Thursday, July 23, 2009

Playing Matchmaker

Photos have turned into a major source of inspiration for me these days. One of the first things I do when I start a new book is print off pictures of my new hero and heroine. Sometimes the image I have in my mind is a celebrity, but in many cases it's just a regular folk. It's important to me that these people "go" together, that they look right side by side, that they complement each other.

That whole process has got me to thinking about how directors go about casting actors and actresses as couples in movies. There are some matches that seem perfect to me (think Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan) and others nothing short of disastrous (Harrison Ford and Anne Heche in Six Days, Seven Nights).

I thought it'd be fun to play matchmaker today.

So who do you think did it best with Viggo Mortensen? Maria Bello (History of Violence), Liv Tyler (LOTR) or Diane Lane (A Walk to Remember)?






































Gerard Butler? Thandie Newton (RocknRolla), Hillary Swank (PS I Love You) or Lena Headey (300)?







































Johnny Depp? Marion Cotillard (Public Enemies) Penelope Cruz (Blow) or Juliette Binoche (Chocolat)?





I'd post more but for the fact that downloading and arranging these photos is very complicated. Can you think of some on-screen couples that really worked for you? Any that you thought were disastrous?

Happy Thursday!
Helen

14 comments:

KylieBrant said...

Helen, like you I found the Harrison Ford and Anne Heche pairing disastrous. Likewise Meg Ryan and Nicholas Cage in City of Angels. It's hard for me to find people who resemble the characters' images I have. All the males end up looking like Clive Owen, LOL.

Terry Odell said...

My avoidance of movie theaters is obvious here. I've only seen two of the referenced movies.

Which is probably why I don't use movie star images when I'm 'seeing' my characters.

Anonymous said...

I watched The proposal a few weeks ago and thaught that Sandra BUllock and... oups can't remember her co-star's name, anyway they had GREAT chimistry, IMHO anyway !!

Anonymous said...

Ryan Reynolds !!! that's him, big, gorgeous and funny !

Michele Hauf said...

I do the exact same thing! I can't start a book until I have 'faces' to go with the characters. Then I keep the pics on my desktop while writing. Thandie Newton is my current heroine, and I've paired her with Chris Cornell (formerly of Audioslave).

I don't care who goes with Johnny, I'm snatching that pic! Nice.

Helen Brenna said...

LOL, Kylie. I went through a Clive Owen stage too, and then I hit a hero he just didn't fit and it broke my addiction. Kind of. hehehe

Terry, I'm a movie freak. I'll watch pretty much anything and everything.

Emmanuelle, Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves from Speed came to mind as one of my all time favorite pairings. But then I thought about it and realized that you can pair just about ANYONE with Sandra, she's got such a great persona! Can't wait to see that movie!

Helen Brenna said...

That is a great pic of Johnny, isn't it? I think it must've been from from around the time of Chocolat.

Thandie is gorgeous. Can't decide if I like her or Lena better with Gerard. I didn't think he and Hillary were a good match.

Terry Odell said...

I DID see The Proposal. A rare excursion 'celebrating' hubby's recent change in job status. We went on a Tuesday to the 11:20 AM show.

We're probably going to venture out to the Julie/Julia one as well. But mostly we do Netflix.

Debra Dixon said...

I do have to have faces and names to start a book.

The only movie I truly loved Keanu in was SPEED with Sandra Bullock.

I can't recall any disasters right this second but I know them immediately when I see them. My mind immediately sighs because I know the movie just won't be right. It'll be slightly off the entire 90 minutes and its very frustrating.

Oh! I know a couple I don't like and that's TRUE BLOOD. They just don't work for me. Love the brother, love the show, but Bill and Sookie are, IMO, wrong. I love love Sam, but not Bill.

Helen Brenna said...

That's interesting, Deb. I don't watch the show, but I thought everyone loved those two together?

Cindy Gerard said...

Hey Helen. Sorry to be chiming in so late. I so want to see the proposal and IMO, Bullock and Ryan Reynolds are the perfect match.

Going back a ways - one of my fav couples was Catherine Zita Jones and Antonio Bandaros (sp) in Zorro. What a fun movie that was and they were great together.

Helen Brenna said...

Oh, Cindy, Catherine ZJ and Antonio were a match made in heaven. So cute and sexy! Yes.

Laurie G said...

I liked Julia Roberts with Richard Gere in Pretty Woman.

I liked Julie Christie with Omar Shariff in Dr Zhivago.

I liked Dirty Dancing's Gray & Swayze.
Also Swayze & Moore in Ghost.

I liked Rocky's Stallone with Talia Shire? (Adrienne)

Helen Brenna said...

All good ones, Laurie!