Steven Wilson's "Armada"

Steven Wilson is Curator and Assistant Director of the Abraham Lincoln Library and Museum, which houses one of the most diverse Lincoln and Civil War collections in the country. His books include Between the Hunters and the Hunted, President Lincoln's Spy, and Voyage of the Gray Wolves.

Here he develops some ideas about the director and cast should his novel Armada, set just before D-Day, be adapted for the movies:

I grew up with movies and my brother and I could tell which studio (back when studios were factories) produced a movie by the sounds used from their libraries. Warner Bros. gunshots were distinct from Paramount, as were MGM's from Republic's. It is a little like recognizing a composer from their music characteristics.

Since Armada, was the last of a series (President Lincoln's Spy came out since then), I'm going to cast this book. I gave Tom Wilkinson the role of Captain Hardy. A superb actor, he can play gruff with a great deal of sensitivity. For Edland, I choose John Cusack. They both have something hidden deep within, and both share a profound intelligence. For Jordan Cole I like Dax Shepard. His command presence on the screen is impressive.

My choice for director is John McTiernan. That may be a bit old school, but then, so am I.

I should point out that I use motion picture music to help me set the scene when I'm writing. So I must thank John Williams, Dmitri Tiomkin, Alfred Newman, Thomas Newman, Jerry Goldsmith, and Craig Safan.

Read the prologue to Armada, and learn more about the author and his work at Steven Wilson's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

Timothy Hallinan's "The Fourth Watcher"

Timothy Hallinan has lived off and on in Southeast Asia for more than twenty years. He is the author of eight published novels and one nonfiction work on Charles Dickens. The Fourth Watcher is the second book in the Poke Rafferty novels of Bangkok that began in 2007 with A Nail Through the Heart.

Here Hallinan develops some ideas about the directors and cast should the Poke Rafferty novels be adapted for the big screen:

The Fourth Watcher is the second in a series of Novels of Bangkok (as the people at William Morrow subtitle them), so there are really two challenges: casting the continuing characters and casting the people who show up only in one novel.

One of the most important continuing characters is the city of Bangkok itself. The film(s) would need a director with a strong feeling for this most dizzying of Asian capitals, with its unique blend of spirituality and carnality, its extensive population of ghosts, its invisible circles of power and influence. I think Oxide and Danny Pang, two very stylish Hong Kong brothers and directors who have made several films in Thailand, would capture the city in all its gold-leaf-and-rough-concrete complexity, and they'd be great with the action sequences, although God knows what they'd do to the stories.

The most important person in the books is the protagonist, Poke Rafferty, an American whose 25% Filipino ancestry is evident in his features. I actually had Johnny Depp mind when I started to write Poke, although now, two and a half books later, the identification isn't so strong. But I think Depp would be wonderful, especially because of the intelligence he conveys. Poke is a writer and only a reluctant action hero, so it's important that the actor who plays him seems at least marginally comfortable with the activity of thinking.

Poke's family – his former bar-girl wife, Rose, and his adopted street-orphan daughter, Miaow – are Thai and would best be cast with Thai actors, as would his best friend, the honorable policeman named Arthit. Any movie made from these books would have to feature some Thai actors, and there are some excellent ones to choose from.

The main “one-off” roles in The Fourth Watcher are Poke's morally equivocal and somewhat treacherous father, Frank and half-Chinese half-sister, Ming Li; the shady former CIA operative, Arnold Prettyman; and the way-too-tightly-buttoned Secret Service Agent, Richard Elson. At one point, a film company was fooling with the idea of actually making a movie from the book, and they wanted Gene Hackman as Frank. I personally think Gene Hackman could play Heidi if the makeup people could make the braids work, so I can't improve on that.

Prettyman is an unwillingly retired spook who never, ever volunteers the truth and seems always to be evaluating half a dozen potential parallel realities. Kevin Spacey would be splendid. And Elson is a tightly wound straight-arrow with a byzantine and highly guarded sexual life who would be both menacing and hilarious in the hands of Michael C. Hall of Dexter and Six Feet Under.

