Psyched Over "Making of 'Psycho'"?
Thursday, April 12, 2012 at 3:44PM 
Jose here. Biopics are always a controversial topic. People get riled over the casting choices, the director, the time period they cover etc. (Anyone still remember when Julia Roberts was interested in playing Kate Hepburn?)
One of the biggest upcoming biopics officially begins production tomorrow. It's none other than Hitchcock (based on Stephen Robello's Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho) which will chronicle the making of one of the greatest movies of all time. The movie will be directed by Sacha Gervasi (of Anvil! The Story of Anvil semi-fame) and as of now has one of the most fascinating casts assembled in recent history to pay tribute to this legendary movie,
Anthony Hopkins headlines as Hitch and Helen Mirren will play his wife Alma Reville. Scarlett Johansson and James D'arcy are set to play Janet Leigh and Anthony Perkins respectively (although the other way around would've been interesting too, where's Todd Haynes when you need him?)
Why don't we just take a look at them with their real life counterparts?
On a side by side basis, D'arcy seems to be spot on to play Perkins. Have any of you seen Dot the I? The movie was very very bad yes, but James was electrifying as the creepy friend to Gael García. The biggest draw in the movie might be watching Scarlett Johansson recreate the shower scene. ScarJo is a terrific screen presence but can she pull off a biopic that doesn't require her to just sit and pose for Vermeer? Leigh got a Best Supporting Actress nomination for her iconic role as Marion Crane. Will the never nominated ScarJo emulate this as well?
Personally I'm most curious about Jessica Biel. Who would've thought she would ever be asked to play a classic Hollywood actress? In the movie Vera Miles is onscreen more than Janet Leigh. How will Biel fare in the middle of a much more talented cast?
Do you think this is a case of the director seeing in her what Marty saw in Kate Beckinsale that led him to have her play Ava Gardner in The Aviator? In that case, do you think the movie might just recreate the awards path of Scorsese's nod to old Hollywood? Do you think it means something that the movie starts shooting on a Friday the 13th? Do you think we'll suddenly see a rise in Hitchcock biopics (remember there's one with Toby Jones in the leading role being made) For that matter, is Toby Jones the go to guy for all directors making similar biopics (I personally happen to think he was a better Capote than PSH...) so many questions, so little time.
Give us your take on this sure to be incendiary movie? Do you own Psycho? (the Blu-ray's $10 on Amazon right now. Score!) Is the book this is based on any good? When will ScarJo's first official portrait appear?
Reader Comments (18)
Hope it will be good! It may be Hopkin's best role since... well... I would say since "Proof" (2005), where he delivered such an underrated performances, in my opinion. Playing such a controversial and mysterious figure will generate some awards buzz around Hopkins, so, maybe this movie will put his career back on track.
Scarlett seems to be getting better roles since her Tony-winning Broadway debut and "We Bought a Zoo" may be the first movie of a new circle in her career and "Hitchcock" may be one of the higher-points. I can see the recreations of the multiple shower-scene takes as an acting showcase for her. As you said, Jose, she has a great screen presence, which will already help a lot and maybe she will get some awards buzz too.
Helen Mirren... well, she's simply always outstanding!
what do you mean by the other way around? D'Arcy as Janet Leigh and ScarJo as Perkins? I don't get it.
Scarlett has a very different vibe than Janet Leigh, but she proved in Lost in Translation (and in We Bought a Zoo, I guess, though that movie wasn't much) that she can play against type, so I think she can pull it off. I don't know what to think about Jessica Biel. Let's not forget that none other than Julianne Moore played Miles's part in the Van Sant Psycho remake, so even in the world of remakes/biopics, these are big shoes to fill.
Has anyone read the book this movie is based on? I have heard it is outstanding, but it is out of print, unfortunately.
no mention of toni collette as hitchcock's secretary, peggy robertson? as good as she was on UNITED STATES OF TARA (the show itself never seemed to match the quality of work that toni was performing), i was worried that she was gonna get lost in television land. hopefully, her role in this will be a scene-stealing showcase...
i was just thinking the other day about how bad kate beckinsale was as ava gardner (yes, i randomly think about THE AVIATOR sometimes. mainly, with the news of nicole being cast as grace kelly, i was thinking about other famous actresses that have played hollywood legends). had she even seen an ava gardner movie before they started filming? marty sometimes gets distracted by a pretty face...<cough> cammie d as a street urchin in 1860s NY <cough>...
