Ever since Jack Reacher was announced fans of Lee Child‘s fictional character have cried foul at the casting of Tom Cruise. Having never read the books myself, but curious due to fan obsession, I can only go by what I’ve heard in that Cruise doesn’t match the physical characteristics of the character who is described in the character’s Wikipedia entry as 6′ 5″ tall with a 50-inch chest and weighing between 210 and 250 pounds.” Not exactly Tom Cruise numbers.
Making the rounds for a while now, Child spoke with Playboy about the decision to cast Cruise saying:
When you transfer a book to the screen, something’s going to give. It seems to me there are three essential things about Reacher. First, he’s smart. Second, he’s still and quiet yet menacing. Third, he’s huge. It was always likely we were going to lose one of those characteristics. The question was which. For a long time we were fixated on his physique. We had to have a big guy. But we got nowhere. There were no actors big enough who could do even one of the other things. Then it came as an epiphany. Give up the physique and concentrate on Reacher’s smartness and quietness.
As to the rabid nature of the fanbase he adds:
Readers feel they have some incredibly intimate possession. Reacher is theirs alone. Now suddenly this will be blown open. They get defensive. They think, I don’t want this taken away from me. This is my private thing, and the whole world is going to see it. The nature of the relationship has changed. People feel hostile toward someone else’s interpretation of a book. Their default position is opposition. I say to them, “See the movie, and then we’ll talk about it.” My guess is that out of every 100 book lovers, 75 will say, “That was really good.” And 25 will hate it. There’s just nothing you can do about that.
Child says actors such as Brad Pitt, Hugh Jackman and Vince Vaughn were mentioned in brainstorming sessions and then adds, “A black Reacher was mentioned: Will Smith or Jamie Foxx. Would that have produced the same outrage? Reacher is not black.”
I’ve commented on the film a lot recently and haven’t yet watched a trailer. I looked at December 21 release.
The film co-stars Rosamund Pike, Richard Jenkins, David Oyelowo, Robert Duvall, Jai Courtney and Werner Herzog as the main villain. Give the trailer a watch and let me know what you think.
