Vonda N. McIntyre's "Dreamsnake"

Vonda N. McIntyre's publications include The Moon and the Sun, The Starfarers Series, several Star Trek novels, and numerous other novels and short stories.

Here she shares some ideas for the cast of an adaptation of her Nebula and Hugo award winning novel Dreamsnake, which is based on the Nebula-winning story “Of Mist, and Grass, and Sand:”

Though I’ve imagined Dreamsnake as a movie, and I wrote a script for it, until recently no actor jumped off the screen to tell me she could play Snake, the healer, the protagonist of the book.

A number of the book’s characters are a challenge to cast.

Arevin, who falls in love with Snake, has to be played by someone with both strength and sensitivity. Critics of Dreamsnake have accused the men in it of being weak, but it seems to me that those critics can’t tell the difference between a weak character and a secondary one. Especially when the book was first published, and especially in science fiction, critics weren’t used to a man as secondary to a woman protagonist.

Arevin is an incredibly strong character: he leaves everything and everyone he knows, venturing into a post-apocalyptic world, in order to correct a wrong.

Matthew Gray Gubler (Dr. Spencer Reid in Criminal Minds) has that strength, and the emotional chops to make Arevin believable. He can also express a hint of naivety about his physical attractiveness, which he will need considering almost everybody Arevin meets on his journey tries to jump his bones (politely, to be sure, but still), and he doesn’t realize it.

Sean Connery always struck me as perfect for the Mayor, but people tell me he’s retired. What a shame, if so! Whoever plays the character needs enormous charm to get away with the character’s streak of arrogance and cruelty.

When I asked folks on the Book View Café blog to comment on “Casting Dreamsnake,” a friend suggested Edward James Olmos for the Mayor, and I thought — What a brilliant idea!

Jesse, the artist, should be played a grown-up, a woman with maturity and wisdom. Regina Taylor (you might have seen her on the wonderful I’ll Fly Away; if you didn’t, seek it out on DVD) could soar with the essentially tragic role.

Three characters in the book present three different and particularly difficult challenges: North, Melissa, and Merideth.

North might have to be played partly by CGI, like Gollum. I can’t think of anyone who would fit the part of an albino giant, even with a lot of makeup.

Melissa, the scarred little girl Snake adopts, got any number of suggestions at “Casting Dreamsnake.” Every one of the talented young actors mentioned is charming and cuter than a LOLcat. But Melissa needs some real grit. She’s holding her own in a tough situation. She also has to be played by someone who’s willing to give up the extreme cuteness that’s so important to so many child actors.

The actor who comes to mind is Abigail Breslin (Olive in Little Miss Sunshine). She actually is a very beautiful girl, but Little Miss Sunshine proved she could give up some of that beauty and still steal the show from experienced and high-powered colleagues. [Note: Breslin was on The Tonight Show the other day and OMG she’s so grown up — I may have to call in a time machine for her to be in my movie. But I’m allowed; I’m an SF writer.]

Merideth is the toughest call. Merideth is a character whose sex, in the book, the reader is never told. Readers come away from the book believing they’ve been told, and with strong opinions on the subject. But Merideth’s sex is never specified.

So the actor who plays Merideth has to be believably androgynous. Would it be possible to create the character on film? I don’t know, but I think it would be interesting to try.

That isn’t the only quality the actor needs. Merideth also should be able to ride, and I mean riding of the quality of Viggo Mortensen, who has the best seat of any actor I’ve ever seen on film, but cannot be imagined in an androgynous role.

Yeah, I guess you can use stunt doubles, but that always seems like cheating to me. What you can’t do is fake it, because it always and ever looks faked.

Actors suggested for Merideth: Jaye Davidson (The Crying Game), Keanu Reaves, Orlando Bloom, Tilda Swinton, Jackson Rathbone, Katherine Moennig, Joanne Woodward, and Angela Bassett.

The problem with actors who have done androgyny or cross-dressing before, like Davidson and Swinton, is that just by casting them you give away what’s happening. Reaves or Bloom are so well-known, as soon as they appear on screen, nobody would even think to consider if the character were a woman.

Moennig and Bassett are intriguing suggestions. Woodward is a wonderful actor. Why couldn’t Merideth be 80?

But I have my heart set on Parminder Nagra.

You doubt me! She’s a beautiful woman! you say, and you are absolutely right. When she’s glammed up, she’s intensely feminine.