The source material (Rebello's book) is outstandingly detailed, but I wonder how that was distilled into a workable screenplay. The cast is really quite impressive. If it includes the subplot that Hitch was still angry at Vera Miles for getting pregnant while he was prepping Vertigo (the Kim Novak role) and cast her as Marion's dowdy sister as revenge, it should be fun. Could be another "My Week with Marilyn" (a film I enjoyed).
Ed...Hopkins was brilliant in Proof...surprised no nom for him that year...so superior to Clooney and the other nominees.
I read the source book, ages ago now, and as a Hitchcock freak I enjoyed it quite a lot. I can't see how it would make for an interesting movie, though, but who knows? If the film centers on Hitch's relationship with Alma, it will be based on material that is NOT in the book. I don't remember anything in the book about Alma, except that she caught the instant that Janet Leigh as Marion Crane blinked after she was dead.
Excellent book. Finished it a week the week before it was announced.
In the next two years we're going to see Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of 'Psycho' and Saving Mr. Banks about Walt Disney's years-long courting of Mary Poppins' author for the rights of her books. What other 1960s movies are on target?
I'll pass. yup.
I'm hot for this.
The '05 draft is some kind of wonderful; promising, if episodic. ScarJo and Biel are both actresses that I adore despite everyone else's ambivalence/hatred, so the two of them together IN THIS MOVIE is like a treat made especially for me. Still more curious than excited to see Hopkins' Hitch, and I was championing Miranda Richardson as Alma...but Mirren's cool, too.
This cast makes me excited even if for the simple fact that it's very interesting. I think ScarJo is a great, but complex talent. Her acting is somewhat specific and works better in certain films than others. I'm excited to see what she does though, especially after that Tony win.
Jessica Biel excites me...not because I like her, or because she's a good actress, but because it's so interesting. I'm always up for being proven wrong (Mo'Nique anyone? I remember seeing the poster with Mo'Nique and Mariah Carey's names on it and scoffing, and then immediately after seeing the trailer a minute later, retracting said scoff). Not saying she'll have much to do since I don't know how much the role asks of her, but it's interesting for sure. How exciting for her, getting a real job.
I think that when Anthony Hopkins wants to be good he is great.
To me, it really depends on how excited he will be about this project.
I think Biel has a lot of acting potential. She's just so rarely called on to do anything but be a pretty face.
As for the film, Hitchcock is one of my favorite entertainment personalities. He hated actors and wasn't afraid to admit it. Yet, he always managed to beat out very strong performances from his casts. He was smart and dry and not afraid to open his mouth. He'll surely be a fascinating subject on film.
I am more impressed with scareltt and jessica going for these roles instead of easy paycheques and slumming,actresses need to be actresses,they need to prove they can act when called upon and the 03 snub for scarlett still rings loud in hollywood.
It will be interesting to see Jessica Biel playing Vera Milles (I confess I do not consider her a good actress), but the idea of having Scarlett portraying Janet Leigh sounds just great.
Her Oscar snub in 2003 for Lost In Translation (and Girl With a Pearl Earring) was just "ugly" and her dynamite performance in Match Point was Oscar-nod worthy, but she stills not being an "Academy Award nominee". Playing Leigh may give her the Oscar nomination she's overdue for and I bet this was one of the reasons why she got the role: a young beautiful actress in the right age who deserves an Oscar nomination will easily get it if she delivers a great performance than an unknown or another actress with a lot of recognition.
Like Ed said, she has a great screen presence, which will help her in the recreation of some of the most mytical takes in cinema history
Hopkins was great in "The world fasten indian" and Fracture. The cast is impresive and story exciting.
I'm not seeing Hopkins as Hitch - although I can imagine Hopkins doing at least an imitation of the voice. Hitchcock had such a specific, "shlubby" physicality about himself but yes, that very VERY dry wit (like an arsenic martini). I would love to see Hopkins "bring it" again, it's been too long.
BTW - I also saw "The world's fastest indian" on DVD a while back. The studio made the "mistake" of including the original documentary about the man, which was far more interersting than the film itself. which bored me.