Casting Poke's half-sister is more difficult, but the world's most beautiful human being at the moment is the Chinese actress Xun Zhou. She's older than Ming Li, but we could all forget that and just look at her.

Together again for the first time: Depp!! Hackman!! Spacey!! Hall!! Xun Zhou!! Under the direction of the Pang Brothers!! The Fourth Watcher!!! I wouldn't even need popcorn.

Read an excerpt from The Fourth Watcher, and learn more about the author and his work at Timothy Hallinan's website and his blog.

The Page 69 Test: A Nail Through the Heart.

The Page 69 Test: The Fourth Watcher.

--Marshal Zeringue

Andrew Blechman's "Leisureville"

Andrew Blechman has been a reporter for the Los Angeles Times and the Des Moines Register. His work has also appeared in Smithsonian Magazine, the New York Times, and the International Herald Tribune, among others. His first book, Pigeons: The Fascinating Saga of the World's Most Revered and Reviled Bird, was widely praised in the media and featured on CBS Sunday Morning.

His latest book is Leisureville—Adventures in America’s Retirement Utopias. Here's how he'd like to see it make the journey to the big screen:

I’d love to see Leisureville adapted as another installment of the National Lampoon Vacation series with Chevy Chase. It could be called Permanent Vacation.

Here’s how I see the plot:

After seeing more than half of their neighbors in suburban Chicago hit 55 and take off for a magical retirement community called “Wallyville,” Chevy and his wife finally succumb to peer pressure and make the big move. It appears to be a paradise: 48 golf courses, countless pools, two movie-set-perfect themed downtowns that look like Disney World’s Main Street, and tens of thousands of relaxed retirees zooming around silently on golf carts over specially designed bridges and tunnels. Even the neighborhood looks like something out of Leave It to Beaver with perfectly edged lawns, picket fences, and spotless driveways.

The Griswolds slip into “today’s retirement” gracefully, hitting the links with cocktails, hanging out at a Baby Boomer keg party with Eagle’s music, nude hottub romps – everything you can imagine Boomers doing with time on their hands and no kids to worry about.

Then Rusty shows up in another station wagon, filled with three rambunctious grandchildren. He spends the evening as the kids run around the yard and neighborhood bringing icy stares from Chevy’s new neighbors. Rusty explains that he’s in the middle of a divorce and he’s accepted a security job in Iraq: he needs to leave the kids with his parents for the summer.

The kids have fun until their guest passes (“visas”) run out and the Griswolds are told they must ship them off or be evicted. Chevy tries disguising them as Mexican gardeners and pool cleaners, but finally gives up and is forced to house them in a motel outside the gates each night and pick them up each morning, where they are given a hard time as they pass through “immigration control.”

The Griswolds realize that their neighbors aren’t as friendly as they thought they were, and try to decide what to do with the kids. The climax comes when their neighbors hold a demonstration against them and march on their house. One of the participants has a heart attack and the eldest grandchild performs CPR on him and saves his life. The community is left contemplating its age-segregationist policies and chooses to be more lenient and even make the Griswold grandkids honorary Wallyville residents.

Anybody have Chevy Chase’s email?

Read an excerpt from Leisureville, and learn more about book and author at Andrew Blechman's website.

The Page 69 Test: Pigeons.

The Page 69 Test: Leisureville.

--Marshal Zeringue

Lisa Shearin's "Magic Lost, Trouble Found"

Lisa Shearin has been a magazine editor, advertising copywriter, and writer of corporate marketing materials of every description. Her novels include Magic Lost, Trouble Found and Armed & Magical. A unique blend of fantasy, adventure and romance, Lisa’s series features Raine Benares, a sorceress and seeker—a finder of things lost and people missing. Raine’s third adventure, The Trouble With Demons, will hit bookstore shelves in the spring of 2009.

Here she discusses her ideas on casting should her series ever be adapted for the big screen:

For me, it’s the characters who make a book, and their relationships that weave the story. I’ve never been big on physical descriptions in my books, yet I have a detailed image of each character in my mind as I write. A couple of months ago on my blog, I thought it’d be fun to have my fans weigh in on who they thought should play my characters should I ever get The Call from Peter Jackson. It was amazing to me how many different impressions readers have of my characters—and it was a lot of fun.

