recast challenge

Every other Wednesday on BuzzSugar, I post a Recast challenge, where I ask you to choose new actors for a classic TV show or movie. The reader who submits the best cast wins a BuzzSugar t-shirt!

I was thinking today that one of my favorite rom-coms set around Christmastime, While You Were Sleeping, would make for a fun recast challenge. Sandra Bullock is super adorable in this movie and it's hard to think of replacing her, but let's give it a whirl anyway.

So which headstrong and endearing actress would you cast as Lucy (Bullock), the a lonely fare collector on the Chicago "L"? What dreamy actor could you imagine in the role of Peter Callaghan (played by Peter Gallagher), the commuter whom Lucy admires from afar (well, and eventually up close)? And what about Peter's more rugged brother, Jack (Bill Pullman), with whom Lucy ends up falling in love?

Then there's the quirky Callaghan family, including Peter and Jack's godfather Saul (Jack Warden), the boys' father Ox (Peter Boyle), and their mother Midge (Micole Mercurio). Oh, and I think we ought to recast Lucy's caring (if not a little slimy) neighbor Joe (Michael Rispoli).

Leave your entry in the comment section below, and I'll pick one winner to feature Tuesday, Dec. 23, complete with a "new" cast photo. To see a list of characters to recast and a photo of the BuzzSugar t-shirt, read more

Every other Wednesday on BuzzSugar, I post a Recast challenge, where I ask you to choose new actors for a classic TV show or movie. The reader who submits the best cast wins a BuzzSugar t-shirt!

Since we're coming upon the time of year when lots of folks bring home that special someone to meet the family, I thought the Ben Stiller comedy Meet the Parents would be a fun movie to recast.

Who would you cast as the young couple in love: Male nurse Gaylord "Greg" Focker, and his fiancee Pam Byrnes? Then there's Pam's overprotective father, Jack Byrnes, a retired CIA operative played by an intimidating Robert De Niro. Blythe Danner as Pam's mother, Dina Byrnes, is superbly clueless in the role — who has a similarly sweet, calming manner? And then there's my favorite character to recast, Kevin Rawley (originally played by Owen Wilson), Pam's rich ex-fiance who is really good at woodworking.

Leave your entry in the comment section below, and I'll pick one winner to feature Tuesday, Dec. 9, complete with a "new" cast photo. To see a list of characters to recast and a photo of the BuzzSugar t-shirt, read more

Every other Wednesday on BuzzSugar, I post a Recast challenge, where I ask you to choose new actors for a classic TV show or movie. The reader who submits the best cast wins a BuzzSugar T-shirt!

You guys chipped in a lot of different ideas for this one, even though it's hard to imagine any other actors in this cast. I think the hardest role — and the most important, of course — is Forrest. It takes a special kind of actor to pull off this role in a charming and relatable way. I absolutely love jasmint's idea of Lee Pace, and I thought bigestivediscuit's Adam Sandler idea showed some good thinking.

Jenny's a tough one to replace, too, since the actress has to be believable as a teenager through to adulthood. Several of you suggested Sienna Miller which definitely captures the free-spirited side of the character. I also think Whip is right on the money with Reese Witherspoon, especially since we know she can nail that accent.

As for the other characters: khowell's idea of Matthew Fox to play Lt. Dan is cool, I agree with littlesnipsnap that a younger Forest Whitaker would make a great Bubba, and can't argue with paperdoll's suggestion for Forrest's mom, Susan Sarandon.

For the winner, I chose a recast list with good suggestions throughout — especially for Forrest and Lt. Dan. Congrats to alethe16!

To see who alethe16 chose, along with a new cast photo, read more

Every other Wednesday on BuzzSugar, I post a Recast challenge, where I ask you to choose new actors for a classic TV show or movie. The reader who submits the best cast wins a BuzzSugar t-shirt!

That adorable moment between Tom Hanks and Sally Fields at the Emmys made me a little nostalgic for Robert Zemeckis's movie Forest Gump, so I thought I'd put it to a recast. (Sidenote: Remember how popular the soundtrack was, too? I totally had that thing on constant rotation at the time.)

So, who would you cast as the big-hearted lead character Forrest? I'm going to go ahead and say it's not fair to suggest Colin Hanks because he looks and sounds just like his father (seriously it's getting creepy!) — it's too easy! And what pretty lady would you cast as his life-long love, Jenny Curran (originally portrayed by Robin Wright Penn)?

What about Forrest's best buddies Lt. Dan Taylor ("Lieutenant Dan! Ice cream!") and Benjamin Buford "Bubba" Blue? Finally, what gentle but firm soul could play Forrest's mom Mrs. Gump as lovingly as Sally Field's could?

Leave your entry in the comment section below, and I'll pick one winner to feature Tuesday, Sept. 30, complete with a "new" cast photo. To see a list of characters to recast and a photo of the BuzzSugar t-shirt, read more

Every other Wednesday on BuzzSugar, I post a Recast challenge, where I ask you to choose new actors for a classic TV show or movie. The reader who submits the best cast wins a BuzzSugar t-shirt!

