adamwarren
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EMPOWERED casting call: Kicking it off with Elissa Megan Powers!
🕑 Added 2021-04-30 13:24:52 +0000 UTCWhilst trying to think of something interactive to put up on this here Patreon, I wound up pondering, "Why not get some kinda Empowered casting-call dealie a-rolling just for the heck of it?"
For the record, nary a nibble of interest in optioning Empowered has been expressed anywhere since a (luckily) failed MTV pitch 5 or 6 years ago, nor do I much give a crap any more. Still, I get the impression that readers like to discuss casting calls along these lines, as I've periodically seen actors and actresses suggested in webcomic comments and even here on the ol' Patreon from time to time.
While animation would, I think, be an easier way to adapt Empowered, for the purposes of this post let's imagine a (not-gonna-happen) live-action version of the property.
So, to kick things off, a few weeks ago I solicited nominations from the higher Patron tiers for actresses who could—or could have, years or possibly decades ago—portrayed our protagonist, Elissa Megan Powers (aka Empowered, aka Emp.) Note that this isn't a real casting call as such, so Patrons could've nominated vintage icons like, I dunno, Catherine Deneuve or Marilyn Monroe; and in the list below, some of the actresses are being nominated as if this nonexistent Empowered adaptation had taken place a decade or more ago.
The idea, here, is for all Patrons to vote on an actress who could've played Emp; then, at some point down the road, I'll try to work in an art-req sketch-set image featuring the winning actress in Empowered-character costume. Sound viable? Hope so! (We'll work our way through the rest of the Empowered cast in the months to come, never fear.)
So here are our 10 Emp finalists, along with some quick reference images I dug up online. (Note that this selection tends toward largely old-school, Wizard-magazine-style "hair color casting," but what the heck.)
First up is Katherine Langford (Spontaneous, 13 Reasons Why), which is kind of cheating on my part as I'm already planning on doing some Emp-ref life drawing studies from her blonde-dyed look in Spontaneous:
Amanda Seyfried (Mank, Big Love, etc.):
Kathryn Newton (Freaky):
Lily Reinhart (Riverdale):
Chloe Grace Moritz (Kickass, etc):
Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones), because why not:
Emily Browning (Sucker Punch):
Hayley Atwell (Captain America, Agent Carter):
I'm tacking on French actress Ludivine Seigner, as I've used images from her 2003 flick Swimming Pool as actual reference for Emp early on in the series:
And finally, we have Maika Monroe (It Follows, The Guest):
UPDATE: Whoops, added an 11th actress to the list, as I belatedly recalled that I had Emp herself state somewhere that she assumed Kristen Bell would play her in a movie. So...
Kristen Bell (Veronica Mars, The Good Place, etc.):
(Note, by the way, that what was intended as a fun, quick, throwaway post wound up taking longer to assemble than any other g-d Patreon update I've ever done. Whoops, again!)
So, vote away, Patrons! Who could (or could have) best played Elissa Megan Powers? Lemme know!
Comments
A Patreon of the Ahts
I saw this in Spain and thought she looked like Emp so I took a picture https://files.catbox.moe/v2wjpv.jpg
The Silver Socialist
Ninjette has always been a white girl.
Adam Warren
Yeahp!
Adam Warren
Whoops, forgot about that, too! Oh, well.
Kenneth Winkelman
Brittany Murphy.
Dean Reilly
Also, are you thinking about similar polls for other characters?
Dean Reilly
I would have thought that Kristen Bell is a bit too petite to play Emp. I'd buy her as an Anglo Ninjette, though.
Strypgia
None of them seem to have Emp's curves, though the Katherines seem to have her face close. I'm still voting for Bell. Hmm... Stefania Ferrario might do for that. She's 39-28-40, and 'plus size', which means she looks like a normal woman and not a Hollywood stick.
Jon F
I totally forgot to nominate Olivia Taylor Dudley from The Magicians...
The Silver Socialist
Langford looks the most like her. She's also the only one that looks innocent enough. The other give off way too much of a high school mean girl vibe.
Phfighter
Is the issue with Elissa's weight perceived or is she a bit overweight? I know Spooky said she was engaging in "weight transference" so I wasn't sure if she was 10-15 lbs over. Not that it matters 😜
Phfighter
I had literally come up with a list like this only a week ago and both Chloe Moretz and Lilli Reinhart were on it as they're both approximately the same age as Elissa. I could totally see either handling goofy situations in a RL version.
Pat Bryant
Did not the Blazing-Eyed Devilgoat (or whatever he is) proclaim it must be JOHANSSON, SCARLETT?
Dark Kuno
Not sure any of the ladies above have the gluteal endowments necessary to properly visually portray our favorite distress damsel.
e-reptile disfunction
I'd never herad of Langford before, but looking her up...uh... think this poll is superfluous. I think Atwell is AMAZING, but if we were starting out with a fresh-out-of-college emp, she just exudes so much confidence that that'd be a tough sell. She has so much range, though - I'd love to see her show up. Seyfried's a bit younger, has the natural bloond look. She is a few years younger than atwell, too, and reads younger. She's my second best pick here. Emily browning is gorgeous, but she's a better fit for Ninjette than EMP. I know she's not exactly the aryan blonde archetype that emp seems to embody, but a wig or a good trip to the hairdresser could make Jodelle Ferland fit a slightly wider casting call. Then again, the best choice here is to find a relative unknown who already has the body type and is the right age and let her suff.... I mean grow with the character.
Yildo
Given Emp's focus on her curviness, I'd say someone who's more Hollywood plus-size like Amy Schumer.
