Recasting Twilight (or: Blasphemy!)

Alright, I'm probably about to piss off some of you. Because this post is about how I would recast the Twilight Saga. If I got three wishes, one of them would be to start the saga over with a bigger beginning budget and a way better cast. I know many of you like the movies as they are and love the cast members, but my biggest problem with the movies (aside from Rosenberg's writing - she'd be gone in my saga re-do) is that I feel they are miscast. As much as I like KStew (and I do, in other movies), I feel she's too stuff and twitchy as Bella.

I'm happy with some of the cast, but my challenge to myself was to completely recast it, and I'm pretty happy with these selections. So, without further ado, I give you my new Twilight cast.

TWILIGHT
Starring

Ellen Page as Bella Swan

(bonus: her eyes are already brown)


and

Paul Wesley as Edward Cullen

So broody...

The rest of the cast (in alphabetical order by character):

Rachael Leigh Cook as Alice

Bradley Cooper as Carlisle

(bonus pic, because I love this)

Daniel Cudmore as Emmett

Elisabeth Shue as Esme

Eddie Spears as Jacob (from New Moon on, only)

Ryan Kwanten as Jasper

and

Evan Rachel Wood (a.k.a the other girl in Thirteen) as Rosalie


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The only recast cast member, you will notice, is Daniel Cudmore because the guy is freaking MAMMOTH. Emmett is supposed to be very big, and that guy is enormous. I like KLutz, but he's a tidge small. Ideally, if Eddie Cibrian wasn't so far past what age I felt Emmett should be, I might have cast him, but he's also not that big. So: Cudmore for the win.

Same with Jacob - I actually think Taylor Lautner is great in the first movie, but he is so small after that, I think he should have been recast for New Moon. Bella's supposed to not really recognize him because of how much he's grown and everything. I tried to find a guy who kind of looked like a larger version of Taylor here:
And I know that Eddie Spears doesn't exactly look like him that much, but I did my best.

As for the others, Ellen Page would have been phenomenal as Bella - I think she does the sarcastic, awkward thing as well as KStew does, but she has a definite openness to her vulnerability that KStew seems unable to share with us.

I think Ryan Kwanten has really soulful eyes - they make me believe he could perhaps feel the emotions of others. My ideal Jasper would be the Thelma & Louise Brad Pitt:
But since I didn't allow myself time travel in this challenge, I'm going to stick with Ryan. Also:

'nuff said

Paul Wesley is super close to what I pictured for Edward when I read the books, and when I saw him on the Vampire Diaries for the first time, I knew he was my Edward. He also looks amazing with his shirt off, and (sorry, RPattz fans) that would be nice to have in the saga.

Elisabeth Shue and Bradley Cooper are both a little old for Esme and Carlisle, but then so are Elizabeth Reaser and Peter Facinelli, so... I just think those two (Shue and Cooper) are so stunningly beautiful (okay, I totally have a steamy crush on Bradley Cooper).

I think Rachael Leigh Cook is adorable and elfin, and I have to give credit to Jen from So Twired for giving me the idea a loooooong time ago when I asked who she would cast, because that was her pick for Alice and I went, "Oooooh, YES!"

Finally, my least favorite current cast member is Nikki Reed as Rosalie. She looks AWFUL as a blonde. She's a beautiful girl, and she has the attitude down, but she looks horrible in this role. A gorgeous blonde, Evan Rachel Wood could also nail the bitchitude the role requires, AND look good doing it.

So there you have it: my ideal(ish) Twilight cast. What do you think? I'm sure I'm about to get some backlash for the recasting of the menfolk, but I stand by my choices. Let me have it in the comments...