Julie Compton's "Tell No Lies"

Julie Compton practiced law in St. Louis, Missouri, and more recently worked as a trial attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice.

About Tell No Lies, her first novel, from the Florida Sun-Sentinel:

“Tell No Lies has all the requisites of legal thrillers including courtroom dramas and lawyers' behind the scenes work… Compton proves she has real storytelling skills. Tell No Lies' final twist is as stunning as that classic surprise in Scott Turow's Presumed Innocent.”

Here Compton shares some ideas for the principal cast should Tell No Lies be adapted for the big screen:

As a novelist, the second most common question I hear after "Are any of your characters based on real people?" is, "If someone made a movie of Tell No Lies, who would you like to see play the characters?"

It's a tough question. The characters are crystal clear in my head, but I didn't write the novel with any particular actor or actress in mind.

Finding the right actor to play Jack, my main character, would be the toughest task. He must have the right look (ruggedly handsome but with a youthful face, not too pretty, but still, a golden boy), but he must also have the acting skills to convey Jack's personality. On the exterior, Jack is sensible, smart, always the professional. But inside, he's impulsive, over-analytical, and "a hopeless romantic" (which is what Jenny, the woman who causes him to stray, rightly accuses him of being). There was a time when I thought Brad Pitt could play Jack, but he's become too old and too famous; I find it hard to watch him and not be aware that I'm watching Brad Pitt play someone else. So, my vote goes to Bradley Cooper.

Claire is only slightly easier. Again, I'd want the actress to look like the Claire I imagine in my head (honey-blonde, wavy hair and pretty in a natural, earthy way), but she must also be able to capture Claire's calm, grounded nature. Early in the writing of the first draft, I saw a model in an Eddie Bauer catalog who was a ringer for Claire. I ripped out the page and kept it, mostly for reference as I wrote. But even if authors had any say over casting (and they don't; once movie rights are sold, authors kiss all control goodbye, right?), and even if I could locate this model, who knows if she can act? And then there's another problem: characters in your book never age, but the real-life people you want to play them do. It's been almost ten years since I first began writing Tell No Lies. The gal in that catalog may have grandchildren by now! So, I'm left with the typical Hollywood choices. In my opinion, only one actress comes to mind who has the acting chops to nail Claire's subtle nuances: Kate Winslet.

Next up, Jenny. There was a time when I would have insisted that the perfect casting of Jenny was impossible. She existed in my mind only. I once saw a woman on a snorkeling boat in the islands who came close, but not close enough. But all that changed when I saw Slumdog Millionaire. When Freida Pinto (who plays the adult Latika) first appeared before me on the big screen, I immediately thought, "There's my Jenny." Her physical appearance matched the Jenny in my head, and though she plays a more simple type of woman in that movie, I think she could pull off Jenny's enigmatic and often contradictory personality traits: manipulative yet vulnerable, outgoing yet guarded, intellectually intelligent but emotionally damaged.

Finally, the easiest to cast of all: Earl, Jack's boss. If Brian Keith was still alive, he could play him. But he's not, so the next best thing would be Tommy Lee Jones. Simply stated, Tommy, as Earl, wouldn't put up with Jack's crap.

P.S. Any doubts I might have had regarding my picks for Claire and Jenny ... well, let's just say this picture dispensed with them all. Seeing Winslet and Pinto together confirmed my sense that these two women need to be my leading ladies. Hollywood, are you listening?

Read an excerpt from Tell No Lies, and learn more about the novel and author at Julie Compton's website and her blog.

The Page 69 Test: Tell No Lies.

--Marshal Zeringue

Karen Harrington's "Janeology"

Karen Harrington is a former speechwriter, turned stay-home-mom. Her psychological suspense novel, Janeology, debuted last year.

