Watched the Series of Unfortunate Events movie tonight. In some ways, I had the same reaction to the movie as the books. Namely, I wanted to be enjoying it more than I was. Altho in the case of the movie it's much easier for me to pin down why that's true -- Jim Carrey. He just drags the movie down into a vast pool of suck every time he's on screen. Judging from the deleted scenes and out-takes included on the DVD, the editing process seems to have been to find as much Jim Carrey stuff as possible and cut it out of the movie. Which I appreciate no end.
And of course the movie looks great. It's visually stunning in a way difficult to achieve on a small budget. But according to Sarah, there was discussion at some point that Richard E. Grant would play Olaf. I'd gladly sacrifice several million dollars in set design and CGI for that switch.
My other stray thought for the evening: how is it that Billy Connolly has not been in one of the Harry Potter movies yet?
House of Dioxin
Now Appearing Nightly in the Exotic Mondo Mundo Lounge
I don't know that Richard E. Grant was ever discussed as an option by the filmmakers. I heard a radio interview with the author, who said that he would have preferred Grant to Carrey. As would I.
(He only said something so impolitic because the interviewer reminded him of a quote from years ago, when the film rights were first sold, in which he said "As long as they don't cast someone like Jim Carrey as Count Olaf.")