Brian Keaney's "The Hollow People"

Brian Keaney is a UK-based writer of fiction for children and young adults. He has written 16 novels and a number of plays . His latest books are: (in the UK) Nathaniel Wolfe and the Bodysnatchers published by Orchard Books; (in the US) The Cracked Mirror published by Alfred A Knopf.

Here he shares some thinking about the major cast and director for a cinematic adaptation of The Hollow People, the first book in The Promises of Dr. Sigmundus series:

The Hollow People is set in a nightmare society where people have handed over their minds to the state. It’s a world in which everything and everyone is controlled. Even dreaming is a crime. But Dante, the teenage boy at the centre of the story refuses to submit. That makes him unique. So whoever plays him must be able to convey a character who is not afraid to be different, no matter what it costs. The actor who immediately springs to mind is Robert Pattinson, who recently starred in Twilight. He has the right kind of look – like someone who doesn’t care if the whole world is against him; he’s still going to be himself.

For Beatrice, the girl from a good family who throws it all away to befriend Dante, I would like to see Ivana Baquero, the star of the outstanding Spanish language film, Pan’s Labyrinth. Playing a character who is both scared stiff and terrifically brave, she really convinces me.

The other really important character in the book is Ezekiel Semiramis, a man who terrifies the authorities, because he has harnessed a mysterious energy called Odyllic Force that gives him the power to step outside time. Whoever plays Ezekiel needs tremendous personal power. What about Viggo Mortensen, best known for playing Aragorn in The Lord Of The Rings? He has the ability to look right through the camera, so that you feel he’s looking directly at you. Alternatively Johnny Depp. He’s a wonderfully versatile actor and he has that delightful unpredictability that the character of Ezekiel demands.

Ezekiel is the leader of a band of outlaws called the Púca. Two of them, in particular, play an important part in the story. There’s Albigen, Ezekiel’s right hand man and the Púca’s fiercest fighter. I’d like to see him played by Jake Gyllenhaal who was compelling in Donnie Darko as a boy who refuses to conform. Then there’s red-haired Maeve whose parents were outlaws and who has known no other life but resistance to authority. Rachel Hurd-Wood who was so good in An American Haunting would be perfect for the part. Her natural hair colour is red and she’s got exactly the right mixture of feistiness and fragility.

Finally there’s the evil Dr Sigmundus, a dictator who sacrifices his own identity for the sake of power. No one does an archetypal villain better than Alan Rickman. I loved his portrayal of Hans Gruber in Die Hard and, of course, he’s terrific as Professor Snape in the Harry Potter movies. But perhaps he’s been overused. So maybe someone else. Dennis Hopper was completely terrifying in Blue Velvet but that was a long time ago. Perhaps Christopher Walken who was so impressive as a sadistic gangster in Last Man Standing.

That only leaves the director. I’d like to see what Guillermo del Toro, who directed Pan’s Labyrinth would make of it. Or Terry Gilliam whose movie, Twelve Monkeys is one of my all-time favourites. But I think the man whose phone call I would most like to receive would have to be Steven Spielberg. He’s the consummate story teller and I think he’d do a great job. So if by any chance you’re reading this, Steven, the rights are still available.

Read an excerpt from The Hollow People and view a video of Brian Keaney discussing the book.

Learn more about the author and his work at Brian Keaney's website and blog.

--Marshal Zeringue

Charles Salzberg's "Swann’s Last Song"

Charles Salzberg is a writer who lives in New York City. His work has appeared in Esquire, New York Magazine, and the New York Times. He has been a Visiting Professor at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University, taught advanced non-fiction at Sarah Lawrence College and the New York Writers Workshop (where he is a Founding Member,) the Writer’s Voice, New York City Open Center, and the Hunter College Writing Program.

