I Guess I'll Need Actors If I Want a Movie

Reasons I Should Write the Sailor Moon Movie #24: I Like Mad Men

I've been furiously working on the first draft this past week or so, while also working on a draft version of my notes for Physics 115. I decided to take a break from that to write on a topic that I haven't really discussed since back in Part #2: how I would cast the movie. There were quite a few reasons that I've avoided sharing my casting ideas, the two biggest being that writers don't really have a say in casting (or anything, apart from the script) and that my biggest priority in getting this thing written was. . . getting this thing written, somehow, in between school, marking, office work, house work, and (for three months, anyway) living and travelling in Japan.

Still, I do have ideas on who I would cast-- some vague, some definite, some whimsical-- and I thought that it might help readers of this series (old and new alike) if they had some idea of whose faces I'm picturing in my head as they (said readers) make their way through the script.

Thus, my ideal casting call (thus far) for Sailor Moon.

Usagi/Sailor Moon:

I already mentioned that I would have liked to cast a young actress like Abigail Breslin, someone likely to be in their mid-teens by the time I imagine the movie taking place (about 2014). Since then. . . well, I've watched a lot of Mad Men. In particular, I've watched one of the show's actresses gradually step out from the background and into the forefront, earning critical accolades in the process. That actress, and my choice for the roll of Sailor Moon, is. . .

Kiernan Shipka


In addition to being good and blond and American, she was also born in 1999. This means that not only would she be the right age to play Usagi-- if this movie were ever to come into being-- but she was also born in the year of the rabbit! Plus, like I said, she's good.

Usagi's Parents

I also like The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, whose cast of satircal correspondents includes Canadian husband and wife duo-- and my choice for Usagi's Parents--

Jason Jones and Samantha Bee:



Why? Back when the Sailor Moon anime was a YTV staple up in Canada, Bee performed as Sailor Moon in some live action stage show at the CNE in Toronto (thank you, Wikipedia. . .). That, combined with the fact that Jones, like Usagi's dad, is a journalist (. . . or at least plays one on TV), as well as the fact that the two are married in real life, makes them, in my mind, perfect as Usagi's parents.

And if they turn down the role, I could always just settle for Jon Hamm and January Jones.

Makoto Kino:

An Ainu. Obviously.

The problem is that the Ainu are still quite marginalized in Japanese society. There have been people of Ainu ancestry who have made it to positions of prominence in Japan-- including one member of the Diet-- but as it stands, it appears that there are no actresses of Ainu descent working in Japan (feel free to correct me if I'm mistaken-- I'd be happy if I was). In particular, there are no actress who are:

- In their teens (as of 2014)
- Taller than the average Japanese woman (the Ainu, on average, are actually shorter than the Yamato, or "ordinary" Japanese ¹)
- Masters, or at least practitioners, of the deadly arts (Karate, Jiu Jitsu, Aikido, etc.)

Nonetheless, there is one Ainu celebrity I have been picturing in the role since I started writing the script: Mina Sakai, a half-Ainu, half Yamato (and ALL "Japanese") musician.


Usagi's Schoolyard Associates:

As Naru Osaka, Usagi's best friend: Rina Koike, the actress who played "Sailor Luna" in PGSM.

As Umino Gurio, the swirly glasses nerd: Naoki Takeshi, the actor who played Usagi's little brother on PGSM.²

And finally, as Usagi's teacher Haruna Sakurada: PGSM's Queen Beryl herself, Aya Sugimoto.

Speaking of PGSM. . .

The Witches 5:

If you've been following the script, you already know this one:

The Cast of PGSM

The Witches 5 (some of them anyway) were designed as counterparts to the Sailor Senshi, so it makes sense to cast the actresses who played PGSM's Sailor Senshi in the roles. I'll leave it up to you to figure out which actress plays which Witch.

Mamoru Chiba/Tuxedo Mask:

Yuya Yagira, who won the Best Actor Award at the 2004 Cannes film festival for his debut role in the film Nobody Knows.


Dr. Tomoe:

If you've been following the series, you probably know this too:

Geroge Takei.

It's not a ridiculous as it sounds. The man does speak Japanese (that's what got him his recurring role on Heroes) and he has played villains before (including an accused Japanese war criminal in the film Blood Oath). Plus, he is so associated with being both benevolent and fabulous and that his eventual face-heel turn will be all the more shocking. . . except for anyone who reads this blog. . . or knows who Tomoe is.


Minako Aino/Sailor V:

Finally, I have a very specific idea of who should play Minako Aino. Very specific. . . and very secret.

Thoughts?

1. The quotes are sarcastic- if anything, the Ainu are more "Japanese" than the Yamato. On an unrelated topic, FOOTNOTES!!

2. And no, I don't care that both of these performers will be too old for these roles by 2014.