Brad Pitt & Margot Robbie - "The Thin Man" re-make?

There have been rumors for several months that both Pitt's and Robbie's production companies have been looking at a re-make of the classic Thin Man movies of the late '30s to '40s. There's no word whether they would personally star as Nick & Nora Charles.

https://theshowbizclinic.com/movies/...omedy-mystery/

I don't think Robbie would be a good Nora, and maybe Pitt not even a good Nick.

For those who are familiar with the great classic film series, who do you think would be best cast in these roles?

Off the top of my head I believe Emma Stone would make a good Nora. Robert Downey, Jr. would be an excellent Nick, but he might be a little old. Possibly someone like Christian Bale or even Jude Law might work provided that they and Stone would have good chemistry. William Powell and Myrna Loy had arguably the best chemistry of any man/woman combo in history, perhaps even better than Spencer Tracy and Kathrine Hepburn.

Who would you like to see in these roles?

Gosh, that sounds like a terrible idea.

I think Adrien Brody could make a good Nick. Not sure about Nora, no one immediately comes to mind. Eva Green…?

Broadly speaking, I feel a lot of the charm of the original version is in the fact they’re married, they have a very traditional marriage dynamic in many ways, and since no one gets married anymore, I’m not sure how well the ‘partners’ stuff would work for this.

Even The Conjuring to me insofar as it did work worked because the two were a married couple with all the stereotypes that come with that, but it was of course a period piece.

I think the idea of a remake is fine, maybe even kind of "due." But I don't like the choices at all. All the ideas floated above, on the other hand, are quite good. Eva Green's the only maybe, but I think Downey Jr. would be good, and I think Stone and Brody would be great.

If you don't need overt star power and were just casting for ability, I'd tap Paget Brewster for Nora. The Thrilling Adventure Hour has a couple of characters that sit somewhere between homage and total rip-off, and she's wonderful at it:

Yeah, Brody might work. After all it is called "The Thin Man".. He could certainly handle the clever repartee. I can't decide if he has the gravitas that Powell had.

I'm still liking Emma Stone for Nora. Oh, if only Jean Smart were younger! And now more than ever we could use a contemporary Eve Arden..

@citizenrules, @Gideon58, and others who enjoy old films-- what are your picks?

I guess I would say that, for me, the charm wasn't so much the marriage as it was the clearly trusting and familiar relationship they had with each other. When Nora walks in on Nick with another woman in his arms, she just raises her eyebrows. And I don't think that's an "I don't care if he cheats moment," but rather her knowing he wouldn't. There's also the way that their joking about each other never feels like it comes from a place of malice.

I think that both Robbie and Stone bring that easiness/familiarity to many of their roles. I'm going to pitch Sebastian Stan and Emma Stone.

The title actually doesn't come from Nick: it comes from the description of the man he's asked to find. But the success of the film meant they had to keep using variations of it in all the sequels.

Yeah, tough to say. I think yes, but I actually think he'd struggle to be quite as whimsical as Powell was.

As for marriage, it's still plenty common, so I don't think that would be a hurdle (I assume the comment was largely in jest, though). But their marriage is definitely not incidental to their characters. Hell, one of my wife's favorite jokes from the series is explicitly about it. Talking about her husband's his lack of overt affection:

"You know Nicky, we were married three years before he told me he loved me."

Hmmmm. I've never watched the movies, but there was a 1950's TV show I saw somewhere subsequently in re-runs, with Peter Lawford and Phyllis (who's named Phyllis anymore) Kirk, in the title roles. It seemed witty and harmless, but also vaporous enough that it would seem as though someone is desperate for a new do-over. Pitt and Robbie don't seem right to me as Nick and Nora, especially Pitt, who doesn't seem to be the right guy for that sort of light touch acting.

Non-sequitor: the British, spoofed version of Nick and Nora...
David Niven and Maggie Smith as "Dick and Dora Charleston" in Murder By Death (1976).

I really don't like that Margot Robbie's being used more and more to build franchises when she's proven several times she can do interesting character work. Babylon showcased some of her best acting, but since it flopped hard she won't be cast in films like that as often. Asteroid City similarly went by with very little fanfare.

This doesn't make me cringe as badly though as her and Ryan Gosling both planning to star in another attempt at reviving Ocean's Eleven. My God, give these two an original project to act in at least. What the hell is up with this wasting of talent?

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Assuming they are remaking the classic films:
I wouldn't write off Robbie out of hand, I feel like we're still scratching the surface of what she's capable of, but there are certainly (lots of) others that would seem to make better sense at first blush.
But Pitt? Give me a break. Evokes nothing of what that character needs to be and has never shown he has that kind of thing is bag at 59 years old with all this time on the screen.

Assuming they are making it straight from the book:
Ok, I could see it.

There is always another talented fresh face just around the corner. If she wants to get paid, I can't blame her. Get your money while you can. The industry is capricious.

I'd argue at first that they don't need to be remade.

But it has been long enough that you could get away with it. I think Brad Pitt wouldn't work as Nick. Maybe a younger George Clooney could pull it off. Don't know enough about Robbie to know if she could take to it?

If I was casting, I think Neil Patrick Harris could pull it off. Maybe alongside an Anna Kendrick, Alison Brie or Gillian Jacobs as Nora. But chemistry testing is the key. And maybe have Rian Johnson direct between Knives Out movies...I think his style could work for the remake.

In that case, I think we also need Joel McHale and/or Donald Glover.

I'd have to give a little thought to the role of Nick, but for some reason, the first actress I think of in the role of Nora is Cate Blanchett.

I mean, I just assume she can adapt herself to whatever role, so yeah, I'm sure she'd be great, too. Not because she's especially suited to it but because I can't remember the last time she wasn't good in anything.

While I like the idea of Dasheill Hammett's work being brought out for a new audience, I'm skeptical they'll pull it off properly, as the book and the movies very much belong to their time. And any replacement for William Powell and Myrna Loy will automatically fall short.

And people don't get married anymore? That's news to me and my wife.

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I may go back to hating you. It was more fun.

Donald Glover? as Nick Charles?

He's just referencing the fact that all the people mentioned were on Community together.

That said, Glover's pretty good at everything, it seems.

@GulfportDoc and @Gideon58 I like your casting choices. How about a compromise; Robert Downey Jr. and Cate Blanchett.