Watch me suspend the ol' disbelief
Aug 2
2010
In a strikingly Hollywood-ish bit of casting, Daniel Craig—a.k.a. the current James Bond—has signed on to star in the upcoming American remake of Steig Larsson's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Craig would not be my first choice to play schlubby, middle-aged journalist Mikael Blomkvist, but I will give the film producers this: his casting goes a long way towards explaining the character's inexplicable (in the book, anyway) sexual magnetism....
Posted by: Julianka
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dataduchess
Oh - I didn't think his sexual magnetism was inexplicable in the novel... and when I first heard the rumors of Daniel Craig being cast I started hoping he would sign - I think he's perfect. I always pictured Blomqvist as slightly vain, physically fit, attractive but not ostentatiously dashing. He's not every woman's dreamboat, but has some kind of charm that some women find irresistible.
Yulianka
Admittedly, I've only read sections of the books, so I'm definitely not the world's most competent judge, but I didn't see the charm (at least, not enough to buy him as the kind of dude who could attract so many partners). However, my feelings about the character might be affected by my dislike of their creator--after reading that Blomkvist was meant as a stand-in for Larsson, I think I transfered over some of my irritation with his author to him! (Seriously, couldn't the dude have arranged to leave his half of the apartment, free and clear, to his partner of 25-ish years?)
dataduchess
I could see how your dislike of Larsson would taint your view of the character, especially in light of the knowledge that Blomkvist was was even loosely based on himself. Perhaps, the difference between you and me is that I suspended my disbelief before I read the book, not after! Though, I was unaware of any of the author's drama (aside from his death) before I read the book.
P.S. Love your blog, I check in often!
Yulianka
Awesome, thank you! Yeah, I think I made the mistake of reading too much about the books before I read the books themselves. (I always avoid reading about the books we're sent to review, but I picked up this trilogy at my parents' house, so I thought it would be safe.) I didn't realize what big news they'd turn out to be.