Cool News
Will Ferrell is Ignatius J. Reily'
Hey folks, Harry here... Dammit, I always thought I'd get to be Ignatius J. Reily... sigh... Ok, I believe that Will Ferrell MAY be more perfect for the role than me. But, he'll never get that cow chewing cud beam of intelligence that I just naturally have! Heh. Actually, I think this is about as perfect casting as you could possibly see for the role. And when DREAMWORKS picks this sucker up and makes serious damn bank on the film and ends up with Academy Awards and what not... well, the story will be legendary. Heh... You don't know... it could happen. It could too. Shut up! You'll see, I'll be proven right and then... then you'll regret that Talk Back you just wrote. Yes, you will too. Stupid doo doo head!
Harry,
Will Ferrell's reading of the great Ignatius J. Reily
from John Kennedy Toole's immortal A Confederacy of
Dunces at the recent Nantuckett Film Festival has paid
off. He is to star in David Gordon Green's film of the
book in early spring of 2004. How Miramax could bail
on financing this potential movie classic is beyond
me. I'm sure Steven Soderbergh, Scott Rudin, and Drew
Barrymore will find a new backer, but it wouldn't hurt
for you and AICN to apply a little pressure.
Yours Truly,
Inman
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and that's all I have to say about that.
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...but who cares!!!
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...He's so hot right now!!
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I swear, there's some kind of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD-style comet passing over the world that is convincing people that Will Ferrell is actually funny. He was funny for precisely 17 seconds in ZOOLANDER and that's it. Keep him the fuck AWAY from CONFEDERACY... Didn't I hear that Philip Seymore Hoffman was originally cast? Now THAT'S who should play Reilly.
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Yeah, I'm afraid the notion that Will Ferrell is a comic genius has somehow escaped me. Hoffman was at one time courted for this, and he's PERFECT for it! Not to mention a brilliant actor. I'm also leery of David Gordon Green for this project. Have you seen GEORGE WASHINGTON? It was hailed by every critic as like the second coming of Good Cinema, yet was very arty, naturalistic and sleep-inducing. I've always see CONFEDERACY as a offbeat character-driven belly-laugh-inducing farce. I will reserve judgment till it's actually made and I have more to go on, but the choice of director and lead actor don't have me champing at the bit to see this, one of my favorite books of all time.
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to me what this movie/play is about? Never heard of it.
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Sep 15, 2003 6:25:44 AM CDT
Didn't Winona Ryder once threaten to blow up whatever studio mad
by margot_tenenbaum
...or was that The Catcher in the Rye?
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I'm too struck by laziness and malaise from the muggy weather to look up a synopsis about the book. I have heard of it long long ago in a place called high school. But that was millenia ago. Can someone tell us what it's about? Is it anything like Gravity's Rainbow? Or A Canticle For Leibowitz?
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Great, this has always been #1 on the list of books that were optioned for screenplay, but never filmed. And now we get WILL FREAKIN' FERRELL! OK, the book is about a fat, ugly, balding loser who lives in New Orleans with his mother, gets into trouble with the locals, and farts a lot. So I'm sure the studios thought "Gee, Will Ferrell can fart, let's get him!" PSH is who I pictured in my head when I read the book a few years ago. He makes it a real movie, Ferrell makes it "Night at the Roxbury 2". Hollywood sure sucks sometimes...
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Now that's a true shame. I don't believe he'll be able to manage the irony and pathos of this masterpiece.
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you guys are taking this way too seriously...it's a funny, quircky book that won a pulitzer...great...
it's not hamlet
will could be great...the wanking scene should be interesting... -
How can you NOT see him for this role? As much as I like Ferrell, I doubt he is capable of the skills to fully make this character three dimensional. And no, I don't think Jim Carrey is a great dramatic actor. A spot-on impression of Andy Kaufman does not equal a three dimensional film character. You gotta find the soul. And Ignatius has so many bizarre idiosyncracies and issues I think it would take a method actor of the highest caliber. Phillip Seymour Hoffman isn't just the best person for the role, he might be the only person who COULD do it.
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Whoa. Wait. Will Ferrell? I mean, i like the guy and all. I thought he was great in Old School...well, maybe once they get a fat suit on him and everything. I don't know though...the best people for the role are, regrettable dead, e.g.