But take a look at this picture at the Internet Movie Database. Now can you see her as Merideth?

We know she can play soccer. I wonder if she can ride?

But what about Snake? I’ve been looking for the right actor for a long time, without success.

Until Emily Rios.

Rios has a wonderful face, a great smile, and looks as if she’s athletic enough to play a part that includes wrestling a cobra, riding a horse at a flat run across the desert, and climbing out of a crevasse. Though she’s very young (this essay will be posted within shouting distance of her 20^th birthday), she gives the impression of possessing the character to stand up against a bully twice her age and twice her size, to treat a sick child with gentleness and honesty, and to look death in the face.

Vonda N. McIntyre adds: Dreamsnake was caught in several SF publishing line meltdowns and has been difficult to find (the quaint publishing term is “Out of stock indefinitely,” which means “We don’t want to publish enough copies to sell, but we don’t want to revert the rights to you, either”) for a number of years. Now I have it back. It is available at the authors’ co-op Book View Café, serialized one chapter per week for free or for sale as a downloadable ebook with a new Afterword.

Learn more about the book and author at Vonda N. McIntyre's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

Curtiss Ann Matlock's "Chin Up, Honey"

Curtiss Ann Matlock is the author of nearly forty books and short stories, including The Valentine Series.

Here she shares some ideas about the above-the-line talent for a film adaptation of her latest Valentine novel, Chin Up, Honey:

Actors for the lead roles in a movie version of my novel? This question requires slipping fully into fantasy. I watch so few contemporary movies. The more convoluted the world gets, the more I retreat into TCM. Part of the idea for Chin Up, Honey came from a nostalgic look back to the sixties. Writing the flashbacks for Emma and John Cole gave me a great deal of fun. There’s a movie scene in the book, where Emma is watching Cat On A Hot Tin Roof.

That said, I have from the beginning seen Robert Duvall in the role of the elder Winston Valentine. Winston is a secondary character who became prominent and appears in each of the Valentine series of novels. Readers, and myself, have fallen in love with him. In a movie version of the book, I see him as the town narrator.

For the lead role of emotional Emma Berry-- Reba McEntire, or as Oklahomans call her, simply, Reba. For John Cole Berry-- Mark Harmon, absolutely. Both actors are expert at being funny and tender. If this was a TCM movie, it would be Irene Dunn and Cary Grant. Mark Harmon does Cary Grant's grin.

Delta Burke would be delightful as Belinda Blaine. Ellen Burstyn just came to mind as grand for Vella Blaine, with Jonathan Taylor Thomas in the role of Johnny Berry, Emma’s son. Both actors were great in Clyde Edgerton’s Walking Across Egypt. For Gracie Kinney, I’m at a loss. Maybe one of your readers could suggest someone. (Now that I’m looking at this, I’m rather anxious about casting.)

For director no suggestions, but I would like to put forth Robert J. Avrech as producer/screenwriter. Avrech has done some wonderful work, and he’s been interested in my stories for sometime.

Okay, fantasy time has ended.

Learn more about the book and author at Curtiss Ann Matlock's website and blog.

--Marshal Zeringue

Anna Katherine's "Salt and Silver"

Anna Katherine's new book is Salt and Silver.

Here she explains how she creates an action scene by thinking about what the movie would look like:

One of my favorite things to come across while I'm reading is a really fantastic action scene. When the author's somehow managed to tell me where everybody is, what they're doing, how they're feeling, what the action means, and what the consequences are -- that's a real talent, and a gem to come across in print.

While I'm not saying that I'm anywhere near that fabulous when it comes to action scenes, I definitely try to pay attention to what I'm doing. In Salt and Silver, there are two kinds of action scenes: ones involving sex, and ones involving violence. I'm going to stick the violence examples, but honestly, this stuff applies either way.

There are three concerns I have when writing an action scene:

1. As with anything in a story, I've got to get from one end of it to the other -- beginning, rising tension, climax, denouement. Those are the very basic building blocks of creating a scene, a chapter, a book... and if I skip any of them, there's going to be a frustrated reader somewhere.

2. But while I'm doing that, I'm also thinking to myself, "What exactly is the story getting out of this?" If I'm just having an angsty vampire battle to fill time, why should the reader bother reading it? Heck, why should the characters bother going through with it? Even sex scenes fall under this one -- if I'm going to have my characters get it on, then it's got to mean something (emotionally, metaphorically, prophetically...).

