Let's imagine that a new big budget production of Rumpelstiltskin was being made. Though it would be live action, it's audience would be primarily children, similar in idea to the recent "Mirror Mirror" although we can pretend that this one will be well made. If you need a refresher on the story of Rumpelstiltskin you can find one
here.
Characters:
The Miller
His Daughter (The lead character)
The King
The Prince
Rumpelstiltskin
The Daughter
Shailene Woodley-The 20 year old star of "The Secret Life of the American Teenager" just coming off her first nomination for a Golden Globe in "The Descendants" is poised and ready for a breakout. She has the ability to portray the complex emotions of being locked up in a tower, and especially important for a young actor, someone who could play the desperation necessary for a mother trying to keep her child, an ability she shows regularly on her TV series. Woodley is young, beautiful, has the acting chops, and the experience necessary to headline a major blockbuster. She is my choice for the lead.
Rumpelstiltskin
If I could reimagine Rumpelstiltskin, I think I would make him a classically good looking man, with a dark underside, but for our children's film, I think we'd better stick with a more traditional approach to Rumpelstiltskin such as this Steven Player illustration.
Steve Buscemi would not be a bad thought, but he's the star of a major HBO production, and a creepy character part doesn't seem like a career move he would be likely to make.
John Malkovich I would worry would legitimately scar children, so I settled on television actor
Michael Emerson. Emerson certainly can play creepy as his 4 time Emmy nominated run on Lost attests. He is now working on the CBS drama "Person of Interest" so a character part in a major motion picture would be right up his alley. His physical features, seem to be a great fit for the part as well.
The Miller
Jim Broadbent- The 63 year old actor is certainly no stranger to fantasy, having played Professor Slughorn in "Harry Potter" and the Professor in "The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe." The role that makes me think of him the most here though, was as Fenoglio in "Inkheart" an otherwise completely forgettable film, where he played the vain, yet easily manipulated author of the story. Broadbent, an Oscar Winner and consummate professional, would bring a sense of dignity and grounding to the production, while giving credibility to the wild inciting incident of the story, that a farmer would promise his daughter could complete a task he absolutely knew she could not.
The King
Brian Cox-The King is an interesting role to cast because we would need someone who could realistically threaten someone's life if they can't spin straw into Gold, and yet someone that the Miller's daughter will readily accept as a father-in-law. Brian Cox certainly has managed to create a resume as a strict and to the point character in his run in the Bourne series and as the Russian in "RED:, while also creating the persona of a loving father in turns such as "Rookie" or "Rise of the Planet of the Apes." Cox is exactly the kind of dependable actor that could round out a cast for top notch blockbuster.
The Prince
The main role of the prince is the story is to appear so good looking and wholesome the audience never questions why the Miller's daughter would be happy to settle down for a long and happy life with him, without even so much as meeting him before she got locked up to spin gold in the tower. The choice came down between two actors
Freddie Stroma, the handsome Brit who escorted Hermione to the Christmas Dance in "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" and
Nicholas Hoult the boy that adopted Hugh Grant in "About a Boy" all grown up. When it came down to it, however, Hoult's recent experience in blockbusters like "Clash of the Titans" and as Beast in "X-Men: First Class" convince me that if the role were to get expanded, he would handle it just fine, and I'm still confident he'd take the part for exposure as a romantic lead.
What do you think of this cast, who would be so much better than what I've suggested, tell me in the comments below.
If I could reimagine Rumpelstiltskin, I think I would make him a classically good looking man, with a dark underside, but for our children's film, I think we'd better stick with a more traditional approach to Rumpelstiltskin such as this Steven Player illustration. Steve Buscemi would not be a bad thought, but he's the star of a major HBO production, and a creepy character part doesn't seem like a career move he would be likely to make. John Malkovich I would worry would legitimately scar children, so I settled on television actor Michael Emerson. Emerson certainly can play creepy as his 4 time Emmy nominated run on Lost attests. He is now working on the CBS drama "Person of Interest" so a character part in a major motion picture would be right up his alley. His physical features, seem to be a great fit for the part as well. 
Brian Cox-The King is an interesting role to cast because we would need someone who could realistically threaten someone's life if they can't spin straw into Gold, and yet someone that the Miller's daughter will readily accept as a father-in-law. Brian Cox certainly has managed to create a resume as a strict and to the point character in his run in the Bourne series and as the Russian in "RED:, while also creating the persona of a loving father in turns such as "Rookie" or "Rise of the Planet of the Apes." Cox is exactly the kind of dependable actor that could round out a cast for top notch blockbuster.
This is mostly a test, I haven't seen any comments work yet.
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