My main character, the elven sorceress and seeker Raine Benares, defends her friends by going toe-to-toe with the bad guys. She’s tough, yet caring, and you never know what she’s going to say or do next. I think Felicia Day (Buffy the Vampire Slayer and The Guild) or Miranda Otto (LOTR) would be excellent choices. For the hot and handsome elven Guardian, Mychael Eiliesor, Gerard Butler would be my hands-down choice. Vincent Irrizary would be excellent as the wicked sexy goblin and nightclub owner, Tamnais Nathrach.

For Raine’s cousin, the scion of the most notorious criminal family in the seven kingdoms, Johnny Depp gets the nod. Give this devilishly delicious man some elf ears, and he'd be good to go. Piaras Rivalin is a young, yet incredibly powerful elven spellsinger who manages to get tangled up in any trouble Raine finds. Josh Groban would be a perfect Piaras: big brown eyes, dark curls, killer set of baritone pipes. Sign this kid up.

For my villains, Richard Armitage who plays Sir Guy of Gisborne in the BBC's Robin Hood would make a wonderfully evil goblin grand shaman, Sarad Nukpana. A young Frank Langella would be a good casting choice for the power-hungry goblin king, Sathrik Mal’Salin. And for Sathrik’s younger brother, the exiled Prince Chigaru Mal’Salin, I think that Stephen Caudill (independent film actor of End of the Spear and The Other Side) would fill the bill nicely.

Read the first few chapters of both Magic Lost, Trouble Found and Armed & Magical at Lisa Shearin’s website.

--Marshal Zeringue

Deborah & Joel Shlian's "Rabbit in the Moon"

Deborah and Joel Shlian are the authors of three novels: Double Illusion, which won rave reviews from the Los Angeles Times and was optioned for film; Wednesday's Child, which earned comparisons to Mary Higgins Clark and was nominated for an Edgar Award; and the newly released, Rabbit in the Moon.

Here Deborah shares some ideas about the cast and soundtrack should their new novel be adapted for the big screen:

My husband and I are physicians who practiced medicine in Los Angeles for many years. Now you can’t live in Southern California for very long without getting bitten by the Hollywood bug. Everyone you meet is something else on the side- your dentist is a producer, your lawyer is an agent, and of course every waitress is an actress. Even though we wrote Rabbit in the Moon as a novel, we always visualized it as a film. That’s one major characteristic of our writing style— fast-paced and cinematic. While we did the same for our two previous novels (Double Illusion and Wednesday’s Child), both of which were actually optioned for film (though never made), Rabbit in the Moon is our most ambitious book and the one we feel is best suited for a feature film.

Here’s what a reviewer wrote: “Rabbit in the Moon is an international thriller of epic proportions. American-born-and-proud Lili Quan is a driven woman — young, a medical doctor, and passionately strong in her convictions and views on life. She’s also stubbornly avoiding a heritage she’d rather not identify with. But when two completely different cultures and secret political agendas collide, she slowly learns that her overall importance in a whirlwind of seemingly unconnected events cannot even begin to be imagined. It’s an east vs. west, old vs. young, democratic vs. communistic, yin vs. yang struggle for an elusive secret with unlimited and priceless potential. One that men…and even governments…are willing to kill for…”

The story is told against the backdrop of the most tumultuous seven weeks in recent Chinese history: from the rise of the Student democracy movement in April, 1989 to its fall with the Tiananmen massacre on June 4th.

If I were casting the movie myself, I would probably start with the character of Lili Quan. A good friend sent me the resume for the actress Elizabeth Tsing. She is not only gorgeous, she is an expert in tai chi and martial arts. There’s an exciting motorcycle chase scene through Beijing in the story that would require an agile, athletic actress.

For Dr. Richard Trenton, someone like Ed Harris has the military bearing of the tough ex-Army Chief of Medicine to play Lili’s nemesis.