3. But most of all: If I'm gonna have action, it's gotta look good.

When writing an action scene, I try to see it as a movie in my head -- or, more importantly, I try to find the most striking image of the scene. Think about movie action scenes you've known and loved. Maybe the subway showdown between Neo and Agent Smith in The Matrix, or Inigo Montoya's swordfight with the man who killed his father. These are action scenes that stand out for me personally because there's an image that just sticks: powerful, beautiful, meaningful, anything that gets in my dreams and colors my vision.

My favorite action scene in Salt and Silver is part of the big battle at the end of the book -- the main character, Allie, is standing back, knowing that she can't do much fighting-wise since she's not any kind of demon hunter (when the book starts, she's just a girl who runs a diner). She knows she has a place in the upcoming fray; she's just not sure where. As I was writing this, I knew she needed to get from one end of the battle to the other without getting killed or maimed -- or distracted by her love interest getting killed or maimed. I also knew, from earlier in the book, that she had the ability to call a kind of monster to her -- could it protect her as she went? Could this foreshadow what was to come? And could I make it clear that while she's no demon hunter, this chick is someone to watch out for?

That's how I came upon the image: An aerial shot, getting the whole of the battle -- and Allie, riding astride this gigantic monster as it plows its way through the mess and into the final location. Sun shining, demons fighting, blood on the ground, and a diner manager with a pair of sunglasses and a kerchief riding bareback on a monster to her destiny.

Movie-wise, that's an awesome image. Book-wise... well, we'll see if it worked for readers as much as it worked for me.

Anna Katherine is the pseudonym for two women who have both worked in the publishing industry for most of their lives.

Learn more about the book and authors at Anna Katherine's website and blog.

--Marshal Zeringue

Kate Kingsbury's Pennyfoot Hotel Mysteries

Kate Kingsbury's many books include the Pennyfoot Hotel Mysteries.

Here she shares her casting ideas for the two main characters should the series be adapted for the big screen:

I dream about seeing my books made into movies. I’ve rehearsed my Academy Awards speech so many times I know it off by heart. You’d think out of fifty-some books at least one would make it to the screen, right? So it’s not surprising that I know exactly who I’d pick to star as the main characters in the stupendous, the outstanding, the extraordinary Pennyfoot Hotel Mysteries movie.

For instance, take Cecily Sinclair. She’s the middle-aged manager of a country club. Feisty, independent to a fault, a little reckless at times, outspoken when needs be, especially when her role as a woman is challenged. Intelligent enough to solve murders, yet constantly drawn into dire peril because of her blind loyalty to her family, friends and staff, as well as the eclectic and often eccentric guests who pass through the doors of the renowned and infamous Pennyfoot Hotel.

Nothing really remarkable there, unless you take into account that this is the turn-of-the-century England, when working women were regarded as something less than respectable. Imagine the horror of a woman who chases all over the countryside tracking down murderers, while her husband appears helpless to restrain the reprobate.

Trapped in an era of aggressive suffragettes, rebellious hotel staff and philandering aristocratic guests, the long suffering Baxter is often forced to turn a blind eye toward his wife’s escapades. Even when he is compelled to voice his displeasure, he is usually sweetly yet firmly disarmed by his determined spouse. In spite of their disagreements, however, they care deeply about each other, and can always be counted upon to be there for each other when needed.

Emma Thompson is the epitome of Cecily Sinclair. I can imagine her striding around the halls of the Pennyfoot, deftly dealing with the whims and worries of her guests, while mentally working out clues that will lead her to the latest dastardly killer lurking in the shadows. The faithful, if sometimes intolerant Baxter, would be admirably played by Victor Garber, who always looks as if he’s harboring a simmering resentment behind that genteel smile.

Then there’s the staff of the Pennyfoot - the belligerent, foul-mouthed maid, the phony French chef, the bossy housekeeper - as well as the addle-brained colonel and his prissy wife. Now who should play them? Decisions, decisions...ah, what fun are dreams.

Visit Kate Kingsbury's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

Alex Bledsoe's "Blood Groove"

Alex Bledsoe grew up in West Tennessee, an hour north of Graceland and twenty minutes from Nutbush. He now lives in Wisconsin.