Here she shares a few thoughts about the potential challenge of adapting her uniquely structured novel and offers a few ideas about casting the lead roles:

When I was invited to participate in My Book, The Movie, I had the same thought as Daniel Wallace, author of Big Fish when he said something like “If you asked me if my novel could be made into a movie, I would have said it had just as likely a chance as being made into a car.”

Why?

Like Wallace’s work (which has been a big influence on my writing), I like reading and writing linked stories and novels that are short, but feature a large cast of loosely connected characters or ideas. Janeology is a such a composite novel so I’d be surprised if it could be adapted into a film. (Although you good-looking producer reading this, please don’t let that stop you from trying. In fact, I’m throwing down the challenge. Ha!) After all, I used a genealogy pedigree chart to keep track of eight of Jane’s eclectic ancestors as I was writing the novel. However, the novel has one narrator: Jane’s husband, Tom. From his point of view, the story reveals not only Tom’s own guilt about not really knowing his wife, but also shows the character of Jane through the lives of her ancestors, going back four generations, in hopes of teasing out that dark gene she may have inherited that predisposed her to violence.

Now, that’s a lot of casting. There’s her mother. Her mother’s mother. Her father. Her father’s mother. And so on.

But fear not! After I slept on it, I realized the screenplay might focus on Jane’s maternal family tree. It would be interesting to use the same actress who portrays Jane in the roles of her ancestors spanning different eras. I think Ashley Judd would be a fine fit for this role. And it would be fun to see the gene pool go back in time vis-a-vis the same actress, wouldn’t it? Perhaps in black and white sequences?

Who to play her besotted, grieving professor husband, Tom? How about Mark Ruffalo? Like Ms. Judd, he has quite a range of performance from comedic to dramatic. What I like best about him is his ability to show skepticism or heartbreak just with a look – a key trait for the character of Tom Nelson. And then there’s the great hair, too. Hair counts for a lot when the actor is grieving as in, “He ran a hand through his hair, then held his head with two hands, unable to look at the beautiful face he once loved.” (I’m just riffing here, folks, but you get the idea.)

Now, you’re probably asking yourself – what is the literary device Ms. Harrington used to great effect giving readers a glimpse into Jane’s family tree? Answer: A clairvoyant named Mariah who uses objects once owned by Jane’s relatives to discover something about their lives. Mariah’s talents are central to the connections weaving throughout the novel. You don’t have to believe in retrocognition for the story to work, but the reader/viewer does have to suspend belief in order to dive into, say, an old black and white photograph and get it to tell a story. I suspect that if there was ever an Oscar contending role within Janeology: The Movie, Mariah’s character would be it. This actress would have to make you BEE-LIEVE. (Think Whoopi Goldberg in Ghost.) So, I should probably leave this character to the casting wizards. Of course, if you’ve read the book, wouldn’t I LOVE to know your opinion on Mariah and the potential future actress who might play her? Oh, yes. Yes, I would.

Read an excerpt of Janeology and learn more about the book and author at Karen Harrington's website.

The Page 69 Test: Janeology.

--Marshal Zeringue

Cheryl Norman's "Running Scared"

Cheryl Norman won the 2003 EPPIE award for her contemporary romance, Last Resort. Her debut with Medallion, Restore My Heart, earned her a mention in Publishers Weekly as one of ten new romance authors to watch.

Here she shares some casting ideas for her latest novel Running Scared, should it be adapted for the large or small screen:

I first wrote Running Scared so many years ago that the actors I had in mind at the time have aged beyond the roles. I based Ashley Adams, the newly divorced marathon runner who witnesses a murder while training, on Lisa Hartman-Black. Homicide Detective Rick Edwards was Ed Harris—when he still had hair. I rewrote the book several times, and the characters changed, too. Since both hero and heroine are mid-thirties, I’ve had to look for younger actors for casting my book.