Although Dylan O’Hara is blonde, blue-eyed in the book, he’s a first generation Irish American so Dublin born Jonathan Rhys Meyers could probably pull it off. On the other hand, I could see Leonardo DiCaprio in the role as well.

Chow Yun Fat would be wonderful as the ruthless, ambitious, Dr. Seng while I see someone like Kevin Spacey as Charlie Halliday, the rogue CIA agent.

I leave casting of the main Chinese characters (Lili’s grandfather Ni Fu Cheng, her Chinese lover, Chi-Wen Zhou and the three old timers) to the director—someone like Elizabeth Sung who has the experience and sensitivity to appreciate a complex east meets west story.

Finally, the music. As we were writing the book, we listened to Karen (Hua-Qi) Han’s gorgeous erhu playing. Karen happens to be a dear friend and some of the inspiration for our main character Lili, as well as the person to whom we dedicated our book. As Karen herself says, the 2000-year-old Chinese violin has a unique voice like quality that evokes Eastern cultural traditions. If a movie is made, we hope Karen will play (and perhaps compose) the music. She has been a featured musician in just about every Hollywood movie score that requires the erhu including The Joy Luck Club, The Last Emperor and Kung Fu Panda.

Listen to the podcast of the prologue of Rabbit in the Moon and view the book trailer.

Learn more about the book and authors at Deborah and Joel Shlian's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

Shaun Tan's "The Lost Thing"

Shaun Tan is a freelance artist and author, concentrating mostly on writing and illustrating picture books. He has received numerous awards for his picture books, including the CBCA (Children’s Book Council of Australia) Picture Book of the Year Award for The Rabbits with John Marsden. In 2001 Tan was named Best Artist at the World Fantasy Awards in Montreal.

Here he shares his thinking about the ideal actor to narrate an adaptation of his picture book, The Lost Thing:

I have to say that I don't often think of my work in terms of film and casting, my mind is in the world of static, silent images most of the time. Also, there is some discussion currently of adapting The Arrival as a feature film and I wouldn't want to prejudice that by speculating on actors, directors and so forth - I'm really open to any suggestions. As most of my characters are anonymous, unnamed figures in my stories, I have a slight preference for 'no name' actors. However, in my picture book The Lost Thing (which is currently being adapted as an animated short), I imagined that the narrator's voice would be that of the Australian actor Noah Taylor, as he shares some qualities with the main character; or the voice of Hugh Jackman would be good.

Learn more about The Arrival, The Lost Thing, and their author at Shaun Tan's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

Sandra McDonald's "The Outback Stars"

Sandra McDonald has been a Hollywood production assistant, a software instructor, a bureaucrat, and an officer in the United States Navy. Her short fiction has appeared in Realms of Fantasy, Strange Horizons, and elsewhere. Her novels include The Outback Stars and The Stars Down Under.

Here she develops some ideas about the cast--and the soundtrack and special effects--should her novel be adapted for the big screen:

My science fiction novels are about a beautiful military lieutenant and her handsome sergeant. Though, truth be told, I'm not that keen on external appearances. The values I appreciate most -- honesty, humor, courage -- are not unique to those of us with perfect hair and perfect faces. (And by "us" I don't mean me!) I never really describe my characters beyond a cursory "brown hair" or "blue eyes" and prefer to let readers build their own ideas of how a character looks.

That said, as a former Hollywood wannabe (I worked for CBS, Dreamworks and Dustin Hoffman during my brief career), when The Outback Stars and its sequels get made into movies I'd love to sit in on the casting calls. For Lieutenant Jodenny Scott, we'd need an actress with the expressiveness and forthrightness of Rachel Weisz (Evie in The Mummy). But also with the freshness and normal build as Liz White, who plays Annie Cartwright in the brilliant BBC series Life on Mars. Liz is just the right age, too. Speaking of fresh and young there's also Billie Piper (Rose on Doctor Who), though she'd have to go back to being a brunette for awhile. And she'd have to tell me all about kissing the Doctor, maybe over drinks on Sunset Boulevard.