John Belushi circa 1978
or a really tightly reigned in Chris Farley.
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Jack Black is the bastard son of Ignatious Riley and the Minx! He has the right blend of portly ennui and officious condescention. He is perfect and Harry should use any means necessary to make sure that half funny Will Ferrel does not botch John Kennedy Toole's unique and singular worldview.
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This is supposed to be the vampire version of Confederacy of Dunces! That's what the book critics call it. Fangoria ran a review recently. Some guy named Andrew Fox wrote that novel. I don't know, I might read it. I mean c'mon, a 400 pound vampire ... it has to be fun!
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Get with it people.
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What if we called it "A Confederacy of Dunes" and cast Kyle McLachlan?
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C'mon folks, you're missing the most obvious characteristic of Mr. Reilly: He's a lumbering ox brimming with middle age intelligence and honor. Yes, I think Phillip Seymour Hoffman could pull it off there, so yeah, he's kinda got my vote. But I think the best person to play Ignatius is Ethan Suplee (Big White guy from "Remember the Titans," played Willem in "Mallrats", played Tuna in "Blow' with Johnny Depp, was Seth, the adorable Neo-Nazi in "American History X," and who could forget him as the idiot savant thug Francis Albert 'Frankie the Enforcer' Stecchino Jr. in "Boy Meets World" etc...) He's got depth, and basically just looks the part. Slap a mustache on him, a hat with ear flaps and a dirty jacket and he's the spitting image of Ignatius Reilly!! Will Ferrell must either gain weight or they're gonna have to stick him in a fat suit (which would detract from the role, I think). For the love of God and everything that is BEAUTIFUL and PERFECT with John Kennedy Toole's timeless masterpiece, rethink Will Ferrell and GO WITH ETHAN SUPLEE!!!!!! If they go with anyone else, I'll personally remake CONFEDERACY, and hire Mr. Suplee to play the role that was made for him. (But if he's not available, I'd go with Philip Hoffman.) There's my two cents, don't go spending it all on candy!
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Sep 15, 2003 2:18:36 PM CDT
Get Pruitt Taylor Vince and his disturbing twitchy eyes.
by mosquito march
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Sorry, but I can't see Mr. F doing this part. (I wish I'd been at the read-through; maybe then I'd change my mind) I always imagined one actor for the part: Oliver Platt. He's got the gravitas and the sarcastic intelligence to play the role. (and he's a portly actor) Now, granted they can do a lot with prosthetics and make-up, but it still won't be as genuine as the real thing. As one of my all-time favorite books, I remain hopeful but skeptical about this project and it's chances of being any good...
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It's called "Confederacy of Dunces" and it's not about Guber/Peters or Simpson/Bruckheimer?
Seriously how about Paul Giamatti, Oliver Platt, Vince Dinofrio or a dramatic breakthrough for Jack Black?
Shit I'll take Horatio Sans over the Elf. -
But since that apparently didn't work out, ah well. I'll hold judgement on Ferrel.
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That was the one move that made me think they knew what they were doing. But I do like Ferrel, so I'll hope for the best here.
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Interesting casting choice and very interesting pick for director. Based on their earlier works, I wouldn't have thought of either of them for this project. I am now very . . . interested.
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This book didn't do much for me. I never understood its fanatical cult following. (I do appreciate the story behind the posthumous publishing, however.) Perhaps its appeal was over my head, or perhaps it's just that -- as one person above mentioned -- I just didn't like the protagonist that much. Reminds me of...me. That said, Philip Seymour Hoffman is the master, and I wonder if a Will Ferrell Hollywoodized vehicle is the right direction.
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A Confederancy Of Dunce is funny, but it is also a dramatic role that requires the lead character to project intellengence and curmudgeonly misanthropy. Will Farrell is a great comedian, but there is so far no hint whatsoever that he can handle such a role that combines humor with intelligence. I don't know who they should get for this role, but Farrell is totally unproven as a dramatic actor.
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Some of you mention Phillip Seymour Hoffman as Ignatius, and that sounds like a good idea, a much better idea than Ferrell. How about this: Oliver Platt as Ignatius. He's a somewhat portly, big guy who could put on some weight to play fat/obese, he's a decent dramtic actor and he's a good comic actor. This is a role that requires pathos and humore, and I think that Platt could portray the character well. The book is a cult/literary favorite; this is not blockbuster film material. They should not be trying stunt-casting like Ferrell. They should make a good, smart, funny indie style movie out of this great book. That's my two-cents. Barron out.
