John - I was a little surprised too at the casting, but both women - Nicole Kidman and Rene Zellweger - are talented actresses and should be box office draws given their last few pictures. For a big budget movie from an award-winning book the producers obviously weren't going to cast unknowns. I also thought Jude Law was about as equitable a choice as anyone.

What will really matter, I believe, is who they get for the minor characters, like the runaway preacher, Zellweger's father (Stobard sp?), etc. Also, how many of the characters they eliminate or "combine" to make a simpler movie plot line. From what I can glean from the few previews I've seen, the film seems to generally follow the book's story. Time will tell, though.

I'm curious. Who would you (or other Mudcatters) have cast for the three leads ?