Sergeant Terry Myell's a little tougher to cast. When I first starting writing him I had in mind a military man with the calm, practical, and resilient nature of Sgt. Zeke Anderson on Tour of Duty, played by Terence Knox. Joe Flanigan of Stargate Atlantis would be a shoo-in these days but he's a little older than my character, who's only twenty-eight. Instead I'd ask Jensen Ackles of Supernatural to come try out for the role. He's got the haircut already, and would enormously popular on any spaceship in the universe. And while we're dreaming, Jensen, I'm also available for lunch or dinner any day of the week. And breakfast. Call me.

For the soundtrack, John Williams. I was backstage with him once at an awards show, and all I could think of was the brilliant music of The Empire Strikes Back and Raiders of the Lost Ark. Special effects? Only Industrial Light & Magic. I have no special picks for director, because there are so many good ones out there, but this "auteur" theory I keep hearing about? We'll have to have a sit down about that. In fact, let's talk about how the ship looks, and how important Australian Aboriginal mythology is to the story, and I also have some ideas for the movie posters --

Oops, gotta go. My assistant tells me Jensen Ackles is on the phone! But I'll see you all on big screen.

Read the first chapter of The Outback Stars, and learn more about the book and its author at The Outback Stars website, Sandra McDonald's website, and her LiveJournal.

--Marshal Zeringue

Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn trilogy

Brandon Sanderson's books include the Mistborn Trilogy--Mistborn: The Final Empire, The Well of Ascension, and The Hero of Ages (October 2008)--which he has called "a Hybrid fantasy, heist story, kung fu epic!"

Here he discusses his thinking about the cast and crew should the books be adapted for the big screen:

I know a lot of authors "cast" certain actors in their books as the characters, but I've never done this. In my mind, they're who they are--and that's not a given actor. It's someone else, as unique as any of us are. That isn't to say I wouldn't like to see a director adapt my books to film! It just means that it is very hard for me to pick actors for my books.

Now, directors are a different story. I've often thought about who I would like to make the Mistborn trilogy into a movie. The obvious choice would be Peter Jackson, but I shy away from this one. Perhaps because he's the aforementioned obvious choice. More, I've always kind of thought that I'd like to pick Robert Rodriguez. Why him? Well, because of his versatility. I've seen so many different types of movies from him, but I've liked every one. He's good with action sequences, can film a nice, dramatic scene, and has proven that he can do adaptations. Mostly, however, he's able to mix blockbuster storytelling with an artist's flair.

So, that would be my pick!

Learn more about the Mistborn books and Brandon Sanderson and his work at his website and his blog.

--Marshal Zeringue

Julie Luongo's "The Hard Way"

Julie Luongo has worked as a university instructor, freelance writer, researcher, editor, reporter, and business consultant. She’s written about theater, fishing, and entertainment.

Her new book is The Hard Way.

Here she develops some ideas about the cast and director should her novel be adapted for the big screen:

When I imagine The Hard Way based on the novel by Julie Luongo coming to a theater near you, I generally think of it as a rich romantic comedy with a who’s-who ensemble cast and a top director. And I’m no literary snob. I have no problems at all with the Hollywood elite.

But The Hard Way would also work as a dark and/or quirky indie film with soon-to-be famous actors. What I mean is that I could imagine—I do imagine—a lot of different directors handling the subject material well. Judd Apatow would make it young and light; Sofia Coppola brooding and layered; Wes Anderson quirky and beautiful; Ron Howard fun and Oscar-worthy.

However, if I were directing my movie, I’d probably go with a Robert Altman style a la Short Cuts to mimic my book’s novel-in-stories structure. (Incidentally, I think Richard Linklater would pull this off well.) I’d give each vignette its own cast, tone, and style.

Nooo, I haven’t wasted a ton of time on this fantasy. Nope, not much time at all.

The Hard Way takes place over the span of 30 years (1970-2000) and is about one woman’s journey toward self-awareness and personal fulfillment. Lucy has a long road though. Her childhood was spent as the reluctant subject of a painter her parents were supporting when she was born.