Last week there was news that NBC has ordered a pilot by the writer of The Wonder Years that will be similar in tone to the classic dramatic series, except it'll take place in the '80s. So even though it's not a remake, I thought it would be fun to recast Kevin Arnold and gang anyway! I loved this show set in the late '60s/early '70s, and the first few lines of the opening credits song still give me goosebumps.

So, who could possibly play Kevin Arnold, the tween at the heart of the show? What about his nerdy, loyal friend Paul, and his childhood crush (whose hair I wanted so badly!) Gwendolyn "Winnie" Cooper?

Let's also recast the rest of the Arnold family: Kevin's dad Jack (played with perfect moodiness by Dan Lauria), stay-at-home mom Norma, Kevin's free-spirited sister Karen, and big brother from hell, Wayne. And for kicks, who could play Mr. Cantwell, the junior high school science teacher, famously portrayed by Ben Stein?

Leave your entry in the comment section below, and I'll pick one winner to feature Tuesday, Sept. 16, complete with a "new" cast photo.

To see a list of characters to recast and a photo of the BuzzSugar t-shirt, read more

Every other Wednesday on BuzzSugar, I post a Recast challenge, where I ask you to choose new actors for a classic TV show or movie. The reader who submits the best cast wins a BuzzSugar t-shirt!

This week we travel back to one of the sitcoms that is just so '90s: Boy Meets World! When this was on the air, I may have been a little too cool for school to admit that it was a guilty pleasure of mine. But it was just so hard to resist another Savage boy!

If you could cast the show today, who would you pick to play Cory Matthews (Ben Savage), the funny and neurotic teenager with a dry sense of humor?

Who could play the vaguely rebellious Shawn (Rider Strong), Cory's best friend, despite the fact that they are opposites in many ways? What about Cory's charming older brother Eric (Will Friedle) who had a way with the ladies? And don't forget the love of Cory's life, Topanga (best TV name ever), originally played by Danielle Fishel.

We should also recast Mr. Feeny (William Daniels) the boys' neighbor, teacher, principal (and later college professor — ha!) while we're at it, and Cory's parents as well, Alan and Amy Matthews.

Leave your entry in the comment section below, and I'll pick one winner to feature Tuesday, July 8, complete with a "new" cast photo.

To see a list of characters to recast and a photo of the BuzzSugar t-shirt, read more

Every other Wednesday on BuzzSugar, I post a Recast challenge, where I ask you to choose new actors for a classic TV show or movie. The reader who submits the best cast wins a BuzzSugar t-shirt!

I hope you're in a romantic mood because this week I've set my sights on a great romcom: Sleepless in Seattle. The movie was, as you probably remember, a big hit featuring box office stars Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks (who managed to have a lot of chemistry despite spending about five minutes on screen together). I have a special place in my heart for this movie and for the film's writer/director Nora Ephron.

If you could recast this film today, who would you pick for the two romantic leads? Remember, Tom Hanks' widowed character Sam Baldwin is old enough to have a school-aged son and Meg Ryan's Annie Reed is an accomplished journalist engaged to be married. Who would be Annie's quick-witted BFF Becky, originally played by Rosie O'Donnell? And then there are the two little ones: What little boy could you see as Sam's son Jonah and his acronym-slinging pal Jessica, played by Gabby Hoffmann? If you'd like to recast Annie's nerdy fiance Walter (Bill Pullman), as well as Sam's best friends Greg (Victor Garber) and Suzy (Rita Wilson), go for it.

Leave your entry in the comment section below, and I'll pick one winner to feature Tuesday, May 13, complete with a "new" cast photo.

To see a list of characters to recast and a photo of the BuzzSugar t-shirt, read more

Lately I've heard some outcry regarding the TV shows and movies chosen for the recast challenges, with many people claiming Heathers in particular to be "too sacred" to play with. So, I'm asking you: Which TV shows and movies would you like to recast?

I should also repeat, again, that this is all in good fun. I am in no way claiming the original versions of these shows or movies were lacking. It really is just a game!

If you don't like the recast challenges at all, you don't need to participate. Some people think it's fun so let them enjoy it! To those people, I say leave your ideas in the comments section and we'll get to recasting those shows and movies!

Every Wednesday on BuzzSugar, I post a Recast challenge, where I ask you to choose new actors for a classic TV show or movie. The reader who submits the best cast wins a BuzzSugar t-shirt!

For this week's recast challenge, I'm taking us back to the Drummond household where "diff'rent strokes move the world." If you could recast Diff'rent Strokes, the show about the kindhearted Phillip Drummond, his daughter Kimberly, adopted sons Arnold and Willis, and their maid Mrs. Garrett, which actors would you put in the roles?

Leave your entry in the comment section below, and I'll pick one winner to feature Tuesday, May 29, complete with a "new" cast photo. To see a list of characters to recast and a photo of the BuzzSugar t-shirt, read more