Here she shares some casting ideas for the screen adaptation of the series:Welcome to Hollywood after dark, where the stars shine brightly, the famous fall from their sparkling heavens, and the vampires lurk just under the ground, waiting for their own chance to “make it” in the biz.For more about Vampire Babylon, including book videos and excerpts, stop by www.vampirebabylon.com.
So how does a writer go about populating an urban fantasy such as this? I would start with the hunters. The main heroine, Dawn Madison, is a lean, mean ex-stunt woman who’s returned to town to discover the whereabouts of her missing father. She’s got a lot of attitude that covers a few soft spots that she’d rather keep buried, as well as a real complex about her mother, a beautiful superstar whose unsolved murder made her a silver-screen legend. Even though Summer Glau has cornered the market on vulnerable scowls in action franchises, I’d love to see her wielding a machete at some vamps in the wilds of L.A.
Dawn’s co-worker at the paranormally inclined “firm” that employed her missing father is a far harder part to cast. Kiko Daniels is a twenty-something “little person” actor whose career is on the skids. But his psychic powers and hunting skills keep him cocky and confident, even when his agent can’t get him much work during the day. I’m not sure who’d play this role—someone unknown? A blond-haired, boyish guy who wears a soul patch with panache?
The third team member, Breisi Montoya, is a former Mexican soap opera actress, around thirty years old and seemingly too long in the tooth for the ingénue parts that used to give her a paycheck. But she’s hell in the lab, where she creates the team’s weapons, and she can handle a mean saw-bow outside of headquarters, too. I don’t know how tall Bianca Marroquin is, but this woman would carry petite Breisi’s trademark Louise Brooks hairstyle pretty well.
Dawn’s missing father, Frank Madison, is a former bar bouncer. He was everyone’s best buddy at tequila hour and, as far as his daughter knew, lived a wastrel’s life. But that was before she found out that he was a vamp hunter. Tough yet world-weary and remorseful, Frank is Bruce Willis. He was really the only character model I had while writing these books.And then there’s Jacqueline Ashley, a rising starlet who befriends Dawn whether Dawn likes it or not. She’s plucky and naïve, sweet and wholesome. She’s also been targeted by studio suits to become the “next big thing,” seeing as she has a certain je ne sais quoi that defines a true star. I can see Jac as a twenty-three-year-old Charlize Theron, but with long strawberry blond hair.
Last, but not least, we’ve got “The Voice,” who communicates to his vamp hunting team only through speakers. It sounds as if his tone has been dragged through centuries of fights, and there’s a hint of “the old country” in every carefully chosen word. Michael Wincott’s tortured voice would be just the thing for this mysterious guy.
--Marshal Zeringue
Posts