If someone─the Lifetime Network, perhaps─offered to make a film of Running Scared, I hope they’d cast Alison Eastwood as Ashley. Alison has the blond hair and thin but athletic build of my heroine. She also has a fair, natural beauty that fits my character’s image. I’ve seen Alison play a role of a strong woman who must fight for her safety and freedom. If you aren’t familiar with Alison, you should be. She’s a talented actress and the daughter of Clint.

Josh Lucas, with those gorgeous blue eyes, makes a perfect Rick Edwards. He may be a bit young for the role, but I don’t care. He’s perfect. He can play sensitive and stern, although he also shows a playful side. I see him as the dedicated, honorable homicide detective who is tortured by the recent deaths of his wife and daughter, the man who leaves no stone unturned when investigating a case. On the movie screen in my mind, I see Josh Lucas giving his all to keep Alison Eastwood safe while solving the murder she witnessed. Of course, I can see them falling in love, too. Running Scared is ROMANTIC suspense, after all!

There’s a third character I need to mention, Ashley’s unstable ex-husband, Peter Adams. Johnny Depp, absolutely. He can make insanity and danger believable. He’s a doll, but he can do scary. I realize this is a dream cast, but it’s my dream.

Learn more about the book and author at Cheryl Norman's website and MySpace page.

--Marshal Zeringue

Dan Elish's "The Misadventures of Justin Hearnfeld"

Dan Elish is the author of the novel Nine Wives as well as several books for young adults and children including the award-winning Born Too Short, Confessions of an 8th Grade Basket Case, The Worldwide Dessert Contest, Jason and the Baseball Bear, and The Great Squirrel Uprising.

Here he explains which actors and directors he would like to see adapt his latest novel, The Misadventures of Justin Hearnfeld, for the big screen:

Who would I want to star in my novel, The Misadventures of Justin Hearnfeld, if it were turned into a movie? I’ll answer like this: it almost was. Well, not quite. But there was a long weekend in the fall of ’07 where it looked like the movie rights were going to be bought. What happened was my literary agent hooked me up with a movie agent, who fell in love with the book and sent it out en masse. Within hours, I was being forwarded these wildly enthusiastic emails from producers.

“I love this!” one said.

“Oh, my God!” gushed another. “Yes!”

One (whose name I won’t mention) was so excited it looked like the whole thing was a lock. All she needed was approval that Monday morning from the studio head. Apparently, that studio head didn’t exactly share her enthusiasm. Just like that, the emails stopped coming. Seventy-two hours after it began the ride was over.

But for those three days I spent a lot of time thinking about the movie version of the novel. The book tells the tale of a slightly hapless, slightly horny, highschool English teacher who gets stuck teaching at the New York City private school that he attended and detested as a boy. “Good-bye, Mr. Chips meets Portnoy's Complaint meets The 40-Year-Old Virgin in contemporary Manhattan” – that’s how Kirkus Reviews described it (much to my delight), and I was happy to note that all the reviews took note Justin’s general good heartedness.

So the movie? Well, sometimes the most obvious answer is the right one. In this case, Judd Apatow to direct with Seth Rogen as the lead. In fact, though the book is funny (or professes to be) I’d even be happy to have Judd and crew adapt the whole thing. The scenes are all there (an opening where Justin thinks about the girl he loves while visiting a bio lab and inadvertently rubs himself against a Bunsen burner, igniting a fetal pig), but I think Apatow and crew would spice it up a bit, adding lots of witty guy-banter. Another director who might do the material justice, is Chris Weitz of American Pie fame, a movie I admired for its bawdiness and sweetness. In fact, Chris and I went to the same highschool (I won’t mention the name) – the same highschool that is the basis of much of the book. So Chris, if you’re out there and are looking for the perfect novel to adapt – this might be it.

For the third option, we’d need a time machine. To star, a young Tom Hanks. (All due respect to Seth Rogen, Tom Hanks can be funny and real and lots of other great things). To direct, I’d choose the Ron Howard who made Cocoon and Parenthood.

Finally, there is the question of the lead actress. Actually there are three women who pop in and out of Justin’s life, but in interest of keeping with the Apatow theme, Katherine Heigl would work. Or Anna Faris? Then again, I could just lobby for Cate Blanchett, because she can do anything and I’d love to meet her.

Most of all, I have made a vow. If the Hollywood feeding frenzy ever happens for me again, I will take as a given that it will all probably fall through. I will not get my hopes up or think about the massive amounts of money that will rain down on my head. I will remain calm.

Yeah, right.

Read an excerpt from The Misadventures of Justin Hearnfeld, and learn more about the author and his work at Dan Elish's website.

The Page 69 Test: The Misadventures of Justin Hearnfeld.

--Marshal Zeringue

Joel Shepherd's "Crossover"

Joel Shepherd was born in Adelaide, South Australia, in 1974. He has studied Film and Television, International Relations, has interned on Capitol Hill in Washington, and traveled widely in Asia. His first trilogy, the Cassandra Kresnov Series, consists of Crossover, Breakaway and Killswitch.

Here he gives some guidance for casting some of the characters in a film adaptation of the novel:

Casting Crossover the movie actually isn’t going to be that easy... or at least not if it’s done well. The supporting cast could be relatively straight forward, but Cassandra Kresnov herself is another story -- maybe someone reading this would have a better idea than me.

Cassandra (Sandy) is an android, but unlike anything Hollywood’s ever seen. She was created from technology that copies human beings in synthetic form, with appropriate improvements. So she’s basically human, only made of different stuff. The ‘improvements’ are that she’s death on legs, the ultimate killing machine. The catch is that the same added intelligence that makes her the most deadly of her kind, also makes her more emotional, more vulnerable, and sends her in search of a life free from violence (that bit doesn’t work out so well for her though).

The actress playing Sandy would need to be very pretty (no shortage there) but would also need to have a strong physical presence -- what Sandy can do is pretty scary, and the intimidation factor needs to be convincing. Unfortunately Hollywood actresses are encouraged to starve themselves more and work out less, which limits the pool. She also needs to be capable of abandoning all the standard cliches of ‘sexy female action hero’, because Sandy doesn’t really understand any of them -- despite her active libido she’s not the type to seduce the camera with sultry poses, and as a life-long soldier, she barely knows a mini skirt from a ball gown. Not that she’s not intrigued by the difference, as she’s intrigued by all civilian and pointless things. It’s just that she is what she is, and isn’t going to feel any more comfortable wearing silly things than a dog would be happy wearing rollerskates.

Sandy has a curious combination of wide-eyed innocence and worldly cynicism, disarming self-deprecation and lethal confidence. So she’d require someone who can not only look convincing while kicking ass, but who can really act, too. In other words, I’ve really no idea who might play Sandy, but whoever she is would have a lot of fun.

Supporting cast... well Sandy’s new best friend Vanessa Rice is fair game for any actress who typically gets cast as ‘girly’ or ‘cute’, and is sick of it. Natalie Portman could do it. Ari Ruben would only make an appearance if there were a sequel, only entering the Cassandra Kresnov Series in the second novel, Breakaway -- but he’s the only character who was partly inspired by an actual actor, Adam Goldberg. Anyone who saw his character in the short-lived TV show Relativity might recognise some of Ari’s mannerisms.

As for the Director... well, anyone who understands that the story matters more than the FX. For all the cool action, the fastest way to screw up the movie would be to make it ALL ABOUT the action. We all know Sandy can kick pretty much anyone’s butt, the real drama comes from her trying to figure out WHOSE butt, and why, and can she live with herself afterward. This isn’t some shoot-em-up where the primary drama is whether our hero will run out of bullets. I don’t know how many Directors know these things, but there are some out there, certainly.

Read an excerpt from Crossover, and learn more about the author and his work at Joel Shepherd's website and blog.

--Marshal Zeringue

Mike Brotherton's "Spider Star"

Mike Brotherton is a professor of Astronomy at the University of Wyoming, Laramie, and the author of the novels Star Dragon and Spider Star.

Here he shares some ideas about who might direct and star in a cinematic adaptation of Spider Star...and establishes without equivocation the director he most definitely does not want to see anywhere near the project:

My novel Spider Star from Tor Books is a far-future space adventure with starships, aliens, advanced technology, and a lot of astronomy. Unfortunately a lot of Hollywood movies with these elements wind up being pretty dumb, with Armageddon at the top of the heap. With this in mind, my first notion about my book as a movie is that Michael Bay be assassinated if he even hears the slightest whisper about Spider Star. I might become suicidal if my ideas became transformed into a Michael Bay movie.

Having said that, my choice for director would be Zombie Kubrick, but he worked slowly even when he was alive, so let's go with Robert Zemeckis. He did a good job of making the science fiction elements of Contact realistic, and I love the way he uses special effects as a tool rather than an end product (e.g., Michael Bay).

There are three point-of-view characters in Spider Star. Frank Klingston is an older family-oriented man of Nordic stock who has put his days of exploration behind him, but when his world is threatened, he takes up the challenge. A lot of the book is about him struggling with sacrifice for his family, which he must give up in order to save, and how discovery and risk are a young man's game that he must learn how to play all over again. I see William Hurt pulling off Frank Klingston, mixing elements from his roles in The Accidental Tourist, Lost in Space, and the Sci-Fi Channel adaptation of Dune. He can do wise patriarch, and disconnected man searching to feel that fire of life again.

While Frank is big, blond, a little soft and reluctant to embark on an extended mission to deep space, his counter point is Manuel Rusk. Rusk is smaller, younger, darker, and much more ambitious and anxious to prove himself. My first thought was Antonio Banderas, but he's getting a bit old himself, and also perhaps a bit too old would be Nestor Carbonell (Richard Alpert on Lost, and BatManuel on The Tick, and the Mayor in The Dark Knight). I'd prefer a younger, more ambitious actor. Freddy Rodriguez, who played El Wray in the Planet Terror segment of Grindhouse, would be terrific.

The third main character is Sloan Griffin, sometimes lover to Rusk, and fellow Specialist with a passion for security and spotting the things that are out of place. She's focused, dedicated, and extremely competent in her work. I see Carrie-Anne Moss who played Trinity in the Matrix movies and the mission commander in Red Planet. She seems to exude the qualities in her roles that I think of when I consider Sloan Griffin.

I would trust Trinity to off Michael Bay if his name came up with association with the project.

Read the prologue and first four chapters of Spider Star. Learn more about the author and his work at Mike Brotherton's website.

The Page 69 Test: Spider Star.

--Marshal Zeringue

Paul Martin Midden's "Toxin"

Paul Martin Midden is a psychologist who currently serves as Clinical Director of a nationally-recognized treatment center. Absolution, his debut novel, was released in 2007.

Toxin, his new novel, explores the growing tension between right-wing fundamentalists and secular American culture. Here he shares some ideas for casting a film adaptation of the novel:

Toxin is a book about a senator who gets involved in a plot to alter the United States. Because so many people have been so paranoid about this kind of thing in recent years, it seems like a prime time to make a movie about it.

There are problems, of course: for the most part, senators are boring middle-aged, rich white guys, so it is not often that they figure in novels. Jake Telemark, the protagonist of Toxin, is an unrich, unpedigreed middle-aged guy who just happens to be a senator. He is also an assassin, which makes him interesting.

Who to play Jake? He is a thoughtful guy, capable of reflection, but he is also willing to take action and put plans in motion. A rumpled guy like Phillip Seymour Hoffman or Sean Penn would do well because both of them have the range and complexity to pull this off. If Harrison Ford were fifteen years younger, he would have been ideal.

Now Isadore Hathaway, the love interest and fellow conspirator, needs to be tall, beautiful, bright, and ruthless. Nicole Kidman comes almost immediately to mind, especially in light of her performance in The Interpreter, where she was all of the above. But other talented women, such as Gwyneth Paltrow or Renée Zellweger, could also do a competent job.

There is a very serious FBI agent who plays a pivotal role, and I confess that I had Anthony LaPaglia in mind when I wrote the book. Mr. LaPaglia knows how to play an FBI agent (Without a Trace), and he’s naturally serious. It would be shameless pandering to cast Denzel Washington as the President of the United States; but, then again, we’re talking Hollywood here.

Another great reason for Toxin to be filmed is because of its subject matter. There are actually people out there who think—as the plotters in the novel do—that a theocratic government would be a good thing for the US and who would be willing to use unscrupulous means to bring that about. Witness the recent murder of a physician who did perfectly legal abortions or the hatemonger who shot up the Holocaust Museum. But these people are regarded as so fringe that few people take them seriously, and many people dismiss them as crackpots. This lack of attention, of course, enables them to gather power, much as the Nazis did in Germany between the wars. A movie highlighting these fanatics would nudge them out of the shadows a bit and contribute to the national discourse.

Read more about Toxin at New Books.

--Marshal Zeringue

Henry Perez's "Killing Red"

Henry Perez has worked as a newspaper reporter for more than a decade. Born in Cuba, he immigrated to the U.S. at a young age, and lives in the Chicago area with his wife and children.

Here he shares his thoughts on the principal cast of the movie should Killing Red, his first novel, be adapted for the big screen:

Like a lot of people I know, I developed an obsession for movies at an early age. I studied film, both production and theory, in college, and tend to think of my stories in a visual, cinematic way as I’m writing them.

In writing Killing Red, my debut mystery, I approached the plotting and pacing much like I would a screenplay. I got the action on the page in my first draft, making sure there was nothing there that was unnecessary or that might slow things down. I colored in many of the details in subsequent revisions.

So discussing what it might be like to see my first book turned into a film seems quite natural in a way. Killing Red is the story of Alex Chapa, a Chicago-area newspaper reporter who made a name for himself fifteen years ago when he broke the story of the capture of Kenny Lee Grubb, after a young girl named Annie Sykes escaped and led police to the mass murderer’s home. Now, less than a week before Grubb is to be executed, Chapa is summoned to the prison for one last interview. But instead of the usual death row confessional or final declarations of innocence, Grubb boasts that a copycat has been retracing his steps, and that Annie Sykes, now in her twenties, will be the final victim. Chapa has just a few days to find Annie before someone else does.

The first question authors are usually asked on the subject of their book being turned into a film concerns casting, and I’ve heard some speak candidly about having this actor or that actress in mind when they were creating a character. I never did that while writing Killing Red. Though I had a clear image in my mind of what each character looked and sounded like, I did not picture any actual people, famous or otherwise, in those roles.

The protagonist seems like a logical place to start, and Alex Chapa is not an easy character to cast. Though he’s resourceful, and ultimately heroic, Chapa is an everyman who’s got some mileage on him, and it shows. He is Cuban-American, but I’m not a hard-liner when it comes to casting an actor whose heritage matches the character’s. Still, it would be nice. Andy Garcia comes to mind right away, since he’s been the most prominent Cuban-American actor for some time. But I also like Danny Pino (Cold Case). If it were up to me I’d cast Benjamin Bratt.

Grubb, and the threat he represents to everyone in the book, haunts every page of Killing Red. That sense of impending violence can be reproduced on screen, but it takes a great performance to do it. I don’t want to give away too much, but Grubb has a couple of scenes in the book that I would imagine some actors would love to play. Josh Brolin or Mickey Rourke would knock one out of the park in that role. A reader suggested Willem Dafoe.

Author J.D. Smith recently suggested that Ellen Page would make a great Annie Sykes. That would be a bit of dream casting. And yes, she would be perfect in the role.