Here he shares his preferences for the lead actor and director of a film adaptation of his Shamus Award-nominated debut novel, Swann’s Last Song:

When I first began writing Swann’s Last Song, I had no idea what Henry Swann looked like, or even how old he was. But I did know he wasn’t going to be the stereotypical slick, handsome, charismatic private eye whom women swooned over and men wished they could be, the ones played by Paul Newman, Robert Redford, or George Clooney. Just the opposite, in fact. I wanted a down and out, living on the edge, marginalized, cynical loser whose aim was simply to make enough money to pay the rent on his seedy office and seedier apartment and maybe buy a few rounds of drinks for himself and his boys at the Paradise Bar and Grill, across the street from his office.

And so, the first thing I did was make him a forty-something year old skip tracer who made his living repossessing cars and finding deadbeats who skipped on their bills, their wives or both. His clients weren’t high-class movers and shakers, but mostly women on welfare, which is why he had a sign in his office, Foods Stamps Unacceptable as Payment.

As I wrote, a clearer picture of what Swann looked like began to develop. The interesting thing is that I first began writing the book twenty-five years ago and so, in terms of actors who could play the part, that’s changed over the years. I didn’t want someone who was conventionally handsome, and so the first actor I thought of was Dustin Hoffman, who’s amazing at transforming himself. But he’s a too old now, as is Gene Hackman, another guy who could have pulled off being an appealing anti-hero.

In the ‘40s and ‘50s, the perfect actor might have been Robert Mitchum. But we’re in the 21st century now and so other actors come to mind—all of them top rate, but each of them bringing something else to the table. Alec Baldwin, for instance. Sure, he’s good looking, but he can also dirty himself up, especially when he’s put on a few pounds. He’s a terrific actor and he’s got an edge, which is important for Swann. Philip Seymour Hoffman can do no wrong. The extra weight he might bring to the role would be more than made up for by his chameleon-like ability to inhabit any part he plays. Stanley Tucci is another actor who can transform himself. He’s not classically handsome, but he’s got the kind of charisma that makes you like him even when he’s playing an unlikeable character. On the younger side, there’s Liev Schreiber, Robert Downey, Jr. and John Cusack, all of whom, now that they’ve aged a little and added character to their faces, bring similar assets to the table. Of this group, Downey would probably be best at bringing life experience to the role—he’s certainly had his share of ups and downs. But I’d be happy if any of these were cast as Swann.

As far as directors are concerned, I know who I wouldn’t want on the film: guys like Michael Bay. Nothing blows up in Swann’s Last Song, and I want to keep it that way. Sidney Lumet. That would be one choice. His body of work, running from Dog Day Afternoon to Prince of the City to Find Me Guilty and the incredible Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead, is mind-boggling. And since a good part of the book takes place in New York—the other locales being L. A., Mexico and Germany—I couldn’t do any better than Lumet in terms of portraying this city.

Read more about the book and author at Charles Salzberg's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

Eileen McVety's "Welcome to the Company..."

Eileen McVety's first book, a mock employee handbook entitled Welcome to the Company (or what it's really like working here), was published by Inkwater Press in March 2009. A professional writer with more than 20 years of communications writing experience, McVety is the founder of Spot-on Writing, inc.

She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Columbia College Chicago and is a published essayist and short-story writer whose work has appeared in the Chicago Tribune, Tiny Lights, Career Woman, Philosophical Mother, and The Minetta Review.

Here she shares some ideas for principal cast and director of an adaptation of Welcome to the Company...:

Part comedy, part how-to documentary, the film version of Welcome to the Company (or what it’s really like working here) is comprised almost entirely of antagonists. The sole protagonist, the unnamed new hire, is essentially you, the viewer. You are an eager and enthusiastic employee, too new in your role to be jaded yet by your working environment. If you are a woman, you might be played by a wide-eyed Amy Adams; if you’re a man, maybe a cool and inquisitive Justin Long. But sorry to say, YOU are basically irrelevant to the story. You are merely a foil for the madness and hypocrisy surrounding you.

Your boss is Gordon Wiggins, CEO of the Gordon Wiggins Group, played by Will Ferrell. Gordon is over-the-top friendly, but beneath his superficial affability exists a simmering resentment for being stuck in the same lousy profession for 30 years. Gordon’s insecurity is evidenced by the fact that the only photo of himself he’ll allow to be featured in the employee handbook dates back to the late 70s, back when he still had hair and idealistic hopes for the future.

Steve Buscemi would play the role of Gordon’s alcoholic and nepotism-benefiting brother, Keith Wiggins. Keith’s hobbies include spontaneous weeping, erecting Lego sculptures, and sleeping it off. In most scenes, you’re likely to see him passed out at his desk.

Stacey Miller is the long-time executive assistant at the Gordon Wiggins Group, a world-weary “lifer” at the company who is universally regarded as the office slut. She enjoys faux-finish painting, tequila, and line dancing. I see a somewhat younger version of Carrie Fisher playing this role. But not much younger.

Then there’s Chief Red Cloud, the token ethnic hire, who confounds his coworkers with his haughty, bombastic expressions. In this role, I see Graham Greene, the Native American actor who played the friend of Kevin Costner in Dances With Wolves. Chief Red Cloud is the type of coworker who can silence a conference room by waltzing into it and announcing, “Why if it isn’t the Three Muses and Euripides awaiting the wrath of Medea.” No one understands Chief Red Cloud but they know enough to be a bit fearful of him.

Finally, I see Martin Scorsese directing this movie because corporate America is nothing if not a bloody battleground filled with back-stabbing, deception, and a litany of carnal vices—all of which is best underscored by a foreboding and foot-tapping soundtrack.

Learn more about Eileen McVety and Welcome to the Company... at the Spot-on Writing website.

--Marshal Zeringue

Aaron J. Elkins' "Gideon Oliver" novels

Edgar-winner Aaron Elkins is the creator of forensic anthropologist Gideon Oliver, the Skeleton Detective, and the author of many other highly praised mysteries and thrillers. His Gideon Oliver books have been selections of the Book-of-the-Month Club, the Literary Guild, and the Readers Digest Condensed Mystery Series.

Here he shares some background and reflections about their journey to the small screen:

Actually, my books have been made into movies--five big-production TV movies--back a few years. I think the reason so few people remember them is the same reason people supposedly forget the real pain of childbirth or dental procedures: they are too wretched to bear remembering. In 1990 (I think), ABC TV brought Columbo back for another round, along with two other shows with which it would alternate. The other shows were B.L. Stryker, with Burt Reynolds, and Gideon Oliver, with Louis Gossett, Jr., which was based--very loosely--on my Gideon Oliver series. They all flopped, deservedly, and never returned for a second season.

In my case, they changed the protagonist from white to black; they moved him from the University of Washington to Columbia University; they converted him from a physical anthropologist to a cultural anthropologist; they changed him from a joyfully married man to a widower, but gave him a nineteen-year-old daughter to compensate; and they awarded him a black belt in kick-boxing or karate--I forget which.

Other than that, of course, they stuck quite closely to my character.

They took a few interesting liberties with the tenor of my stories too. Those of you who have read my books would know that there are certain kinds of things, ugly things, I'm highly unlikely to write about, e.g., animal mutilation, satanic cults, child pornography, torture, etc. I figure if people want to read about them, all they need to do is open the newspaper. Mystery fiction, as I see it, is a way of getting away from those awful things. Well, every one of those topics turned up in the first half-hour of the first show. After that, I don't know; I quit watching. It wasn't my kind of show.

You see, unless you're John Grisham or Stephen King, when you sign a contract with Hollywood for your books, you give away all control. That's just the way it is. If you don't like it, there are plenty of other writers eager to take your place.

Am I bitter about it all? No way. I knew ahead of time how it would work, and I just left it to them; anything else would have been pointless and frustrating. They paid good money, and they paid on time. (What they paid me for is hard to understand, since they used so little of it, but I was happy to take it.) And most important, they couldn't really hurt the books. TV is TV and books are books, and readers know the difference.

So, after what they did to my work the first time, would I accept another Hollywood offer? Just try me!

