Idea for the remake...

First off, I want to state that like many people I am not a fan of Hollywood remakes of classic films - especially if they are just going to do essentially the same exact thing that worked before. That being said, I do think that Ben Affleck's upcoming remake of WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION is an intriguing idea as long as he tells the story in a way that is different from the classic Billy Wilder version. I have an idea that I am curious what people think of.

First off I would cast in the role of Christine the great Cate Blanchett. I think she is perfect for the role in her chameleon like ability to play characters (and obviously for this role and the plot, that is crucial). I would love to see how an actress like Blanchett would interpret this great character.

I would cast George Clooney in the role of Leonard (I know that Ben Affleck is scheduled to play the role himself). I know he is older than the character is suppose to be, but I don't think the age should be that irrelevant. Clooney would be cast because of his charm which up until this point has been used to play heroes and mostly good guys. I would LOVE to see him use the George Clooney charm to essentially get away with murder like Leonard does. Age aside, I think he would be perfect.

And then the dramatic wildcard and change I would make to the novel and story. The role of Sir. Wilfrid was made so iconic by Charles Laughton that it is going to be difficult to top. Why not change the gender of Sir. Wilfrid and make it an elder female barrister. I would love to see someone like Dame Maggie Smith, Judi Dench or even Meryl Streep attempt to play this role and completely different version of this character. I have no idea if the Christie estate would allow this change to the source material but it would certainly make the story come across as fresher while not changing the main storyline.

From a modern movie standpoint, if you were to make Wilfrid a female and cast Streep in the role or even Maggie Smith as well as give Blanchett the Christine role, it would give the audience an opportunity to see two of the great female actresses go up against one another in some great, GREAT heavy-dialogue driven scenes.

Just an idea.