Les Mis Movie: Russell Crowe as possible Javert?

There's another contender for the new Les Mis movie that's in the works: Russell Crowe. Apparently, the actor is very "keen" on the idea of playing Javert.

Could this work? I haven't heard Russell Crowe sing before, so I can't really judge him on that. Based on looks alone? Hmm... let's compare him with the other speculated Javert front-runner, Paul Bettany.

Ah... I still don't know. Crowe is darker (i.e. not super-white like Bettany), like Javert is "supposed" to be, but in some Bettany photos he has this really fantastically intense look about him... so, yeah, I don't know. This one I'm just really on the fence about both ways.

But... take a look at this shot of Russell Crowe, from the movie Master and Commander (which, ironically, Paul Bettany is also in).

Remind you of anybody? No? Come one, just think about it... think about it some more...

Alright. Does this jog your memory a bit?

RUSSELL CROWE HAS THE ABILITY TO LOOK A LITTLE BIT LIKE FREAKING PHILIP QUAST.

Sigh. Just give me a second to get over that. Okay, I'm good now.

Maybe it's just me. But I see a similarity there. And it's freaking awesome.

Anyway. From what I heard, however, director Tom Hooper really wants Bettany in the Javert role. He probably has a better chance of  getting it than Russell Crowe does.

Of course, all of this possible-Javert-casting is just speculation. Nothing has been set in stone, and all of this is simply what I heard on the grapevine.

Something has been confirmed though, and that's the fact that Hugh Jackman will be in the movie, as confirmed by his rep. However, when asked about what role Jackman would actually be playing, the spokesperson only said, "I think Valjean." So, there's a possibility that he could be playing someone else... but, personally, I'm sure that he's going to be playing Valjean.
Something else that's (kind of) been confirmed? The movie will have spoken dialogue mixed in, unlike the musical, which is sung through. I'm totally fine with that. I mean, turning a theatre musical into a motion picture is going to require some changes.

I've also heard that the movie will probably start filming around February, once Hugh Jackman is done with the movie he's currently working on, The Wolverine.

February. That's in less than a year. OH MY GOODNESS.

They better cast this freaking movie soon, before I go insane.

Ramin Freaking Karimloo

Alright. So, this man right here... he's fantastic. That's all I can say. He's one of the people that I think I can honestly say I adore (okay, okay... I say that about a lot of people. But still). His voice, his face, his smile... ah. (: He's just great. And quite talented.

Ramin has played both Raoul and the Phantom in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera. He also plays the Phantom in Love Never Dies, which is POTO's sequel. He has also played Marius in Les Miserables. And, of course, there's the role that made me fall in love with him: Enjolras in the Les Miserables 25th anniversary concert. (;

Staying on that topic, let me just say that, before Ramin, I wasn't the biggest fan of Enjolras. I still liked him, I just didn't love him. There were other characters that I was more in love with. And then I saw Ramin's take on the character... and I was hooked. (: He's still not my favorite character... but I enjoy him a lot more when Ramin is portraying him. (;

Anyway. Ramin was born in Iran, but grew up in Canada. Also, he and fellow actor Hadley Fraser (Grantaire in the Les Mis concert) have a band called Sheytoons. They're actually pretty good. (:

Ramin Karimloo and Hadley Fraser

Anyway. So... yeah, that's a little bit about the fantastic Ramin for ya. Now, here's some music. (:

Here's Ramin at the 2011 Oliver Awards singing "Till I Hear You Sing," which is a song that the Phantom sings in Love Never Dies. The song starts out quiet, then from 1:40 and on, it's just... "wow."

ETIAW - Coldplay

I turn the music up, I've got my records on

I shut the world outside until the lights come on

Maybe the streets alight, maybe the trees are gone

But I feel my heart start beating to my favorite song

All the kids they dance, all the kids all night

Until Monday morning feels another life

I turn the music up, I'm on a roll this time

And heaven is in sight

...

I've had this song stuck in my head for about... I don't know, two weeks now? I actually heard the Boyce Avenue cover first (see my Boyce Avenue post). I loved that so much that I was like, "Hey, I love Coldplay, too. Why not go check out the original song?" So... I did.

At first, I wasn't a fan. I just... didn't like the song at all.

Of course, about four tries later, and I was hooked. It's still not my favorite song by Coldplay, but I still really like it.

So... here it is. Every Teardrop Is A WaterFall by Coldplay. The video's slightly... epileptic, I guess, for lack of a better word. You'll see what I mean. Not the entire time, just most of it. But still, kind of cool. Give it a chance. (;

Anyway, that's all. I felt kind of bad for not posting in a while, so I thought I'd get something out. Because I'd hate to fall out of habit with this blog. :/ It's basically the only place that I can ramble about the things that I really love. ;D

Fireworks (:

Well, it was the 4th of July yesterday. Which, of course, meant fireworks.

... which, of course, meant an interesting photo-taking experiment opportunity! (;

I took a lot of photos. Only about 15 of them really turned out. Some of them actually turned out looking pretty cool. Here are my favorites. (:

Of course, they're by no means fantastic photos. But it was fun to to play around with taking the pictures. (:

And something random? Every time I look at these photos, I get Katy Perry's "Firework" stuck in my head. Ah, well.

My... bucket list.

"Life is what happens to you while you are busy making other plans." --John Lennon

... I've decided that I want to start making a bucket list. Yes, I know I'm sixteen. No, I don't plane on dying any time soon. But, if I want to get this stuff done, I need to start planning! (;

Plus, it's fun to even just dream about doing all of these things. (;

So. Here's... the beginning, I suppose? In no particular order. And I'll add to it as time goes on. And who knows? Maybe I'll even be able cross things off as time goes on. (:

CHANTEL'S BUCKET LIST

1. Visit New York
2. See Les Miserables... as many times as possible (preferably 5+ times)

3. Stand on the Pont au Change bridge in Paris. It has some significance in Les Mis (with Javert, if that gives you a hint).

<--- There's a picture

4. See the Northern lights

5. Go to California (yes. I've never been to California).

6. Get hypnotized

7. Watch someone else get hypnotized.

8. Meet Alfie Boe

9. Visit Ireland

10. Get married to an amazing guy

11. Visit England

12. Meet Simon Baker

13. Be in a production of Les Mis (even just the ensamble would be fantastic).

14. Get my ears pierced (yep, my ears aren't pierced yet. I'm too much of a chicken. But it will happen!)

15. Meet Conan O'Brien

16. Meet Craig Ferguson

Anyway... that's about it when it comes to that. For now. (: