Hollywood hasn't weighed in on who would play Ma, Pa, Laura and the like, if and when "Little House on the Prairie" makes it to the big screen.
A starting point for the discussions:
Pa: Based on his hirsute performance in the Revenant, Leonardo DiCaprio. Or better yet, Idris Elba because he should be in everything.
Ma: Could Jennifer Garner or Rooney Mara strap on the bonnet? Taraji P. Henson would spice-up Ma's mojo for a new generation.
Laura: Kiernan Shipka, the 16 year-old of "Mad Men" fame or Quvenzhané Wallis, Oscar-nominated for her role as a country kid in "Beasts of the Southern Wild," and now a few years older.
Mary: A perfect role for a yet-to-be discovered aspiring Minnesota starlet.
Nellie Oleson: Miley Cyrus has the goods to infuse enough passive-aggressive sass into the naughty, spoiled Nellie. Amy Schumer may be a bit old for the part, but oh would she be fun.
Mrs. Oleson: Meryl Streep would make a meal out of this role — or any other, of course.
If they go into Laura's married years, Channing Tatum or Chris Pine should be early favorites to play Laura's hunky husband, Almonzo, aka Manly. If either takes the gig, they'd need to add a few extra scenes of him working the fields shirtless on a hot day.
And surely, Billy Bob Thornton could be written into the script as a bizarro, dangerous itinerant troublemaker.
Rochelle Olson • 612-673-1747
Twitter: @rochelleolson