Fellowship of Fear is the first Gideon Oliver novel; the latest (#16 in the series) is Skull Duggery, new in bookstores this month.

Visit Aaron J. Elkins' website.

--Marshal Zeringue

Jessica Andersen's "Skykeepers"

Jessica Andersen's Novels of the Final Prophecy are inspired by the Mayan Long Count calendar and how time is slated to end on December 21, 2012 in a global cataclysm.

Here she shares some casting ideas for an adaptation of the novels for a television series:

I’m often asked how I would cast the movie version of Skykeepers, which is the third book in a sexy series about a group of magic-wielding warriors, called Nightkeepers, who must fight the demon creatures of the underworld to prevent the annihilation of mankind on the December 21, 2012 doomsday hinted at by the ancient Mayan calendar.

First off, I’d far rather see it be a TV series than a movie. The interwoven storylines, intricate mythology and constantly developing arcs would be tough (imho) to pull off in a two-hour format, but would lend themselves to a (new) Battlestar Galactica-like gritty, character-driven TV series. With more sex. And, as was done in BSG with a few exceptions, I wouldn’t necessarily look to cast known faces in the roles.

Instead, I would look for non-headliner actors who evoke the various Nightkeepers, who are larger than life, sexy, charismatic and tough, with a warrior’s edge and an adrenaline junkie’s lust for adventure. But that isn’t to say that I don’t have a few faces in mind, or some pictures in my head when I write. For example, the Nightkeepers’ king, Strike, is (a taller version of) Oded Fehr.

Meanwhile, Red-Boar is Wes Studi, and his son, Rabbit, is early Eminem. Trust me … it works just fine in my head!

To me, though, one of the best parts of reading a book (versus watching the story on the big or little screen) is that it gives us the opportunity to let the author paint the characters in our heads … and then adjust them slightly to our own personal preferences.

For more information on the Keepers books, please check out Jessica Andersen's website.

Read an excerpt from Skykeepers.

--Marshal Zeringue

Louisa Edwards's "Can’t Stand the Heat"

Former editor Louisa Edwards unites her love of cooking and romance in the Recipe for Love series. Can’t Stand the Heat, Edwards's debut, will hit bookshelves on September 1, 2009. On the Steamy Side, the second Recipe for Love novel, will be out in March of 2010.

Here Edwards shares her ideas for casting the big screen adaptation of Can’t Stand the Heat:

Can’t Stand the Heat might be my first book, but I’ve already refined my casting technique! My all-time favorite procrastination game when starting a new Recipe for Love novel is to cast the entire thing. I do it for every book; I have extensive files full of links to headshots and publicity stills. Clearly, this blog and I were made for each other!

I’d need someone charismatic, energetic, and irrepressible to play my hotshot chef hero, Adam Temple. With his wavy dark hair and mischievous grin that only hints at the intensity lurking in his brown eyes, I think Dominic West would work very well. I can see him daring a restaurant reviewer to spend a day in his kitchen doing real work, can’t you?

For pretty redhead, Miranda Wake, my snarky food critic who needs to learn to unwind, I’d cast the ever-adorable Amy Adams. Amy has a softness to her that rounds out Miranda’s edges. She also has a core of strength that is essential for a young woman who had to grow up overnight when her parents were killed, leaving Miranda to care for her heartbroken younger brother, Jess.

Jess, who drops out of college and onto Miranda’s doorstep with his camera and a whole lot of baggage, is a tough one. But I think Aaron Ashmore, of Smallville fame, could definitely pull off Jess’s blend of innocence and insight. By contrast, the easiest character to cast is Frankie Boyd, Adam’s punk-rock sous chef and best friend. Without a doubt, Justin Theroux is the man for the job; he embodies wild, soulful, tough-as-nails and loyal-to-a-fault Frankie to perfection.

