Celebrity Showdowns: Who Will Play Jeff Buckley and Lara Croft?

June 13, 2009 — -- It would be more fun if celebrities had to fight to the death for roles. Or maybe casting directors could make them compete in elaborate ropes courses? This week, some very talented celebrities are up for the same roles.

James Franco and Robert Pattinson are neck-and-neck for the honor of playing musician Jeff Buckley in a biopic. Meanwhile, producer Dan Lin has announced his plan for another installment of "Tomb Raider." But could Angelina be out in favor of Megan Fox? Here's how we think it will shake out:

The Role: Jeff Buckley, son of musician Tim Buckley, got popular in the '90s playing cover songs in the East Village before focusing on his own material. In 1997, Jeff accidentally drowned in Memphis at the age of 30. Since he only had one studio album, several songs were released posthumously, including his cover of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah," which earned him chart success over a decade after his death.

The Candidates: James Franco is the spitting image of Buckley. Plus he's a master of the the good-die-young shtick since he's already played James Dean. Meanwhile, Robert Pattinson has experience playing an emo musician in "How To Be." And he was a pretty convincing Salvador Dali in "Little Ashes."

The Winner: My vote's on James Franco. Pattinson may be the hot young thang, but Franco can handle the tough roles and has Hollywood staying power. Plus, there's that eerily similar facial structure.

The Role: Tomb Raider's Lara Croft is wealthy, butt-kicking, intelligent, and gorgeous. The first two movies which showed her, uh, raiding tombs, grossed $431 million worldwide with Angelina Jolie in the lead role. But in the third installment in the series, Lin wants to do an origin story and show "a younger Lara Croft."

The Candidates: Angelina Jolie just turned 34 last week. Okay, so she's getting older, but if they turned Brad Pitt into a 90-year-old and a teenager in "Benjamin Button," the makeup people should be able to make this work. But "Transformers" star, 23-year-old Megan Fox, could be a "no-brainer" as she's been touted as 'the new Angelina' with her tattoos, edgy reputation, big lips, and long raven locks. Plus she's already shown her metal in the action flicks department.