Here he shares some thoughts on the cast of a cinematic adaptation of Blood Grove, his new novel:

This was an interesting exercise because, with the exception of the main character, I hadn’t really pondered actors for the characters in this book. I did have input on casting the heroine for the book trailer, but that’s not the same as imagining someone going through all the character’s emotions. As Jess Riley said in her post, I assumed that if a movie is ever made, I’d leave casting to the people who know about such things.

Blood Groove is a horror novel set in 1975 Memphis, so it’s a period piece. The protagonist, Eastern European vampire Rudolfo Vladimir Zginski (a.k.a."Rudy") was originally based on Mike Raven's look from the 1970 Hammer film Lust for a Vampire. Zginski is smooth, intelligent, and absolutely heartless, although there is an element of George Hamilton’s Love at First Bite ironic Dracula in there as well. Robert Carlyle, with a look similar to the one he had in 1999's Ravenous (the non-scruffy part), would be perfect.

The heroine, Fauvette, is a Kentucky hillbilly made a vampire at fourteen half a century earlier. She's very sad, bitter and weary, although she's also the only vampire with a real conscience. Valentina de Angelis, who played the younger Bo in 2005’s Off the Map, has the right demeanor, as does Stephanie Leonidas, heroine of MirrorMask. The trick is finding someone who can do a Southern accent that doesn’t sound like a community theatre Blanche Dubois. Too bad sad-eyed Amber Benson, who hails from Alabama, is too old. I wonder if Lina Leandersson from Let the Right One In can act in English?

The two African-American vampires, Leonardo and Olive, both appear to be teens as well. Olive is curvy and heavy-set, more Beyoncé than Whitney Houston. Despite being close to eighty years old Leonardo tries to appear as a typical 1975 teen, like Kevin Hooks of the seventies TV series The White Shadow and the 1975 film Aaron Loves Angela. Redneck vampire Toddy, who was turned at age seventeen in the sixties (and in the South that meant crew cuts and racism, not peace and love), would be a Southern Eminem/Michael Rapaport type.

The main antagonist, assistant coroner Danielle Roseberry, also has to look young enough to pass for a teenager. I envisioned Nicole de Boer circa the last season of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, or Jennifer Blaire of The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra. The other antagonist, Sir Francis Colby, is a typical Victorian gentleman who’s also an expert on the occult. Brian Blessed would be my first choice, although Ian Holm or Bob Hoskins would also work.

Learn more about the book and author at Alex Bledsoe's website and blog.

--Marshal Zeringue

Kelly Simmons’ "Standing Still"

Kelly Simmons is a former journalist and current novelist/advertising creative director.

Here she explores the possibility of some A-list talent adapting her debut novel Standing Still for the big screen:

After the hardcover of Standing Still came out, and good reviews started popping up, my L.A. agent called me with what I like to call a “Hollywood review” (i.e. something that sounds great but means nothing.) “Mel Gibson loves it and wants to direct Nicole Kidman in it because she’s looking to star in a juicy psychological thriller after giving birth.” Ooooh! Who needs to be reviewed by The New York Times! Nicole & Mel called me juicy!

The next week, more exciting news: “Gus Van Sant is going to look at it as soon as he’s done editing Milk.” My favorite director? Ready to read it as soon as he decides how long to hold the close up of James Franco & Sean Penn? Nirvana!

Then it hit me . . . Are these things connected? Did Nicole take my book from Mel and gave it to Gus, the genius who directed her to greatness in To Die For? Scandal!

What was next, I wondered? Would Nicole pass her copy on to Naomi Watts, who would hide it from her husband, Liev, because he’d want to direct her and she’d rather work with Gus? Or would Gus give it to Sean Penn to give it to his wife Robin Wright, who would be so wonderful in the lead role?

Then I realized I was doing it again. Novelizing. My terrible habit of weaving everything around me into a twisty drama. If I continued thinking like this, then Nicole would give it to her ex Tom who would give it to his ex Penelope who would give it to her ex Javiar who would be so freaking good playing the kidnapper!

Hmmmm, I thought. Robert Downey Junior would be fabulous as the husband – maybe I could give the book to my former co-worker Denise who used to date Steve Lopez, who wrote The Soloist which RDJ is starring in?

Yes, folks, this meaningless pursuit is what I’m doing instead of editing my next novel, The Bird House. Some play Guitar Hero; I play Six Degrees of Novelization.

