Alright, time for another!
Star Wars Prequels:
Qui-gon Gin:
Ken Watanabe
Obi Wan:
Hugh Dancy
Amedala:
Morena Baccarin
Teen/20s Anakin:
Emile Hirsch
Mace Windu:
Djimon Hounsou
Senator/Chancelor/Emperor Papletine: aww who am I kidding, it's gotta be Ian McDiarmid
Original story by: George Lucas
Written by: URL=http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0744839/]Eric Roth[/URL]
Just so we're clear, Ewan McGreggor and Natalie Portman were both perfect for their roles, as was Ian McDiarmid (and now that I think of it, Liam Neeson, too). I just recast them so I could recast the parts that needed it, namely Anakin and Mace.
Hayden Christensen really was nothing more than a pretty face, and that always frustrated me because this was the defining role of the saga: Anakin/Darth. It was necessary to bring as much talent and ability to the table as is possible for someone of that age, but instead they went with a kid with absolutely zero presence and absolutely zero acting ability. It's a shame, too, because had they cast a talented young actor like Emile Hirsch (fantastic in "Into the Wild") it would have given the second trilogy a much better foundation.
And let's face it, Sam Jackson can have all the coolness in the world; he can't act for shit. The few times he was good—Pulp Fiction, Die Hard 3—he was leaning on the script so heavily it was difficult to tell where the script ended and he started. Where would Jules have been without "Eatin' a bitch out, and givin' a bitch a foot massage ain't even the same fuckin' thing." or "I'm a mushroom-cloud-layin' motherfucker, motherfucker!"? Nowhere. And that was all Tarantino. No, when you have a serious role, you need a serious actor. The one and only name that should have been mentioned for Mace was Djimon "GIVE US FREE!" Hounsou. He's one of the best actors on the planet, and he has the presence that can give the character of Mace the credibility as a warrior and a thinker that's necessary. First off, he's tall and in fantastic shape, he's able to pull off very difficult physical roles (Gladiator, Blood Diamond) and he's able to steal a scene from some of the best actors alive (he stole a scene from under Anthony Hopkins in Amistad!). Let me put it this way: imagine Samuel L. Jackson is running at you with a light saber. Now imagine Djimon Hounsou is running at you with a light saber. I rest my case.
As for the writing, I think a lot of people would agree with me here. George Lucas can come up with some damned entertaining stories. His original concepts for Star Wars were a fantastic combination of ancient lore and classic storytelling, and it reached people on a visceral level. That's Lucas' strong suit. His strong suit is not screenplays, and it's absolutely, positively not dialogue. His dialogue is among the worst in the history of entertainment. "Anakin, you're breaking my heart!" To quote the Robot Devil, "You can't just have your characters announce how they feel! That makes me feel angry!" Lucas needs guidance from an experienced and proven writer, so that his general story can be adapted to a thrilling, complex, and well dialogue'd screenplay. Eric Roth is a favorite of mine, having penned Forest Gump, The Insider, Munich, and recently The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Just think of what Purvis did with the James Bond franchise.