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I meant to type "A Confederacy Of Dunces" in my first post, NOT "A Confederacy Of Dunce" (obviously). Sorry.
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Sep 15, 2003 6:31:08 PM CDT
You think Ferrell is miscast? What about David Gordon Green, a
by fortywatto
Hey, I liked George Washington, and really liked All the Real Girls, but his style doesn't seem suited to Confederacy at all. Let's hope he can reign in that second camera -- the one he uses to shoot "atmosphere" -- and concentrate on the story.
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Sep 15, 2003 6:46:02 PM CDT
GET DREW BAREYMORE AWAY FROM THIS MOVIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
by smeg for brains
And any other movie for that matter. SHE IS AWFUL! Donnie Darko is an incredible movie, EXCEPT WHEN SHE IS IN IT. HOW COULD ANYONE THINK OF PUTTING HER IN A MOVIE LIKE THIS?!
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Sep 15, 2003 6:47:03 PM CDT
GET DREW BAREYMORE AWAY FROM THIS MOVIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
by smeg for brains
And any other movie for that matter. SHE IS AWFUL! Donnie Darko is an incredible movie, EXCEPT WHEN SHE IS IN IT. HOW COULD ANYONE THINK OF PUTTING HER IN A MOVIE LIKE THIS?!
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Louie Anderson... You know, if he's still alive and all.
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the author of this was a dead ringer for Harry and committed suicide because he couldn't get the book published. of course, as soon as he was dead, a publisher snapped it up and it won a pulitzer. is that true or just bad info?
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Whoa. I can't believe how many literate, cool people on here have read this book(whether they like it or not). Very impressive. I thought this TB would have like 4 posts. We read this my junior year in HS instead of Faulkner (Faulkner is now my favorite author but As I Lay dying which we would have read is still one of my least favorite of his books). You know when we met Soderberg at a Limey screening 4 years ago we asked him how he would adapt this book. He said they had a way (never elaborated) but that at this point he was never going to direct it. I'm sure his script is great (well maybe not too sure anymore. Solaris had half a good script. Note to Soderbergh: Do NOT inject pedestrian love stories into interesting sci-fi). Anyhow...the real problem isn't Will Ferrell. I adore him, not sure if he fits the bill (weight is SO important) but he could probably do it. But Green??? Jesus, could you get anyone more pretentious and humorless? He is gonna fuck this thing up like Lee fucked up the Hulk or Scrader botched the Exorcist sequel. It's a cool idea but a BAD fit. Really, this Malik wanna be has yet to do anything that dazzling. Sorry...I know he has his fans but whatever...but this film is going to miss big time. I predict it will be a wrong headed, misinterperted adaptation along the lines of The Shipping News. Steven...get another director. It needs someone with a Coen-esque touch. Or more like Wes Anderson. What about Noah Baumbach? Also, not to self:stop using so many damn parentheses.
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John Kennedy Toole committed suicide because he couldn't get the book published but it was 10 years before it got published and won the Pulitzer.
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I disagree with you on whether or not Will Ferrell is funny, but I DO think you're right about Phillip Seymour Hoffman: he's a phenomenal actor, and he's all but perfect for the role. To borrow an old cliche, he IS Ignatius. The casting's just a little botched, it's still good, it's still good...although, to be honest, I thought Kyle and Efram were nuts for liking Shia LaBeouf as Kelly in 'The Battle of Shaker Heights' better than Emile Hirsch, so what do I know? I do know that I'm still looking forward to this project and that Scott Rudin seems to be cornering the market in literary must-haves that are adapted with high-minded ideals.
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There are a LOT of suggestions on this board that initially seem like better choices for 'A Confederacy of Dunces' than Ferrell. Is there anyone in the house that's seen his reading of the character and can testify to this as the right choice?
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so it is true. it sounded a bit too cliche to be true: the unappreciated author whose work is published after his suicide. but does he look like harry? i assume the author modeled the book on himself because i also heard he lived with his aging mother. maybe this could be harry's big break !
