David Blixt's "The Master of Verona"

In David Blixt's The Master of Verona, Shakespeare's Italian characters meet the historical figures of Dante's Inferno, setting the stage for the famous Capulet-Montague feud from Romeo & Juliet.

Here the author picks the director and principal cast for a film adaptation of his novel:

Directed by:
Peter Weir

Starring:
Hugh Jackman as Cangrande della Scala

Jake Gyllenhaal as Pietro Alaghieri

Cate Blanchett as Katerina della Scala

Robert Pattinson as Mariotto Montecchio

Chris Pratt as Antonio Capulletto

Anne Hathaway as Gianozza della Bella

Avery Brooks as Tharwat al-Dhamin

Stacy Keach as the Count of San Bonifacio

Ritchie Coster as Asdente

and

Peter O'Toole as Dante Alaghieri

WHY:
Weir - did you see Master and Commander?
Jackman - because he, like Cangrande, is everything a man should be.
Hathaway - beautiful, but empty.
Brooks - he, too, is everything a man should be.
Keach - because he'd eat this role alive.
O'Toole - he's too old, but he would still be genius.

Read an excerpt from The Master of Verona and learn more about the book at the official website.

The Page 69 Test: The Master of Verona.

--Marshal Zeringue