In the vignette of her childhood, I’d cast Lucy as Miranda Cosgrove (Summer in School of Rock). Her self-involved parents would be played by Catherine Keener and Harold Ramis. The painter, a smug artist who occupies the bulk of her time, would be played by Johnathon Schaech (Jimmy in That Thing You Do).

When Lucy is in college, she goes on a tropical vacation with her mother, her mother’s new boyfriend, and his unhappy adult children. In this story, she’d be played by Alia Shawkat (Maeby in Arrested Development). Lucy’s sister Nancy appears here as a shrill, tense, and jealous woman. I think Judy Greer would pull off nicely (another Arrested Development actress – she was Kitty, the secretary). There is also a great male character, a moody man-child, which would be an excellent part for Jason Schwartzman.

After college Lucy stumbles through some ill-chosen careers. In her first one, as a freelance reporter, Lucy would have to be played by Lauren Ambrose (Claire in Six Feet Under). Probably in a misguided attempt to mourn her father, she dates a self-possessed older man who is distracted by his own issues. Bill Murray is my top pick for this character.

Lucy makes more than one misguided choice in love and leaves a number of discarded boyfriends in her wake. One of my favorite boyfriend characters is Keith, a wacky guy with a lax work ethic and a penchant for retro slang. I think Owen Wilson would have fun with this role (opposite Kate Winslet as Lucy).

Lucy’s least favorite boyfriend is Todd, who tells her what to do, what to eat, and how to act, which is amusing to her at first and eventually annoying then exhausting. Todd also suffers from road rage. People who don’t give the courtesy wave beware! I think Matt Damon could expertly reveal Todd’s suppressed fury.

Everyone’s favorite boyfriend of Lucy’s is Ben. He’s a Dean Martin with a little Jerry Lewis, which means he’s confident and sweet; handsome and goofy. I imagine that Paul Rudd or even James Franco could do a lot with this character.

If nothing else, The Hard Way, The Movie has range with cheek to rival Juno and depth enough to kill a mockingbird. (This synopsis rated H for Humble.)

Read more about The Hard Way at Julie Luongo's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

Julie Klam's "Please Excuse My Daughter"

Julie Klam graduated from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and was an intern at Late Night with David Letterman. She went on to write for such publications as O, the Oprah Magazine, Rolling Stone, Harper’s Bazaar, and Glamour. She was also nominated for an Emmy as a writer for VH1’s Pop-Up Video.

Her new book is the memoir, Please Excuse My Daughter.

Here Klam develops some ideas about the cast and director should her memoir be adapted for the big screen:

As a former NYU film student, I’m pathetically proficient at imagining my life as a movie. When I stand on the prescription line at Duane Reade, I think, “If Sean Penn was the pharmacist this wait would be so dramatic, so compelling.” That said, my book Please Excuse My Daughter (Riverhead) is a memoir, it’s about my life, a life that I think sounds very much like a movie (if you like the kind of movies where people wait on line at Duane Reade).

When I was on my book tour, my hands-down favorite question anyone asked me was “Who’d play you in the movie?” My response was always, “Is Ethel Merman dead?” But really? For real? Well….

The constellation of the plot of Please Excuse My Daughter revolves around six key figures; me, my mother, Marcia; my father, Paul; my therapist, Margot; my ex-convict/Mafioso ex-boyfriend, Joe; and my fabulous husband, Paul.

Here’s the cast as I wish it:

Me, Julie - Jennifer Aniston or Kate Winslet (I love them both each in different ways, maybe they could share the role like Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen in Full House)

My mother, Marcia - Cher

Margot, the therapist – Michelle Pfeiffer

Joe, the bad guy – Colin Farrell

My husband, Paul – Vince Vaughn (I think Jennifer would like that, maybe if Kate did it we’d have Daniel Day-Lewis)

My father, Paul – Alan Arkin at his most Arkinesque

In terms of direction, I’d love to see it in the hands James L. Brooks.

[Disclaimer: If anyone options the book, I’d change my submission in a heartbeat and swear that you’re who I always wanted.]

Learn more about the book and author at Julie Klam's website and her blog.

--Marshal Zeringue