Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Elliot Ackerman's "Green on Blue"

Elliot Ackerman is a writer based out of Istanbul. His fiction and essays have appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The New Republic, and Ecotone among others. He is also a contributor to The Daily Beast, and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He served as a White House Fellow in the Obama Administration. Prior to this, he spent eight years in the military as both an infantry and special operations officer.

Ackerman is a decorated veteran, having earned a Silver Star and Purple Heart for his role leading a Rifle Platoon in the November 2004 Battle of Fallujah and a Bronze Star for Valor while leading a Marine Corps Special Operations Team in Afghanistan in 2008.

Here Ackerman shares some thoughts about casting an adaptation of his debut novel, Green on Blue:
If Green on Blue were turned into a movie, I think, by definition, most of the actors would be relative unknowns. Nearly the entire cast would have to be of Afghan or at least of South Asian decent. For any writer, if you’re lucky enough to have your work adapted for film, you’re ceding your story to another’s interpretation of it. The possibilities for that interpretation are endless, but I can tell you who I hope wouldn’t be cast in the film: Chuck Norris, Jackie Chan, Julia Roberts. Aside from that, I’ll just hope to score some complimentary popcorn at the premiere.
Visit Elliot Ackerman's website.

The Page 69 Test: Green on Blue.

Writers Read: Elliot Ackerman.

--Marshal Zeringue