The Beast Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Good news, Patrick Swayze fans -- he's one step closer to kicking cancer to the curb. Variety reports that the dirty dancer's pilot show about an unorthodox FBI agent, The Beast, has been picked up by A&E and that it will still star Swayze. Everything was up in the air when it was announced that he was fighting pancreatic cancer, but now insiders have told Variety that the actor's doctors have given him the thumbs up to continue working, just a few weeks after he announced that he was responding well to treatment.

Shooting the series should keep him pretty busy, but I wonder what this means for the rumor that Swayze would return to the world of Point Break for a sequel, should his health allow it. Will we be getting more Bodhi? I wasn't too keen on the idea in May, but it would be better than some other films that could try to grab him, like, say, that wretched Donnie Darko sequel that's in the works.

Kelsey Grammer, the loquacious actor portraying the Beast in X-Men 3: The Last Stand, recently sat down with Sci-Fi Wire to discuss his thoughts on playing the popular Doctor Hank McCoy. Unlike some actors who have confessed to childhood affinities for the X-Men, Grammer candidly admitted "I don't know much about X-Men except the films, actually." He went on to explain "I was a Thor guy when I was a kid. Thor ... I remember resonating, probably because I was a Norse god in my past. I must admit." He did, of course, do some comic research after being cast as the furry Beast, everything from reading comics to talking with real fans. According to Grammer the best help he received came from his makeup guys, who are "complete fans," working in "the perfect job."

I still have reservations on the casting choice of Kelsey Grammer. The man is a wonderful actor, of course, but just doesn't quite fit in my mind for Beast. He's got the articulate genius thing down pat, but I have trouble picturing him with the power, grace and style of Beast. Who knows, though ... maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised. I'm really doing my best to keep a hopeful outlook on this film.

Despite being a highly respected actor in many regards, and a distinguished and amusing gentleman overall, Kelsey Grammer has met with perhaps more criticism than any other casting decision within the X-verse. Grammer recently sat down with the folks over at CBR to discuss the challenges of the role, and his opinions of the film in general. The interview kicks off with a lengthy discussion of the costume work involved, highlighted by his description of his four year old daughter's reaction to him in makeup (she apparently now calls him "Blue Guy") and then moves on to a discussion of Grammer's role in the film and his performance as a popular comic book icon. Grammer discusses the challenges involved with playing a character who already has a built-in fan base with high expectations, saying "Yeah, and you can't live up to those, can you? [Laughs] You just have to put it out there with your soul and your heart, and hopefully people will respond." There's lots of other interesting info in the full interview- I encourage you to check it out here, if you have the time, along with the rest of CBR's great X-Men 3 coverage.

While I enjoy Grammer's work greatly (I loved him in The Big Empty), and I do understand that he could pull of the character on some level, I think I ultimately have to count myself among those that are disappointed by his casting. I can't even entirely pinpoint why – and maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised and find myself eating crow after I see his performance. Apparently, the people involved have been particularly impressed with him; the assosciate producer has been quoted as saying that The Beast is so great in this film that he could have his own movie on the way. Thoughts?