) yet. If they go out to the public for auditions, it'll be all over Whedonesque, at which point it'll have unknown written all over it.

I do actually agree with you however, GVH.... My personal feeling is they'll go for a name. And I'm totally cool with that, as they wouldn't go for somebody Joss didn't like (he's the director and all), and Joss has a habit of getting great performances out of his actors. All in all, I don't think any of us realise how big and high profile a project this is -- it's freakin' Wonder Woman, dudes -- so Joss definitely has a project here which has the potential to be a massive hit, or a complete disaster. And Joss is going to get a praise or flack for it in the reviews/features in the media, and that's goin' to be a little strange for all of us. It'll be a fun year or two.

gossi | April 14, 17:48 CET

Okay, not to sound all schoolyard or anything, but I mentioned this yesterday in the "Vote For Wonder Woman" thread. I commented that she looks the part (moreso than many of the other "candidates"), but having never seen her act there's no way to know how she'd handle the role.

She is a classically trained musician with some opera experience though, it seems. That might lend some weight to her performance of a "goddess". *shrug*

Haunt | April 14, 17:57 CET

I don't think WW needs a big name star (or that the studio will demand it). The problem for Serenity was there was no easy hook to sell it with. This one is easy: Wonder Woman. The teaser poster is a great indication of how easy it is to identify to people (and the amount of casting speculation is an indication of how wide the interest already is in Hollywood).

But I'm not too concerned whether they cast known/unknown, Whedonverse/Whedonvirgin, etc. Those categories don't dictate either way whether someone is right for the part.

jam2 | April 14, 18:36 CET

Joss loves him some soap stars - Sarah Michelle Gellar, Michelle Trachtenburg and Emma Caulfield, to name a few - so this wouldn't surprise me all that much. Anything's gotta be better than Lindsay Lohan; I can't remember where I read she was gunning for the role, but my first thought was, "Joss, if you go there... we're through." And you know he'd be *so* devastated to see me go.

fiareynne | April 14, 18:43 CET

Joss loves him some soap stars-

And Nathan Fillion, too! (though I don't really think he's in the running for WW.)

[ edited by m'cookies on 2006-04-14 17:01 ]

m'cookies actual | April 14, 19:01 CET

Well, still waiting for the big day, when it turns out that the role goes to "WHO? Never heard of her. It IS a 'her', right?"

Also take it "auto-thriller" simply means thriller with everybody acting on autopilot?

Trienco | April 14, 19:14 CET

You are not up do date, Gossi...

Le Comité | April 14, 19:30 CET

I heard they make those lip injections out of Chinese prisoners. If she gets the part, maybe Wonder Woman's first mission could be to stop that.

will.bueche | April 14, 19:44 CET

I know who she is. She sings and was in some sort of Phantom of the Opera story on the show. (she was the one with the scars)

spikeylover | April 14, 19:50 CET

And Nathan Fillion, too!

I don't know how I forgot to list him. I was in love with Joey Buchannan! The kid they got to play Joey when he came back was... young. And blonde, if I recall. And very uninteresting.

fiareynne | April 14, 19:51 CET

I don't buy Nadia. She looks too severe.

Although Mary Elizabeth Winstead would still be my first choice, I could probably see Jessica Biel if I thought about it. I could also see Morena, but I doubt she would get it due to ethnicity--Wonder Woman, despite being an Amazonian princess, is white in the comics, and I have a feeling they'll stick with that.

Heigl, no. Gellar and Carpenter, too closely allied with the Buffyverse. And if they put out a press release saying it's Erika Christensen, I will never go see a movie again.

BAFfler | April 14, 20:14 CET

I agree with Simon that these are all publicity stunts. Either actors trying to get buzz going around themselves or the studio trying to build buzz around the movie.

What annoys me the most though is how the news picks up on it. I mean Joss and Joel have said nothing about this except "Script first. Then casting. We have no one in mind." But after Lindsey Lohan says she would find it cool to be WW, suddenly I read site after site saying 'Lindsey Lohan is the current favorite'.

Really? Whose favorite would that be then? Lindsey herself? Her fans? Saying she's THE current favorite should mean either Joss and Joel's favorite, or the vast majority of the movie watching population. And the former haven't said word one about it and the latter isn't even close to true. Headlines like that just annoy the crap out of me. All they have is that *she* said she wants to do it! So what? Half of female Hollywood wants to do it!

EdDantes | April 14, 20:24 CET

BAFfler, severe is fitting for WW. My understanding of the character is that she is a more-or-less no nonsense kind of woman. Truthfully, Gina Torres could ACT the part perfectly. I think of Wonder Woman as basically being a supernatural version of Zoe anyways.

As for the ethnicity, Wonder Woman is white in the sense that she's NOT African-American (or Asian, or Latino). But she is most definitely "ethnic" and exotic. Casting an actress with some not-too-specific ethnicity (black hair, almond complexion, etc.) would be completely appropriate for the character.

