One of the first projects I remember as an agent assistant is "Cast A Deadly Spell." We had quite a few clients read for the roles, but none landed it. To memorialize the passing of Fred Ward, I revisited this.
It's a cross between a Dashiell Hammett story & Harry Potter. Ward played gumshoe Harry "Phil" Lovecraft, who gets hired by Hackshaw (David Warner) to recover the Necronomicon stolen from him by the next night at midnight, since he has a very important spell he needs to cast then.
Phil is an ex-cop that refuses to use magic & has questionable taste in ties. His former partner Harry (Clancy Brown) is now a crime boss & integral into the theft of the #book.
In his pursuit, the trail leads Phil to Harry's club, where femme fatale & former lover Connie (Julianne Moore) performs.
At the top of the movie, we see that the original thief was Mickey (Ken Thorley), who was planning on using it to run away w/ his lover Lily (LeeTergesen).
But while Phil is doing all the heavy lifting getting the book back, including have to fight a giant gargoyle, he's being shadowed by Det Grimaldi #PeterAllas. Well, at least until he sees Olivia (Alexandra Powers), Hackshaw's daughter, an integral part of his plan, which gets spoiled by love.
I love the cleverness of the mashup. The EFX are a little cheesy, as it's 1990 effects. What's REALLY fun is seeing how young all these actors look. This took place just before Moore broke out in "Hand That Rocks The Cradle." And OMG Brown looks like a baby! Dir Martin Campbell would later go on to direct "Casino Royale." So, there's a lot of pedigree here!
There's actually a sequel to this called "Witch Hunt" but they replaced Ward w/ Dennis Hopper. IDK why.
Kudos to casting director Pam Dixon for putting together such a talented cast w/ actors before their big breaks.
RIP Fred Ward You were a big part of the movies I love & you will be missed.
It's a cross between a Dashiell Hammett story & Harry Potter. Ward played gumshoe Harry "Phil" Lovecraft, who gets hired by Hackshaw (David Warner) to recover the Necronomicon stolen from him by the next night at midnight, since he has a very important spell he needs to cast then.
Phil is an ex-cop that refuses to use magic & has questionable taste in ties. His former partner Harry (Clancy Brown) is now a crime boss & integral into the theft of the #book.
In his pursuit, the trail leads Phil to Harry's club, where femme fatale & former lover Connie (Julianne Moore) performs.
At the top of the movie, we see that the original thief was Mickey (Ken Thorley), who was planning on using it to run away w/ his lover Lily (LeeTergesen).
But while Phil is doing all the heavy lifting getting the book back, including have to fight a giant gargoyle, he's being shadowed by Det Grimaldi #PeterAllas. Well, at least until he sees Olivia (Alexandra Powers), Hackshaw's daughter, an integral part of his plan, which gets spoiled by love.
I love the cleverness of the mashup. The EFX are a little cheesy, as it's 1990 effects. What's REALLY fun is seeing how young all these actors look. This took place just before Moore broke out in "Hand That Rocks The Cradle." And OMG Brown looks like a baby! Dir Martin Campbell would later go on to direct "Casino Royale." So, there's a lot of pedigree here!
There's actually a sequel to this called "Witch Hunt" but they replaced Ward w/ Dennis Hopper. IDK why.
Kudos to casting director Pam Dixon for putting together such a talented cast w/ actors before their big breaks.
RIP Fred Ward You were a big part of the movies I love & you will be missed.