And if you purists are wondering if am six degrees separated from Kevin Bacon, I assure you, I am not. I am four degrees –I once worked with Brooke Shields who fought with Tom Cruise who starred with Kevin in A Few Good Men. Plus, Kevin grew up in the town I live in. I probably slept with him in the late ‘80s and forgot.

NOTE: Kelly Simmons’ novel, Standing Still is still making the rounds in Hollywood –and has yet to be optioned by anyone known only by their first name.

Read an excerpt and watch the trailer for Standing Still at Kelly Simmons' website and blog.

The Page 69 Test: Standing Still.

--Marshal Zeringue

Lisa Black's "Takeover"

Lisa Black has worked as a forensic scientist at the Cuyahoga County Coroner’s Office where she analyzed gunshot residue on hands and clothing, hairs, fibers, paint, glass, DNA, blood, and many other forms of trace evidence, and went to crime scenes. She is now a forensic specialist for the city of Cape Coral, Florida, police department, working mostly with fingerprints and crime scenes.

Here she shares her thoughts on the cast of a cinematic adaptation of Takeover, the first novel in her series featuring forensic scientist Theresa MacLean:

I would love to see this book become a movie, because it really is suited to the big screen. It involves a hostage situation, which is always a drama mine, and intense, attractive characters. But the setting is even more perfect: the Cleveland Federal Reserve building, built from marble and glass in 1923, and the Cleveland Public Library, built…I don’t know when, but it’s old. Though actually the section of building used in this tale—directly across from the Fed—is quite a bit newer, but I’ll gloss over that part. It’s also set in summer, which means Cleveland will look clean and attractive minus its winter coating of slush.

Anyway, casting: My heroine Theresa MacLean is always played by Julianne Moore. I don’t know if it’s the red hair or the way she’s always serious without being humorless, but Julianne Moore is right in every way. The right age, the right look, the right attitude. You can imagine her handling just about anything, yet she also seems realistic when performing the more mundane tasks of life like filling out evidence slips or scraping red tape off the booking counter. I can’t picture, say, Angelina Jolie filling out evidence slips. Theresa is fortyish, so the other leads have to be about the same age. Don’t torment me by surrounding my alter ego with handsome men young enough to be, if not her sons, then kids she used to babysit. I get enough of that anguish from prime time TV.

My hostage negotiator, Chris Cavanaugh, is Kevin Spacey. I don’t mean I’d like Kevin Spacey to play him, I mean I wrote him as Kevin Spacey, who played such a role in The Negotiator with Samuel L. Jackson. I didn’t give him the same name, Chris Sabian, only because I’d already used the name Sabian in a previous book. But Kevin is perfect also because I wanted Chris to be attractive in a sneaky sort of way, not attractive in George Clooney, the-minute-he-walks-in-you-know-he’s-the-hero way. I wanted readers to be a little unsure about Chris’s true character. Is he a good guy, or a manipulative publicity-seeker?

Frank, the homicide detective and Theresa’s first cousin, is played by a blond guy who appears to be the absolute cop’s cop, down to the mustache and that look of having been the kind of person who stuffed nerds into their locker in high school. I cannot find his name, however, and it’s not worth re-watching the bad movie I saw him in to find him again. This might be a good role to give to my nephew-in-law, Devin McGinn, an LA actor. Nothing like keeping it in the family.

Theresa’s fiancé Paul…there are only two actors I can picture my alter ego willingly trading her life to save, and that’s Rory Cochrane and Joshua Jackson. Both are too young. Maybe Simon Baker, both because I picture Paul as a blond and because getting shot in the leg would take The Mentalist down a peg or two. Better yet, how about the handsome Thomas Kretschman, who played strong leaders in both King Kong and Valkyrie.

It would be a sweet movie.

Learn more about Takeover and the author at Lisa Black's website.

The Page 69 Test: Takeover.

--Marshal Zeringue

Libby Hellmann's "Easy Innocence"

Libby Fischer Hellmann has edited the acclaimed crime fiction anthology, Chicago Blues, and published over a dozen short stories. Her four novels featuring Chicago video producer and amateur sleuth Ellie Foreman have won numerous awards.

