Here Bommersbach dreamcasts an adaptation of her new novel, Cattle Kate:If my historical novel, Cattle Kate, became a movie, I'd hope that Jodie Foster would be the producer, because I think she'd love Ella Watson, the real woman behind this notorious western legend.Visit Jana Bommersbach's website.
I wish it were filmed in Wyoming, where this real story occurred, because I like to see Hollywood spread its money out among the rest of us.
For the really bad guy, A.J. Bothwell, I'd cast Powers Boothe, an actor I'm secretly in love with. (OK, not so much a secret.) But love his work and his "man's man persona" and although he's older than Bothwell was, he's got the kind of grit that would bring that evil man to life!
For Ella's husband, James Averell, I'd cast Matthew McConaughey, because I think this actor could play almost anyone and make you believe it.
And for Ella, I'm torn. Not every actress could play the only woman ever lynched in the nation was a cattle rustler. Not everyone could capture the real female homesteader whose identity was buried to create the phony legend of Cattle Kate.
If this were a few years back, I'd have said Glenn Close, but the 29 year-old Ella needs a younger actress-but a mature one, because 29 back in 1889 could be as much as 40 today. Perhaps Charlize Theron, who can mask her beauty for any role. Or a Jennifer Lawrence-type.
Whoever played the parts, I would hope that they were true to the real people who lived these incredible lives and left their mark on western history!
Writers Read: Jana Bommersbach.
The Page 69 Test: Cattle Kate.
--Marshal Zeringue
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