Damn, this is a tough crowd. LOL
Personally, I think it's fine to cast whomever they want in a role. They're ACTORS. They should go with whomever "pretends" the best for the role.
You should be able to enjoy a movie for the movie itself, not have to read the life story of everyone involved in making it.
I'm glad to see the movie is coming out instead of yet another drama-cryfest-comedy. But who knows? If it isn't worth the ticket price, I might tear up too.