American Gods - Ian McShane cast as Mr. Wednesday

[NewJeffCT]

excellent choice for the role, I think. Neil Gaiman seems to think so as well - "When you write a beloved character (beloved with, or despite, or because of all his faults) like Mr. Wednesday, you get to watch the Internet trying to cast the role," Gaiman said Wednesday in a statement. "I've seen a hundred names suggested, but few make me grin like Ian McShane does."

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/ian-mcshane-star-american-gods-872269

[progressoid]

1. Have no idea what American Gods is but I love Lovejoy

Recently remembered that Ian provided a voice over to a Grace Jones song.

[NewJeffCT]

2. American Gods is an excellent novel by Neil Gaiman

From wikipedia:

American Gods is a Hugo and Nebula Award-winning novel by Neil Gaiman. The novel is a blend of Americana, fantasy, and various strands of ancient and modern mythology, all centering on the mysterious and taciturn Shadow. Several of the themes touched upon in the book were previously glimpsed in The Sandman graphic novels.
...


The central premise of the novel is that gods and mythological creatures exist because people believe in them (a form of thoughtform). Immigrants to the United States brought with them spirits and gods. However, the power of these mythological beings has diminished as people's beliefs wane. New gods have arisen, reflecting America's obsessions with media, celebrity, technology, and drugs, among others.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Gods

[whistler162]

10. AHHH...I first thought it was a update of the Addams Family

with Ian McShane as the husband of Wednesday Addams.

[CBGLuthier]

3. Interesting choice.

In my mind he was a little thinner and taller but McShane is a very good actor. I sure hope Starz does this right. Their recent take on Evil Dead was pretty good.

[NewJeffCT]

4. McShane is shorter than I pictured as well

but, he has that worn/weather-beaten face I pictured for Mr. Wednesday. (I had pictured a younger Anthony Hopkins as well)

[OriginalGeek]

5. I'm not familiar with the property

but if Ian is in it, I'll watch it. Loved him since Deadwood (probably even before that but that's the first thing I remember thinking "Holy SHIT this guy is fucking awesome!&quot

[NewJeffCT]

6. I'd never really heard of the book before

and had never read Neil Gaiman, other than the Watchmen graphic novels from the 1980s, which I had mixed feelings about at the time.

However, when I saw a list of the 100 greatest fantasy & sci-fi novels on NPR, I was disappointed that I had read under half of them. American Gods was in the top 10 and it was the highest on the list I had not read, so I read that one and absolutely loved it. And, I had initially not liked it, as I thought I wasn't going to like Shadow (the main character) when he was first introduced. But, he quickly grew on me, and the rest of the quirky and unusual characters were loads of fun.

(I'm trying to up my overall total on that top 100 list now as a means to pass time before Winds of Winter comes out... I've read several other classics I'd skipped over the years over the past 9 months or so - Something Wicked This Way Comes, I Robot, A Canticle for Leibowitz, The Forever War, Ringworld, the Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Watership Down and a few others.)

My bad on this one - I edited this to add that Alan Moore wrote Watchmen, not Neil Gaiman. Not sure why I thought it was Gaiman?

[OriginalGeek]

7. I need to do the same

You grow up thinking you read everything - especially sci-fi, and then see a list like that one at NPR and realize you been missing out. I don't get to the library as much as I used to but now I got the kindle so there's no excuse lol.

This sounds great so I'll look for it. I didn't read Watchmen until about a year before the movie came out.

[yellowdogintexas]

8. Saw this in my daily WiC email (WinterIsComing)

in reference to McShane's 'small but pivotal role' on Game of Thrones.

McShane was my dream actor for Roose Bolton, actually.

Agree: "American Gods" is a good read>

[NewJeffCT]

9. Emily Browning is now cast as Laura Moon

http://comicbook.com/2016/03/17/american-gods-casts-emily-browning-as-laura-moon/