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The ONLY perfect casting choice. PERIOD!
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Sep 16, 2003 12:05:42 AM CDT
WIll Ferrell always acts like a regular untalented person trying
by red giant
How the hell did he ever get to here? SNL always pushes its crappy cast into movies and such, but usually the public rewards them with the credit (or lack thereof) they deserve. His generation of SNL is an embarassment, to which he heavily contributes.
He has no talent other than being a regular person trying to act. I stay away from anything with him in it after I saw Austin Powers and that unbelievably lame fez-wearing character he 'played'. Are you going to seriously tell me you all didn't cringe watching him talk in that? He sucks. -
Toole was an English teacher at an all girl Catholic school here in New Orleans and did live with his elderly mother until his death. He tried for years to get a book published but it wasn't Dunces. His mother found the book in his closet after his death. She tried for 9 years to get it published with no luck. As a last resort, she brought it a College professor at Loyola University who read it and brought it to a publisher. He wrote the forward to the book in the early printings.
John Goodman was approached about 5 years ago for the role of Ignatius but he said the only person that should play that role is a local actor named John "Spud" McConnell. I've seen him do the role on stage and given the freedom to do it properly, he would be a star.
Having Ferrel or Black as Ignatius would make it as good as Corky Romano. -
The only thing not going for Philip Seymour Hoffman is height. He's only about 5' 7", give or take an inch or two. I haven't read CONFEDERACY in a couple of years but I seem to recall that Ignatius J. Reilly was a tall, hulking, obese man. Someone mentioned Ethan Suplee before and he was who I pictured while reading the book but I don't know that he has the acting chops to do the role justice, certainly not as much as Hoffman. Now Hoffman is a chunky man but not HUGE! Will Ferrell is tall enough and if you stuck him in a fat suit, he would look the part, no doubt. As far as the acting goes, I don't get you people that don't find Ferrell funny. I think he can play Ignatius. He's definitely not the first person I would have thought of to cast but I wouldn't have thought of Sam Rockwell as Chuck Barris or Marlon Wayans as Tyrone in Requiem for a Dream but they worked incredibly in those movies. Obviously, Soderbergh and Green cast Ferrell because they are confident he can do the role justice. Because of the fact that comedians have to keep straight faces while doing or reacting to funny things as if they aren't funny (Jimmy Fallon, take note), they have a tremendous ability to handle dramatic roles well. Since this isn't as much of a dramatic role as, say, Tom Hanks in Philadelphia, it won't be a complete stretch for Ferrell. I think a lot of people are going to be surprised, whether they care to admit it or not.
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Not in terms of theme, obviously. But regarding quality and importance as "literature," "A Confederacy of Dunces" is the equal of "Hamlet." I would go so far as to say it is the most important, not to mention best, novel of modern times. I don't know of any other book that inspires the reaction of this book. I actually know people who love and re-read this book (besides myself). Regarding Ferrell, he hasn't shown himself capable of acting but maybe he'll be a revelation. This book certainly isn't pure comedy, though. There is a great deal of sadness and depth to the material. A movie can't possible be as good as the book, but if it inspires some people to discover the book, all for the better.
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It's definitely one of the best. THE best... I can't say that. I would give that to Catch-22 but I've often wondered why Confederacy doesn't have the same wide fanbase of psychotics as Catcher in the Rye; it certainly deserves it.
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The most interesting aspect of this is the director - David Gordon Green? Why would he go with Will Ferrell, of all people? It sounds highly unlikely, unless he wanted to pull a PTA. In light of that this sounds like bs to me, but who knows.. If they really want a perfect Ignatius T. Reilly, all they have to do is phone up my university, I had a college professor who would be perfect for the role in every possible way. *shudder* Not as funny in real life, believe me.
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Because the cultures into which the two books were released are vastly different. Think about it; do you think that 'Catcher in the Rye' would have such an avid following if it were released tomorrow?
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...and I don't see Farrell as much as I like the actor (he does have the intelligence for the roles, have seen him display it in interviews). PHS or Brendan Gleeson would be so right for the part, although the ex so wanted it to be the neighbor boy from "Better Off Dead"-- but that name escapes me now.
Screenplay review up at FilmJerk.com: http://www.filmjerk.com/nuke/article374.html
Chris -
When I read the book, I kept seeing one person in mind.