Haunt | April 14, 20:31 CET

I'd be just as interested in her height as her looks. Amazonian women were always associated with height and strength. She doesn't appear to be a little wisp of a thing. But stand her up next to someone with a modicum of height and show me how she compares.

Also, I'm still of the opinion that the role should be played by an almost total unknown. (Granted, this actress isn't exactly a household name!)

ShelaghC | April 14, 20:40 CET

I would very much prefer to have Morena do the honors. I was all for Charisma, but, when I watched the commentary on Serenity and Joss made the "Pause for Irony" statement, Morena moved to the top of the list.

Morena
Charisma
Heigl
Emma Caufield (even though many may say otherwise, I have gut feeling she would be pretty good.)

Shahua | April 14, 20:44 CET

Personally, I have seen Lauren Graham of the Gilmore Girls as Wonder Woman since the first announcement and have been quite unhappy to not hear her mentioned anywhere. Asside from fitting the Amazon Woman requirements quite nicely, she's an incredibly talented actress who can handle comedy and drama perfectly, seems to be able to handle the physical stuff, and would most likely be amazing with the Whedon dialogue. I love a lot of the actresses that have been mentioned, but Graham is about as talented as anyone and she's so suited to the role. Oh well...

slayerinthedark | April 14, 20:44 CET

I know her from Days. Yes, I watch Days. Try not to laugh... hard. I think she's very pretty, but one can never tell someone's acting ability from soap operas. Or sometimes, you can....

Yah, I'm getting myself in trouble with THAT one.

Ginny | April 14, 20:49 CET

I think the height thing is less of an issue. A few years ago there was this little series of independent films... something about rings and hobbits or something like that, can't quite recall. Anyway, those films quite effectively used practical camera tricks (among other methods) to create a very drastic height effect. So if an actress was cast that was just WAY too short to allow suspension of disbelief then I don't think it would be unreasonable to use a little bit of camera trickery to help with the illusion of stature.

Haunt | April 14, 21:00 CET

I know her from Days too! Except I have always referred to her as "Chloe". I rarely watch it now, but have tuned in here and there since I was 12. That's uh... a very long time. Why not? Lots of the same actors have been around that long, and the stories/plots/characters never change that much. People overly critical of Days or soaps in general gotta realize -- people who love them don't take them THAT seriously. When the actors talk about their roles elsewhere, it's easy to see they really have fun with all the melodrama.

My first choice is Morena, of course. But.

Nadia actually can act. She looks a little glammed out in the pic linked to above. She's gorgeous, and she doesn't normally look like a porn star. When she started on Days I was an undergrad (I think) and had a lot of time to tune in. I've thought ever since then that she out-performed those around her and I'll stand by that assessment today. She hasn't always been a regular on the show. She's come and gone a couple times, I think. She really can sing, too. The writers incorporated her talents into the character of Chloe, who also sings opera, so she sings on the show once in awhile. I'd say she's a great singer, even if opera isn't my thing.

*sigh* When will the rumors stop? Yet hearing this rumor a couple months ago made me think hmmmmm, I kinda like this idea.

She's not too much of an unknown. A couple/few million folks out there know her very well as Chloe and her character is very popular, trust me. Chloe's been around, what, ten years? Give or take a couple. Nadia might not be up for any Oscars any time soon, but she's gorgeous and talented. She's one of the best young actors ever cast on Days. And I LOVE that she's NOT waifish.

ETA: I mean, she's not too much of an unknown in that I hope Joss casts an unknown. Yes, she's too much of an unknown to use her name for marketing because she's not a household name. But I'm certain there are millions, in the US anyway, who know her as Chloe.

[ edited by April on 2006-04-14 19:23 ]

WhoIsOmega? | April 14, 21:16 CET

Anyone remember when Holly Valance was "cast" as replacing Sarah Michelle Gellar after she decided that the 7th season of Buffy would be her last? A lot of people are jumping at the chance to get attention through this.

BlindHawkeyes | April 14, 21:24 CET

Nadia's one of my favorites for the role -- after Morena and maybe Heigl. I watched her for years on Days. (Yes, I'm admitting that.) She's got strong screen presence, she's tall and exotic, and as far as I could tell, she can act.

Beckinsale | April 14, 21:44 CET

The Holly Valance thing was published by an English tabloid, one which has had several 'stories' (by which I mean MADE UP) published on Whedonesque. The same tabloid also reported Kate got the part of Wonder Woman - queue surprise - oh wait, don't bother.

I'm really sure things like height aren't an issue. There's a lot of things which come before that.

gossi | April 14, 21:46 CET

Hair colour ?