Her fifth novel, Easy Innocence, featuring newly-minted PI Georgia Davis, is a spin-off from the Ellie Foreman series. It is a dark, disturbing tale about high school girls and what they are doing when they're not adequately supervised. It came out of Hellmann's experience with her own daughter, and what she imagined as "every mother's nightmare."

Here she suggests some A-list actors suitable for a cinematic adaptation of the novel:

While Easy Innocence is the debut of a new series, its protagonist, former cop turned PI Georgia Davis, gets around. She made her first appearance in my second Ellie Foreman book, A Picture of Guilt, but I’d written a short story about her prior to that. In fact, she first came to me before I was published, when I was writing what I euphemistically call one of my “practice novels.” Georgia is tough, guarded, and independent. She keeps people at a distance. She doesn’t want you to know her too well. And she doesn’t take **** from anyone.

The other thing to keep in mind is that show business runs through my family like a bad case of chicken pox. One of my nieces is an actress, and I originally based Georgia’s physical appearance on her. At the moment, though, she’s busy raising her two sons, so I see several other possibilities. Charlize Theron would make an excellent Georgia. So would Kate Hudson. Reese Witherspoon, if she was able to play against type, might work also.

The other dominant female in Easy Innocence is Andrea Walcher, the mother of 17-year-old Lauren. I think Marcia Cross from Desperate Housewives would be terrific: her sangfroid and arrogance is perfect. Julianne Moore could do a great job, too -- again, if she’d play against type.

I’m less sure about her daughter, Lauren, the spoiled North Shore teenager who’s running a prostitution ring from her laptop. Short of Dakota Fanning, I’m not familiar with the crop of up-and-coming actresses. I do know that Lauren should be slim, have dark hair, and project an air of total control. As for Sara Long, the girl who’s murdered in the beginning of the novel, I know she needs to be blond, beautiful, and should look older than her 17 years.

Real estate developer Ricki Feldman, who may or may not be dirty, is a recurring character in my books, including Easy Innocence. Ricki’s father caused a scandal when he built a housing development over a toxic waste dump, and Ricki’s been atoning for his sins ever since. Still, she’s sharp, ambitious, and manipulative. Angelina Jolie would do a fabulous job.

For Tom Walcher, father of Lauren and wife of Andrea, I think Aaron Eckhart (The Dark Knight) would be perfect. If he’s not available, I’d cast Rob Lowe. And if George Clooney wanted the part, I wouldn’t object.

Lawyer Paul Kelly, with whom Georgia works to solve the case, would be Ben Kingsley, assuming he can do a Chicago accent. Georgia’s former boyfriend, detective Matt Singer, could be Johnny Depp, although he’ll need to wear glasses. Ben Stiller could pull it off too.

So, Hollywood, what are you waiting for?

Visit Libby Hellmann's website.

My Book, The Movie: A Shot To Die For (of the Ellie Forman series).

The Page 69 Test: Easy Innocence.

--Marshal Zeringue

J.T. Ellison's Taylor Jackson series

J.T. Ellison is the bestselling author of the critically acclaimed Taylor Jackson series, including All the Pretty Girls, 14, Judas Kiss and the forthcoming Edge of Black. She was recently named “Best Mystery/Thriller Writer of 2008” by the Nashville Scene.

Here she shares some casting options, provided by friends and fans, for the two main characters should the series be adapted for the big screen:

Contrarian that I am, I don’t like to tell people who I see in the roles of my protagonists, homicide lieutenant Taylor Jackson and FBI profiler Dr. John Baldwin. So I reached out to my friends and fans, asked their opinion. The responses I received were fascinating. No one saw the characters the same way. I love that. My goal as a writer is to create a world for you, the reader, to escape into. I’ll give enough detail to get you going, but it’s YOUR imagination that fills in the blanks. That’s how I like to read, and that method has colored my writing.

Here are the nominees to play Taylor Jackson – my tall, honey-haired, gray-eyed, tough as nails cop:

Sonya Walger – I liked this suggestion; she played a federal agent in Sleeper Cell and did a marvelous job. Brings gravitas to the role.

Blake Lively – An interesting choice to be sure. My extent of experience with her is playing the role of Serena van der Woodsen in Gossip Girl. She’s definitely tall enough, and that hair works too. A good choice, all in all. She’s young enough to grow into the role, too.

Amanda Righetti – Nearly tall enough, and that imperfect, broken nose is exactly what I’ve pictured on Taylor, so that’s a wonderful choice.