It’s a fact that very few crime novels are ever sold to Hollywood, and only a small percentage of those actually get made into films. Only a handful of authors are fortunate enough to see their work on screen, and just about none of the ones who do have any say over scripting or production, let alone casting.

But it’s always fun to imagine what it might be like…

Preview Killing Red, and learn more about the book and author at Henry Perez's website and blog.

--Marshal Zeringue

R.A. Riekki's "U.P."

Ron Riekki is the author of the novel U.P..

At the end of May 2009 he shared his thinking about the director, cast, and soundtrack for a big screen adaptation of U.P.:

Tonight I walked my first red carpet. I was supposed to go with a gangsta rapper whose sister won Last Comic Standing, but he cancelled last minute, so I found myself alone at an awards show at Universal being introduced by a handler as “author Ron Riekki. He’s awesome.” I laughed each time a photo was taken. There was some guy with a cane who was supposedly heir to a billion dollar oil fortune and Dean Cain, a.k.a. Superman, talking humbly about his son and then me.

I moved to L.A. because I do have dreams of U.P. being a film. Two reasons why I’ve been confident it could happen are that the book has been Ghost Road Press’s fiction bestseller for fourteen weeks and because a friend whose opinion I respect—Rafael Alvarez (writer for HBO’s The Wire)—put the idea in my head of it being a film. Well, being here helps take things a step closer. Now it’s destiny. I figure Barfly would never have been made if Bukowski lived his life in Opelika, Alabama, so here I am ... afterwards eating free gourmet macaroni and cheese, nursing a recommended Merlot, and chatting with a producer who wanted to hear about the novel. I pitched it was full of strong roles for young actors, where they’d get to play the type of roles they tend to desire, the sort of vibrant character roles you find in Snatch or Pulp Fiction. He took my card. We’ll see.

On the drive home, I thought about this article, the recent red carpet memories showing that things can happen if you make yourself available for them to happen.

The novel’s written in four distinctive voices, four high schoolers trying to survive a brutal Michigan winter and a violent act by a local bully. For Cräig, a metalhead who insists everyone put an umlaut in his name, I imagine Emile Hirsch if he wants to pull a Christian Bale in American Psycho and hit the gym like crazy. For Hollow, a basketball player who’s the primary narrator, I imagine Jamie Bell or Joel Gelman.

Other dream credits:

antony x—Jorma Taccone (playing a white rapper)

J—Shia LaBeouf (playing a punk with cerebral palsy)

Bobbie—Kristen Stewart, Kerli, or Allison Shoemaker

Craig’s father—Larry Joe Campbell

Hollow’s father—Steven Wiig or Chris Smith

J’s father—Michael T. Weiss

director—Spike Jonze, Harmony Korine, Rob Zombie, or Vincent Gallo

soundtrack—Pantera, Papa Wheelie, Dokken, Subhumans, Ice Cube

This was fun, but when I’ve had my plays cast before, I never say a word. A producer tonight was talking about a difficult screenwriter he was working with, someone who refused to compromise over anything. My role is to write. Casting agents have their role. I’d love to let them do their job.

And U.P. as a film?—well, it’s one crazy novel. Laura Dave, author of London is the Best City in America, wrote, "People throw around the word 'original' to mean a lot of things, but U.P.--R.A. Riekki's fighting new novel--is original in the best sense. It constantly surprised me, and made me want to keep reading, and made me more sure of it. This novel is a winner.” Dave sold London to Reese Witherspoon. Let’s see if I have that level of luck. In the meantime, I love talking with producers, going to awards shows, and being stood up by gangsta rappers. Maybe I’m easily pleased. But I think basically I’m just happy I’m not dead. Breathing is good. Long as you’re breathing, hopes can actualize.

Visit Ron Riekki's website.

Writers Read: Ron Riekki.