Saje | April 14, 22:23 CET

I might want to amend that list. I just picked up the new copy of Premier Magazine. It had an article, and picture, of Anne Hathaway. Going by the picture alone, she could totally wear the tiarra

Shahua | April 14, 22:27 CET

Joss already being amazing at casting aside, I wouldn't mind if they had Alex Ross cast the part to an unknown (with acting talent too of course). The man has a knack for finding the epic-hero looks.

Lunakitty | April 14, 22:42 CET

Oh please, she's the worst actress Days of our Lives has ever had. And that's saying something.

(Yes, DOOL is a guilty pleasure of mine. Sue me.)

Storyteller | April 14, 22:50 CET

Come now, Storyteller. She might not be everyone's favorite, but like Beckinsale said, she's got strong screen presence. She has far more talent than the actress who plays her BFF Belle.

The replacement Carrie and replacement Jennifer were the worst actresses Days ever had. The worst actor award goes to the replacement Jack. Not surprisingly, the original actors all came back if memory serves.

WhoIsOmega? | April 14, 23:12 CET

Google-imaged around a bit, she definately has that comic book clean-but-defined-lines thing going for her, plus the piercing blue eyes. I like that she looks like she could totally brawl it up and has some of the WW strikingness in her face and breadth to her body. Haven't seen her on Days..., so I can't really weigh in on the talent thing. But for looks alone, these pictures make me see it a bit more than the above press shot:

Picture 1.

Picture 2 --> This one especially for the sort of wide-eyed "taking it all in" expression, like in this picture of WW

Picture 3.

[ edited by SoddingNancyTribe on 2006-04-14 23:57 ]

Lunakitty | April 14, 23:28 CET

Lunakitty's pic links have convinced me that this girl could play WW. But I'm still pulling for Katherine Heigl.

eddy | April 14, 23:56 CET

Comic artist Adam Hughes crafts perhaps the finest illustrations of the character. This gallery should give you an idea what sort of pen and ink imagery this actress may just have to live up to.

Personally, at the moment I think Nadia Bjorlin is my pick. But that's subject to change without notice. ;)

Haunt | April 15, 00:23 CET

Hmm. Nadia sort of resemble's Adam Hughes' Wonder Woman.

But I still gun for Charisma/Morena/Katherine.

Emma Frost | April 15, 00:30 CET

Anne Hathaway? I lost all respect for her when the Brokeback Cast was on Oprah. The lights are dim in her head my friends. Very dim.

MySerenity | April 15, 00:57 CET

Nice pics, lunakitty. Much better than the pic on the original link. More accurate, especially the wide-eyed one.

Dammit, Joss! I mean, Darn it, Joss! End our useless cheerleading!

WhoIsOmega? | April 15, 01:38 CET

The lights are dim in her head my friends. Very dim.

hee, that's mean and funny. Almost my favorite combo.

I have nothing else to add here: agree that it's a shameless attempt to publicize the actress, would still prefer Morena over anyone else mentioned, would not hate Lohan if she were cast but really doubts that would happen. I dunno, I keep circling back to the vicious logic of the casting: so many quality actresses are being excluded b/c they don't look the part, as if physical appearance was the #1 most important quality. While my favorite Batman is still Michael Keaton. Give me a talented performer any day.

dottikin | April 15, 02:16 CET

Click here to the more pictures of Nadia Bjorlin.
I've seen Nadia on a few different shows, but I don't think she has the screen presence for a major motion picture.
I've been rooting for Morena ever since I heard that Joss was writing the script for Wonder Woman.

Calatia | April 15, 02:21 CET

I don't think physical appearance is the MOST important factor, but it shouldn't be ignored. Hair color can be changed if need be, as can eye color, and I already mentioned height. But I think it wouldn't hurt to cast someone with the physicality already built in as it were.

Imagine if Buffy were recast for some future spin-off series. Should they cast Gina Torres for the role just because she has the acting chops to pull it off? If she acts the part well enough then it shouldn't matter to us what her physical appearance is, right?

Or if that's too unrealistic because Buffy has a history with a real live actress already, how about Fray? Fray has only ever been in print, just like Wonder Woman. Would you be alright with Reese Witherspoon in the role? She can act, obviously. She could wear a purple wig or die her hair with not problem. But is there enough physical disparity there to distract you, even with all of her talent?

*shrug* It's all subjective, I suppose. Most people are pulling for some unknown, and Days Of Our Lives aside Nadia is a relatively unknown. She wouldn't come with much audience baggage.

Lohan, on the other hand, would probably cause riots in the streets. I think if Lohan were cast you'd be able to see the smoking ruins of Hollywood from Canada.

Now Paris Hilton? THERE'S a real casting coup...

Haunt | April 15, 02:25 CET

Okay, I used to watch Days back when she was on it and sometimes I thought she was good and other times not so good. But, the writing on that show is "mostly not good" so it's really hard to say if she has the acting chops. She definitely has the looks and the build for it and I think she is tall because she seemed to be much taller than the other female actresses she was in scenes with.