This is the Simpson's comic book guy in all his glory,can anyone deny that he was based on Ignatius? -
Determining whether or not Catcher in the Rye would be as popular if it were released today is a hard judgment to make. My first instinct was to say no because, on the whole, we're jaded... but a lot of that is the effect of over 50 years of Catcher being in the public eye, being taught in schools, featured in movies, etc. It pretty much made it made it OK to be anti-social. I can't really imagine what an America without Catcher in the Rye would be like now, and how it would be receptive to a book like that. But my comment about Confederacy deserving to be as popular as Catcher is more rhetorical than anything; it's kind of hard for a 23 year old book to compete with a 52 year old book on that level. Parents have been passing Catcher down to their kids for many years now. I was really just saying that more high school kids need to read Confederacy, maybe even in the same lesson as Catcher, as I've always seen Ignatius as a sort of Holden, 15 years later. However, the generation that discovered Confederacy is having kids now and maybe in 20 years, it might get the following it deserves.
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Sep 17, 2003 3:01:55 PM CDT
Want to shave off about 140 million in costs? Get rid of Drew Ba
by bannthisucommies
Or at least force her to reduce her staff to less than the standing army of China.
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In favor of the flavor of the month. That's hollywood, and there ain't a way around it. I like Will, thought I'm not quite sure he's got what it takes for more prfound roles. I disagree with the people that are bringing up his inteligence when talking about the guy. Comedy is a highly precise and difficult form of art to master, and he's definetly a master of it. My favorite "obese" actor - actually one of my favorite actors period- is John Goodman, he's got the chops, comedy, drama, quirkness, his doen it all. I would never trust Jack Black with this kind of role, and Philip yeah I love the guy but I'm bit tired of him. He's been doing like 200 movies a year. I don't know why every one in hollywood- with the exception of the Coen Bro's- overlook John so much. Ethan Suplee? Not in a million years, the guy's a kid, a funny kid but not much of a depth in that one. With that said, my real concern goes for Gordon Green. What is this guy done to deserve to helm anything bigger than soem half baked pretensious indies? Why won't Soderbergh direct this one himself? Drew Barrymore- You were great in E.T. but that was 20 years ago. But I'll let produce anything you want as long as you promise there will be no more Charlie's Angels.
John is as Good a Man for the job as it gets. -
I am a high school student (SENIOR YEAR. CAN'T WAIT FOR COLLEGE), and I've read ACOD. I read it about a year ago. My girlfriend at the time gave me a copy of the book for Christmas since she had just gotten done reading it and had loved it. I picked it up and read it over break. ACOD, along with HITCHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY, is one of the few books that actually made me laugh out loud while reading them. Since then, I have given the book to the more literate friends of mine at school, all seniors like myself, and they have enjoyed the book immensely. We even utter quotes from the book here and there that usually elicit stares of bewilderment from people who haven't read the book. In fact, I was just having a conversation about ACOD with our school's head of the English department yesterday.... So there are quite a few high schoolers who love ACOD like myself, but they're very hard to find.
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Yeah, and there are tons of grammatical errors in that post, but I'm just going to chalk them up to a headcold.
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than see another movie with Will Ferrel in it. God, is there anyone less funny in the world?
My choice for the role: Vincent D'Onofrio in a fat suit. -
This character should have been played by Jack Nicholson - if they could find a time machine to make him younger and make him a little less like himself. You know what I mean?
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Goodman is a good actor with great comic abilities, but he is too old to play Riley, who is sort of an adult momma's boy. Dinofrio is a good actor, but he is way too serious and totally unproven as a comic actor. I have never seen this guy be funny. He is usually stone-dead serious in all of his roles. Ferrell is the opposite: funny, but unproven as a serious actor. This role requires both dramatic AND comic acting. I strongly suggest Oliver Platt, who is both a good dramatic actor AND a good comic actor. He is not too old to play Reilley (like Goodman). He has the size and could put on weight and/or a fat suit to play obese, and he can play both the drama and the humor. Go with Platt. Barron out.
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Yeah, Will Ferrel will make a good Ignatius, but Phillip Seymour Hoffman would be gooder and John C. Reilly would definitely be the goodest. Yepp.
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