This is just so wrong

As a fan of Iggy Pop, I was appalled to read this:

Former "The Lord of the Rings" star Elijah Wood will play Iggy Pop in The Passenger, a biopic of the legendary rocker, reports Variety. Ted Hope's This Is That Productions and Traction Media are executive producing.

The movie, which follows Pop's early years with his band the Stooges, will be directed by Nick Gomez (Drowning Mona) from a script by Eric Schmid.

The $6 million-$8 million "Passenger" is set to film in next six months and is scheduled for delivery by midsummer 2008.

Pop has "given his blessing" to the project but will not take part in it.

(Via D-Listed.)

Don't get me wrong; I like Elijah Wood. I loved him as Frodo in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. He's just wrong for the part. For one thing, he's just too...pretty. No one ever accused the Ig of being particularly attractive, even when he was young. Also, Iggy's early years were the height of drug-fueled decadence and debauchery, coupled with sheer rock 'n' roll rebellion. I just don't see Elijah Wood being convincing in this.

Here's the young Iggy:

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i-7745795b021abd46aca6aa38511fd8ec-IggyPop.jpeg

Here's Elijah Wood:

i-400e8c7edaf55e7d779de0a352fd457d-elijah wood.jpg

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Yeah, I can definitely see the resemblance...

Maybe if Wood stripped and rolled around in broken glass for a while, as the Ig liked to do.

More like this

Steve Buscemi would have to have been a consideration?

Heck Martin Scorcissi had Leonardo Dicaprio play Howard Hughes in the Aviator?????

By Uncle Dave (not verified) on 16 May 2007 #permalink

Iggy Pop was portrayed quite well by Ewan McGregor (in highly fictionalized form as "Curt Wild") in 1998's Velvet Goldmine.

I don't know, I didn't think he'd make a good cannibalistic creepy murderer child, then I saw him in Sin City. He's kind of flexible. It will depend on how emaciated he looks when shirtless however.

Some say that Charlize Theron's transformation into a much less attractive person for the movie Monster got her an Oscar. Perhaps Elijah wants to mimic this success?

By Mike Saelim (not verified) on 17 May 2007 #permalink

Iggy Pop was portrayed quite well by Ewan McGregor (in highly fictionalized form as "Curt Wild") in 1998's Velvet Goldmine.

Yeah, that was a good performance, although the movie was a bit of a mess. A mostly enjoyable mess, but definitely a mess.

Well, before 'the Doors' movie, Val Kilmer was known from 'Top Gun' and 'Top Secret', clean-cut in both. After 'the Doors', I can't even remember what the actual Jim Morisson looked like! So I guess the performance is everything and we should keep an open mind.

As pretty as Elijah Wood is...and he is damn pretty...I can see him doing this. He's really one of the most flexible actors around in Hollywood today - look at Sin City, for one.

Does this mean we're gonna have to see Elijah's... errrr... wood? 'Cause I'm not sure if I'm down for that.

You know, actually, I can see it. Iggy is lean, but not at all tall (I've met him) and I think Elijah is the sort of actor who would get deeply enough into the part physically (though hopefully not to the point of hospitalization, like Gary Oldman did in Sid and Nancy years ago.

The trick will be getting skinny yet wiry/stringy enough. Iggy's still very muscled, possibly more so than in his early days (or the lack of subcutaneous fat shows it more).

Man, when I read that you wrote "As a fan of Iggy Pop, I was appalled to read...", I was really afraid that you were going to tell me that one of my heroes had just said some sort of homeopathic/ID/Chopra-woo/denialist crap.

So as much as I agree that Elijah seems like a poor choice to portray the young Iggy, I'm relieved that the man himself is still the man I love.

You liked him in LotR? An acting range of A to B, barely. His (or Jackson's) idea of showing deep emotion is to stand around looking mildly dyspeptic for 5 minutes while the entire movie stalls -- again.

It might actually not be a bad choice at all, they do have very similar eyes and it'll be interesting to see how ripped Wood can get his body.

By hollywoodjaded (not verified) on 19 May 2007 #permalink

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm..... whatever!
i don't care what people say about him....
elijah is just a dream(L)(L)(L)(L)(L)(L)(L)
if i met him someday, i would be the happiest person in the world!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!(L)(L)(L)(L)

ELIJAH:
I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU!

DID YOU UNDERSTAND?

I LOVE YOU!

By lúú* (not verified) on 09 Dec 2007 #permalink

OH MY GOD I SOOOOOOOO LOVE ELIJAH WOOD!!!
ALL MY FRIENDS THINKS IM SAD BUT HE'S HOT - LOL
I LOVE YHUUUUU!!!!
OH ALSO I LOVE...

(ELIJAH WOOD)
DANIEL RADCLIFFE
ORLANDO BLOOM
RICHARD HAMMOND &
DAVID TENNANT

LOL

IM NOT THAT SAD AM I???

I ABSOLOUTLY LOVE YHUU GUYS.

THE SAD THING IS THO I WILL NEVER MEET THEM EXEPT IN MY DREAMS...

i don´t know but i trust in makeup and this is the oportunity to Elijah show a great performance, I´m a fan of Elijah and I think he is a good actor, but, he needs a film like this for touch the top at last..
bye

ok, qu'il tâche de faire un bon boulot ,
ce sera pas rien incarner iggy pop et j'espère que le film sera grandiose.

ok, you are sooooo right. i heard a rumour that he wont be playing the part anymore.. so hopes up for all us reeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaal iggy pop fans.. and not the ones that are so gonna go see that movie just cuz an elf or what ever that guy was is in it...

god bless real rock.
we love u iggy.
(8)i am the passenger(8)and i ride and i ride(8)

So, because you find him "pretty" you assume he can't act? Is this what you assume of all people, men and women alike? IF you find someone "pretty" then they are stripped of all potential for talent in your misogynist patriarchal view of the world? Huh? Am I right?

Admit it, Orac, you are an Aestetophile! You say you are a surgeon. You are probably a Plastic Surgeon! Aren't you! Admit it!

.... (deep breath).

sorry, sorry. I'm calmer now. I just get so bent out of shape whenever I see someone, especially a wealthy actor or model, being Objectified by a Blogger...

Anthony Kiedis is THE PERFECT Iggy Pop

By haggard312 (not verified) on 19 Apr 2008 #permalink