Charlize Theron – Anytime you’re dealing with beautiful blondes, of course.

Nicole Kidman – An interesting choice, because she does live in Nashville now, and she might like to take on a meaty role set in her adopted hometown. And she’s tall enough, too.

Jennifer Garner – She’s got that kick-ass physicality that would make her just right for the role.

Now, for Baldwin. He’s big (6’4”) black hair and clear green eyes. He’s incredibly handsome, lean and well-dressed, and brilliant. Hard shoes to fill…

Jason O’Mara – I’ve never seen him in anything but I’m assured that he would work, and work well. He is European, so his background would be useful when we’re delving into Baldwin’s polyglot nature.

Alex O'Loughlin – I think he’s too small for Baldwin, but what do I know? He can smolder, and does have a nice intensity on the screen.

Thomas Gibson – I’m a Criminal Minds fan, so I can completely understand this choice. He’s deep and serious and can act his pants off. I wouldn’t quibble.

Ben Affleck – Not a bad choice at all. He’s the right size, has the ability to capture the attention of the women around him, and the subtlety to handle the role.

Hugh Jackman – An excellent choice. He’s fun to watch, and I can see him embodying this role well.

So that’s it, we’ve got a load of excellent suggestions to play Taylor and Baldwin. Now we just need to get the books optioned and get them on the silver screen! Many, many thanks to all the folks who participated in this for me, and a special thanks to Marshal for letting me go my own way with this post.

Learn more about the books and author at J.T. Ellison's website and MySpace page.

The Page 69 Test: All the Pretty Girls.

The Page 99 Test: 14.

The Page 69 Test: 14.

The Page 99 Test: Judas Kiss.

--Marshal Zeringue

Fiona Maazel's "Last Last Chance"

Fiona Maazel is a writer and freelance editor. Her work has appeared in Bomb, The Boston Book Review, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, The Mississippi Review, Pierogi Press, Salon.com, Tin House, The Village Voice, and The Yale Review. She was named one of the 5 Best Writers Under 35 by the National Book Foundation.

Maazel's novel Last Last Chance was a Time Out New York Best Book of the Year.

Here she tags a couple of directors and one candidate for the lead actor's role in a film adaptation of Last Last Chance:

Oh, man, whenever I get asked to say something apropos contemporary culture, I despair. Who’d star in the movie version of my novel? What is this thing called movie? Could be the only actor I’ve heard of is Philip Seymour Hoffman, and that only because he’s got pretensions to serious art, and I am just pretentious enough to catch wind of that kind of thing. Alas, I can’t think of a suitable role for him, unless he wants to play the Older Drunk Guy, but then didn’t he cover that in Long Day’s Journey into Night? For the record: O’Neill to Maazel is not a trajectory I recommend. Even so, don’t get me wrong: I am nowhere near above dreaming my novel into a movie, though I hardly care about the movie part. I certainly wouldn’t want to write the script or even see the script or know anything about the script (anyone share the urge just to call a rose a rose, and ditch the t?) and I’m not sure I’d want to see the film, either, unless Ang Lee or—I dream of genie—the Coen brothers decided to have a go. Droll, morbid, lotta death and almost no sex, what more do they want? Thus far, they’ve come clamoring up my step twice, but wouldn’t you know it, I wasn’t home. So, yeah, the Coen brothers would be good. And you know who else? That redhead from Six Feet Under, she’s droll and moribund—though maybe she was just channeling the show—but with new hair, she might incarnate to splendid effect one Lucy Clarke, who narrates my novel with, I hope, some mix of brio and despair. There’s also a lot of dead people romping about the narrative—a patsy ninth-century Viking, a fourteenth-century masochist bloody-mess man, and a pudgy eugenicist who drowns in the Gulf of Finland, ETC.—and so I’m hoping the Coen brothers, with their pull and for the sake of verisimilitude, will hire the undead. Finally, there’s a plague. Remember how in your school play, all the miasmas—the vapors and humors—got rolled into some kid bearing sandwich board and cotton beard? I think my plague deserves no less. Kid with board, in every frame, like the Greek Chorus, only not. In sum: Undead plus redhead plus board equals Best Coen Bros. movie ever. Anyone got their number?

Learn more about Last Last Chance and its author at Fiona Maazel's website.

The Page 69 Test: Last Last Chance.

--Marshal Zeringue