That said, I also think this is just another actress using the whole popularity of "who will be Wonder Woman" to get her name and face out there. I'm a little tired of all these endless discussions of who should be or shouldn't be because in the end none of us have any say in it. I'm sure if Joss has a hand in choosing who it will be she will be perfect. He's never disappointed me before and always seems to find the right person for the right role.

Oh, and Haunt, speaking of Paris Hilton, did anyone see her horrible Marilyn Monroe imitation in singing Happy Birthday to Hugh Hefner? It was embarrassingly bad but she didn't seem to notice - I think she's suffering from that dim lights in the head problem as well.

Firefly Flanatic | April 15, 02:36 CET

http://www.thehopiehaven.com/kahopebios.htm

Speaking of Days of Our Lives, too bad Kristian Alfonso (Hope) is in her forties and too thin these days. I don't know about acting, but does she look like Wonder Woman or what?

*Edited to change link to an English webpage

[ edited by April on 2006-04-15 01:02 ]

WhoIsOmega? | April 15, 02:49 CET

The trick with WW is to find a woman who conveys "strength" when she's wearing a uniform that does not leave a lot to the imagination, instead of conveying "skanky." The Adam Hughes illustrations were strong -- they remind me of Lucy Lawless (OK, my first crush ever was on Xena, so sue me) -- not skanky. The pix linked here of Ms. Bjorlin look pretty, but more skanky than fierce, IMO. I personally have to agree with MySerenity here and say that this actress reminds me way more of Carmen Electra than of Wondy. Sorry, Nadia fans. :-(

In fact, looking at Mr. Hughes' wonderful page of WW artwork made me think one name and one name only: Gina Torres.

And Gina would look better in the uniform than Morgan Freeman. I finally have to move him back to second choice -- sorry, Mr. Freeman, I know you were counting on this role. ;-)

My third choice is Morena, once she hits the gym and buffs up. (She looks great now, don't get me wrong, but for WW, ya needs the muscle definitions.) My fourth choice, based on spinning ability, is Nathan. And if Morena has to hit the gym, I guess the same would go for Nathan, too. And Morgan. It's only fair. ;-)

billz | April 15, 03:17 CET

She never looked skanky on Days.

WhoIsOmega? | April 15, 03:21 CET

Haunt, the picture of WW dishing with Lois Lane with Superman pouting in the background cracks me up! Excellent artist, i'm a fan of his take on Catwoman as well(now there's a movie I *demand* a remake of).

Oh and thank you SoddingNancyTribe for making my links prettier. :)

Lunakitty | April 15, 08:09 CET

This is a rather old rumor.

syd | April 15, 10:10 CET

Would you be alright with Reese Witherspoon in the role?

I wouldn't object to the physical disparity but the difference in spirit. I mean, if Reese could call back to her Freeway days and get back some of that invigorating anger, sure. If not, then not so much. Not b/c she's blond and cute, but b/c she's too old (Fray is a feral teenager) and mature feeling now. Back when she was 19 however...

I guess I'm of the school that spirit counts more than the flesh. Instead of listing every brunette actress with the right eye color (tedious, and the only reason this Bjorlin is being talked about so much), I want somebody, as billz said, who suggests strength and character. Skin, hair and eye color (along with bone structure) I could care less about. Gimme fiction, give me spirit and fire. Lucy Lawless would rock, but she is sadly too old now.

dottikin | April 15, 13:07 CET

Well truthfully I agree with you on the "spirit counts more than flesh" argument. But being realistic, I just don't think there's a snowball's chance in a hell dimension that DC/Time-Warner will allow as drastic a reimagining of one of their "holy trinity" characters as casting Gina Torres (or *shudder* Lindsay Lohan for that matter). I think almost everyone here agrees that Gina could absolutely pull it off, but the Powers That Be are unlikely to alter Wonder Woman enough to allow for that admittedly genius casting option.

You are absolutely right. Physical traits can be tweaked by make-up or effects, or just outright ignored. It's the acting, the soul of the actress that is far more important. But seeing as this discussion will have no bearing whatsoever on who really ends up being cast I see no harm in casting some nets around and finding actresses that can act AND/OR look the part. No one thinks that just because the dozens of fans that have weighed in here on this thread favor Morena or Nadia or Charisma that the casting director for this film will actually even consider any of those actresses.

This is all good, clean fun.

Haunt | April 15, 20:59 CET

She never looked skanky on Days.

That's certainly possible, April. These might be "FHM/Maxim" type photos where they want her to look as sexy (skanky-ish) as possible. Are there pictures of her in action on Days?

I still loves my Gina. And, yeah, I forgot Rosario Dawson, also a great contender.

billz | April 16, 00:56 CET