Tuesday, September 4, 2018

David Sosnowski's "Happy Doomsday"

David Sosnowski has worked as a gag writer, fireworks salesman, telephone pollster, university writing instructor, and environmental-protection specialist while living in places as different as Washington, DC; Detroit, Michigan; and Fairbanks, Alaska. His books include the critically acclaimed novels Rapture and Vamped.

Here Sosnowski dreamcasts an adaptation of his new novel, Happy Doomsday:
Here’s a weird confession; with very few exceptions, I’ve rarely imagined casts for my novels, though I’ve loved it when readers have offered me their suggestions, which are often brilliant and spot-on. Seeing as Happy Doomsday is still pretty new (the official release is September 1, 2018 – which is when I’m writing this) I haven’t gotten any casting suggestions so far. And so, taking a lot of chronological liberties, here’s my would-be casting for the three main characters – Dev, Marcus, and Lucy – all of whom are sixteen years old when they survive an apocalyptic event that finds them in various parts of the country from which they will head out and eventually find each other.

For Dev, who has an Indian-American mother and Jewish father, and who is also near the Asperger’s end of the spectrum, I’d cast either a younger Dev Patel (Slumdog Millionaire), a younger Suraj Sharma (Life of Pi) or an older Sunny Pawar (Lion). For Marcus, a.k.a., Mo, an Arab-American Muslim living with his immigrant parents in post-Trump Oklahoma, I’d cast a younger Riz Ahmed (HBO’s The Night Of). And for Lucy, a redheaded Goth girl from Georgia, I’d cast a younger Sarah Snook (the daughter in HBO’s Succession). While all are fine actors and would portray the characters brilliantly, I’m sure – with the possible exception of turning time backwards or forwards – I have to admit that my choices are pretty superficial and based largely upon their resemblance to the characters as I saw them in my head.
Visit David Sosnowski's website.

--Marshal Zeringue