--Marshal Zeringue

Jenny Gardiner's "Sleeping with Ward Cleaver"

Jenny Gardiner is the author of the award-winning novel Sleeping with Ward Cleaver. Her work has been found in Ladies Home Journal, the Washington Post and on NPR’s Day to Day. She likes to say she honed her fiction writing skills while working as a publicist for a US Senator.

Here she recommends a few actors to portray her characters in a cinematic adaptation of her novel, and identifies the ideal production team to take Sleeping with Ward Cleaver to the big screen:

All authors harbor a sick secret need to have their books made into films. We may not all own up to that, but it's all part of the masochism that is writing--we love to set crazy-high bars that are nigh-impossible to scale. I mean hey, SOMEONE'S books are being turned into films--why not mine? Yet all one needs to do is be in the company of a screenwriter for about ten minutes and all hopes of ever having that movie made into a film are not only dashed, but they're crushed by a steam roller, peeled off the pavement, folded in half and then again, then fed into a wood chipper for good measure. Yes, being hit by lightning is much more likely than having your book made into a movie. And some authors who have gone through the process might even argue it's more pleasurable.

But me? I hold out hope. After all, Sleeping with Ward Cleaver would make an excellent film. And it would be a cheap one to make--no expensive war scenes, no huge chase scenes. Nothing being blown up. No rental of expensive venues. No closing down the streets of a major city. Hell, you could probably film it in my backyard if you want to!

So without further adieu, here are my mindless musings on Sleeping with Ward Cleaver, the movie:

Drew Barrymore, director. I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to have Flower Films (co-owned by Drew Barrymore and Nancy Juvonen) produce Sleeping with Ward Cleaver, the movie. It would be such a coup and they make such kick-ass movies and they know how to make a movie that would draw in women while also appealing to men.

I've flip-flopped a bit on the leads for this, but the more I think about it the more I think Greg Kinnear would be excellent as Jack--he can play it straight but also make the audience like him even while they want to throttle him (because in the first half of this book, Jack is a bit insufferable from Claire's point of view). But Greg might be getting a little too old...

Hmmm...Stephen Colbert might be able to pull off Jack. Josh Lucas could be good as well. Oh, how about Paul Rudd?

I'm thinking I could make a drinking game out of choose-your-preferred-star-for-your-novel game!

No wait, I've got it. In my dream casting, Matt Damon would be ideal , because he has the look--sort of "square," stuffy and buttoned down, but also handsome, and you can tell that somewhere beneath the expensive suit there's some sexy lurking in there.

Casting Claire is tricky because Hollywood is populated by emaciated actresses and Claire isn't exactly known for her svelte physique... Before Kate Winslet had such an amazing year as an actress I thought she might be able to pull off Claire, but now she's the creme de la creme in Hollywood so she's probably unobtainable.

I think in the back of my mind I was thinking someone mom-like, like Bonnie Hunt, but it needs to be a younger version of Bonnie. Diane Lane could probably work well, though I'm not sure if she's got the comedic chops to do it, because Claire is a bit of a smart-ass.

Tina Fey, maybe? She's funny yet vulnerable, which Claire is. She'd have to go blonde, though. How about Patricia Heaton? Emma Thompson could also do it as long as she doesn't appear too old on film.

Claire is at that transitional age but has young enough kids that the mom must still have the vulnerability of youth, while being on the cusp of middle age.

Oh, wait, Jennifer Garner! She's about to transition out of the ingenue casting, so is perfectly ripe for middle-aged housewife woes!

Okay, this was a perfect exercise for me. Twenty minutes of noodling this around in my head and now I've got the whole thing planned: Flower Films producing, Drew Barrymore directing, Jennifer Garner starring as Claire, and Matt Damon as Jack.

Oh, and Nancy Juvonen? I'll be waiting patiently by my phone for that call...

Learn more about the book and author at Jenny Gardiner's website and blog.

The Page 69 Test: Sleeping With Ward Cleaver.

--Marshal Zeringue