Demi Shot Down

A GameSpot News story last week addressed the rumors linking Demi Moore's acting career and the feature film portrayal of Lara Croft. The story resulted in a slew of e-mail responses.

Out of all the e-mails we received, only ten readers said that Demi would make a good Lara Croft and would go see the movie.

Some interesting suggestions for Lara Croft included: Minnie Driver, Gina Gershon, Melinda Clarke (from the TV show Soldier of Fortune, Inc.), Carmen Electra, Lucy Lawless, Laura Dern, and Liv Tyler. Others suggested that Paramount (the film company behind the film) make a movie that was completely animated since no woman could ever live up to gamers' expectations for Lara.

Since we posted the story, GameSpot News talked to the press person in charge of the movie, and Paramount would not confirm or deny the rumor regarding Demi as Lara - or Bruce Willis' connection to the movie - and said that it was too premature to even discuss. While this leaves the issue open for speculation, we'll keep you informed of what is going on with the movie as we get official confirmation.

Until then, take a look at what gamers had to say about Demi becoming Lara:

She'll never get the accent. Hurley's the one - Brit and grit. Lara is no G.I. Jane.- Mike B.

While Demi has the physique and voice to do Lara, I am with the camp that thinks she may be a little too old to play the part. That notwithstanding, if Tomb Raider: The Movie is to succeed, it must be cast with a relative "unknown" in the lead role. It cannot be a star vehicle in today's market and make it.- Nat F.

Sure I can live with Demi as Lara Croft. She's a fine actress. She has a good physique. With a major star cast in the role instead of a nobody, the film will be sure to get major exposure and a decent budget. Not that this has worked all too well in the past - e.g., Super Mario Bros. (Leguizamo, Hoskins) and Street Fighter the Movie (van Damme). The Mortal Kombat movies were okay. Maybe Square and Namco have the right idea by doing their Tekken and Final Fantasy movies with CG animation - this style lends it itself greatly to video game inspired movies. And besides, Demi Moore doesn't have any objections to doing nudity in her movies, unlike Hurley or Bullock. I mean, the few hundred people that have actually seen Striptease (an underrated comedy, which is in the Elemore Leonard mold - although not quite as good!) must have been interested in her , right?- Peter B.

I think she's definitely got the body for it. However, one of the things that I really loved about the game was the little Brit accent on the young, 20 something Lara. I don't know if I could sit through 2 hours of a really bad, fake, British accent. But, if she can do the voice, hell ya, I'd go see it.- John L.

Demi Moore as Lara Croft? Hell no. For one thing, her hair isn't long enough! Yeah, I know, wig, but that would look retarded. Another thing, she doesn't have the body for Lara. I personally have no idea who should play her, but I'm sure that it shouldn't be Demi Moore.- Seifer13Although I probably won't spend the money to go see the movie, I think the people producing the film should just get a few nice supercomputers and make the whole movie with computer graphics. Sure, you still have to pay actors/actresses for their voices, but at least then you don't have to worry about what they look like... and Lara would keep her original form. - Christopher R.

I wouldn't be able to watch Tomb Raider if Demi Moore was chosen to be Lara. She can't act, shaves her head, and looks all wrong. And I'd hate to hear an "English" accent come outta her mouth. So far, all the rumors have been hyped to the fullest, and I believe none of 'em. Wake me up when you have something substantial.- John C.

I don't like the idea of Demi Moore as Lara Croft and I won't see the movie if she stars because: (1) I hate Demi Moore. She comes across as mean-spirited and she's only a mediocre actress; (2) Lara, in our minds and hearts, is Lara only. Therefore, a no name has to star as Lara or else we won't be convinced. "Hey, that's not Lara Croft. That's Demi Moore." (3) An American woman could never, not in a million years, convince me that she is Lara Croft. (4) Along the same lines, Lara Croft has style, but not Demi Moore's style, which is of the trailer park variety.

Ask yourself this question. Has Demi Moore ever made a good movie? I can't think of one. And even if you can, I'll bet you can't think of two. Has she ever made a bad movie? Sure, all of them. She even made one of the worst movies ever in film history, Striptease. Does it get any worse than that?- Michael P.

Demi Moore? Demi Moore? Ohhh God. Please no! In the videogames.com poll, I voted for Liz Hurley, but then thought about Sandra Bullock as Lara and a perfect picture came to mind. She fits the bill perfectly. Now, maybe somebody at Paramount is feeling bad for Demi and her breakup, but as Lara Croft. You gotta be kidding me. Please be kidding me.- Dan S.

Demi Moore as Lara Croft, that is a hard thing to visualize. First off, she has no accent. Sure a voice coach can do wonders, but with Demi I don't know. As for physique, she has it. But age is another thing. She is in her late thirties at least and Croft is twenty to twenty-five. I don't want to bash Miss Moore because she is a good actress who has done some good roles I just think this is not her type of role. So I would agree she should not be the actress to portray Lara Croft.- Brandon S.Give me Sandra or Liz any time over her. But what would be better is someone new! It will be the name of the movie and the main character that will draw people in, not the star! Go with some fresh, new British babe who can act, and we'll have a winner.- CMW

Ewwww! Not her! Please say it ain't so! She's not even that pretty! How about Sandra Bullock or my favorite - Mira Sorvino. I'd rather have Posh Spice be Lara Croft than Demi Moore. She's not even a good actress (Striptease). I really hope this is a false rumor.- NYYankee07

Please. Anyone but Demi Moore! Zsa Zsa Gabor would be better than Moore. A Tomb Raider fan.- Mike L.

Terrible casting! I will definitely not go see this movie if Demi Moore stars as Lara Croft - that's a joke! Her sex symbol days have come and gone, besides she's not even British. I think that Elizabeth Hurley is the bomb and would fit the part perfectly. Please, let's not have another Street Fighter The Movie, crap like that gives gaming a bad name.- Roberto L.

Hmmmmm. Demi Moore, eh? She's not bad but is too tall. Sandra Bullock is probably the right figure but doesn't look anything like Lara except for eyes and lips. Liz Hurley would do a good job. And yes I would pay money to see Lara on the silver screen as long as the storyline of the game interacts with the movie at least a little bit. - Jeff C.Well, the first thing that comes to mind is that Demi Moore is a big name movie star. For her to get involved, it would take a big budget film. Not withstanding her paycheck either. I haven't heard how big the budget is. But if it's going to come out in the summer of 1999, it will need at least a big budget and a well-known actress. I recently read an interview with Bruce Willis. He did not say anything bad about his wife or their separation. I don't know either of them but I think Bruce would let Demi play the part and he would co-star in it as well. That's if Bruce truly does own the rights to the movie.

She has shown the acting ability to play such characters in the past (G.I. Jane). I like the idea of Demi Moore playing this part over the other actresses. I think Demi Moore fits it better. I will pay to see it before the new Batman movie and maybe the new Star Wars movie too. Hmmmm, maybe not Star Wars :) - Michael M.

Get a grip. Demi Moore would forever tarnish my image of Lara Croft. Demi Moore is... well, Demi Moore. They need to get a relatively nameless actress who can bring something to the role and more than likely launch her career off of it as well. My pick for Lara? None other than Lara herself, the woman that Eidos used at E3 is far and away much sexier than Demi Moore. She is perfect for the role, just hope she can act as well as she poses... :-)- J.Labonte

It would, on the face of it, seem that the wooden actress, Demi Moore would be an ideal choice to play a two dimensional character. One would hope that the producers and Eidos would prefer to bring Lara to life on the screen, and if this were so, it would seem to preclude Ms. Moore's talents. Perhaps, there should only be a digital Lara....- S. Ingalls

Nope, I would not pay to see Tomb Raider staring Demi... she is an attractive lady, I am sure, but I see nothing about her that screams Ms. Croft... She doesn't have that English charm... and her age... she is not old, but she is older than what most fans envision Laura Croft as being... My personal choice would probably be Elizabeth Hurley... but the model who is seen portraying Laura Croft on a lot of magazines of late looks as much like her as you can get... the question is, can she act? Anyway, a friend of mine had an interesting proposal... he suggested Minnie Driver as Croft... that's one I haven't heard before... any takers?- Jason G.

You want feedback? Well here it is! It's obvious to anybody that she does not look anything like Lara Croft even with makeup and hair stuff she would be a poor recreation at best. I think they're just shooting for somebody with a body and big "uns" but hell if that was the case they should have seen Baseketball co-star Yasmine Bleth who would be better because she at least has brown hair!

But I still believe that Sandra Bullock would be best choice because she really does look like Lara and she has proven herself to be a good action star (i.e. Speed1&2).- Chris D.In my opinion, choosing Demi Moore as Lara Croft would ruin the movie! She's an old lady, still beautiful but nothing to do with Lara... except for the um... you know! I really like Demi Moore... but not as Lara! There are many others better than her to play Lara Croft! But not her... dammit! :D- Tarso S.

As far as the rumors of Demi Moore being Lara Croft, I had to fight to keep my lunch down. Moore is one of the most unappealing actresses out there. (Seeing G.I. Jane recently didn't help anything either. ) Anyway, as far as who would be perfect for playing the part of the chick with the hottest pixels, that Lara lookalike GameSpot featured awhile back, I can't remember her name but you can't beat her!- Matt F.

Everyone who plays Tomb Raider will have their own image of Lara Croft and therefore a different idea of who the best actor is to portray her in a movie. What we should all consider is that there are several talented ladies in Hollywood who could do it and play it well. An actor is just that, an actor, and the better their acting skills, the more believable they will be as Lara. The problem with filling the shoes of an established character from a book or video game is that a strong image is attached by the reader/player of that medium. So while I'm sure that Demi Moore, Elizabeth Hurley, Sandra Bullock, Gina Davis, Teri Hatcher, Cameron Diaz, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Minnie Driver, etc. & etc. could perform the part well, I also think that somewhere out there is an unknown talent who brings no preconceived image to the screen and would be the best bet for all of the Tomb Raider fans out there. But okay, if I were forced to select from a known actress for the part, I would cast Catherine Zeta-Jones. She's beautiful, athletic and talented. Just go see Zorro to find out. Thanks for your time.- Carl S.

It's interesting that the top three voted entries, namely Sandra Bullock, Elizabeth Hurley, and Demi Moore, have all recently starred in one (and in many cases more than 1) really low grossing movie (can we say "Speed 2", "Showgirls", and "GI Jane"?) If the makers of the Lara Croft movie want to guarantee they won't make any money, it seems a good idea to pick one of them for the lead role. My vote goes for Vanessa Demouy, who may be an unknown terrible actress, but at least looks like the role. - Jay K.

Speaking for all the TR super fans out there, we beg of you to use all your power in stopping in what I think could be a desecration of Miss Lara Croft. Don't let those Hollywood casters destroy this movie by casting a "superstar" actress. They believe that by putting on a famous face on the screen the fans (us) would go see it. Let me remind you of the "Street Fighter The Movie" fiasco. They thought by bringing in a star like Jean Claude Van D. would make it a better movie. Let's look at "Mortal Kombat " the movie, the casters did an excellent job and they didn't need "super stars" to pull of this movie. They cast unknown actors that did a great job portraying their characters. So in conclusion I, we beg of you don't let TR the movie be destroyed like Street Fighter. To make a good movie they don't need a "superstar" actress to play Lara, they only need a good actress that knows Lara Croft, that eats, sleeps and is Lara Croft. If you have friends involved in the making of this film, tell them for the sake of Miss Croft's.- Miguel N.

My reaction, I wish either of the other two (Bullock or Hurley) had been chosen. In fact, personally I don't see her in the top five. I think that whole G.I. Jane thing just put me off. In fact, I don't even think I have a favorite Demi movie. I'm just not a fan of hers. I've never had a dream about her. I've dreamt about Lara that's for sure. Somehow that English lass has become a part of my life. I'm totally entranced with the Tomb Raider series and as long as the plot can stay interesting, I'd love to see it go farther. I love games, but I've never been all that great at them. I've had Tomb Raider II for a scant month and 1/2 and right now I'm doing the chandelier thing at Bartolies hideout. I'm loath to use hints and walkthroughs until after a game is done to see what I missed.

Okay, I'm getting sidetracked. Hurley is drop dead gorgeous, English, and more than capable of adding to the role. Bullock, drop dead gorgeous and girl next door charm and she did The Net. Easy to live with if Hurley didn't get the nod.

Everyone else in contention is just so far behind the front two its crazy. Here's hoping. Do you think calling Eidos would do any good?- Glenn