Believe me, I could give you the complete cast list from Adam’s Southern gentleman restaurant manager who hires Jess as a waiter to the burnt out celebrity chef who hates Miranda’s guts, but maybe they can wait until the next book comes out…

For excerpts and deleted scenes from the Recipe for Love novels, as well as a tantalizing free original prequel, recipes, and more, visit Louisa Edwards's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

Elizabeth Kane Buzzelli's "Dead Floating Lovers"

Elizabeth Kane Buzzelli is a novelist; shorts story writer; journalist; columnist; and nature writer.

Her Emily Kincaid mysteries are Dead Dancing Women and Dead Floating Lovers.

Here she shares her vision of the lead actors should the novels be adapted for the movies:

Oh my God! Who's the actress from Fargo? Her--she's the perfect Deputy Dolly Wakowski--kind of square-bodied, kind of officious, but always a step ahead of the people who condescend to her. I love when the underdog makes a total ass of the big shot.

And for Emily Kincaid--since she's partly me she'll have to be gorgeous, thin, not over 35, and have the ability to make any man fall in love with her on sight. So, let's see: JLo? Too many kids.

So--OK--Nicole Kidman--she'd do and have the gentleness to put up with Dolly.

Learn more about the author and her work at Elizabeth Kane Buzzelli's website and blog.

--Marshal Zeringue

Jennie Bentley's "Spackled and Spooked"

A career as a REALTOR® and professional renovator has given author Jennie Bentley plenty of fodder for her series of Do-It-Yourself Home Renovation Mysteries.

The first book in the series, Fatal Fixer-Upper, was published in November 2008. The follow-up, Spackled and Spooked, has just been released.

Here Bentley shares some ideas for several of the principal cast members should the series be adapted for the big screen:

My offer of a three book contract to write an in-house series of home renovation mysteries for Berkley Prime Crime came with a two page outline for what my editor envisioned the books would be like. That included the names and thumbnail sketches of the major and secondary characters, the setting, and the basic set-up for the first book as well as the series.

The only character that had an actual description attached was the love interest and hot handyman, Mike Ellis. He was supposed to look like Bill Pullman, I remember.

Nothing against Bill Pullman, but the image wasn’t working for me. Nor was the name, which hit too close to home for comfort. Literally. My husband’s name is Mike. So when Mike’s name changed to Derek, Bill Pullman changed to... something more like Aaron Eckhart, I think. Six feet tall, give or take, with streaky blondish-brown hair, and dreamy blue eyes with crinkles at the corners.

True confession: I haven’t actually gazed deeply into Aaron Eckhart’s eyes, so I don’t know if they’re dreamy blue or some other color. Derek’s are dreamy blue, though. In case of a movie, Aaron will just have to wear contacts if his eyes are the wrong shade.

Derek’s nickname for Avery, his girlfriend and the main character in the books, is Tink, short for Tinkerbell. That should give you a pretty good idea of what she looks like. Short—about 5’2” or so—with lots of kinky Mello-Yello hair she sometimes keeps piled on top of her head so it won’t get into the paint or wallpaper glue she’s using. Like Peter Pan’s Tink, she often folds her arms across her chest and sticks her lower lip out, obstinately. I think Kate Hudson might do for Avery. She has that slightly daffy, naive quality I think Avery needs.

As far as the supporting cast, we have Kate McGillicutty, Avery’s new best friend, who’s a statuesque copper-curled redhead in her late thirties, with a figure to rival Jane Russell’s and an open and friendly, freckled face. Figures like that are hard to come by, and I’m certainly open to suggestions. Same for Chief of Police Wayne Rasmussen, Kate’s fiancé: 6’3” and lanky, mid-forties, with curly salt-and-pepper hair and a friendly, informal demeanor (except when he’s arresting the bad guys). I’m sure I could find someone who fit the bill, but no one comes to mind, particularly.

To round out the top five, we have a character that is totally my own invention: the snake in the grass, lovely Melissa James, AKA the former Mrs. Derek Ellis. Melissa is gorgeous and elegant: at least five inches taller than Avery, with longer legs, bigger boobs, and straight, moonlight-pale hair cut in a razor-sharp wedge. Perfection incarnate, and she was married to Derek for five years, while Avery’s only known him a few months. I’m thinking Leslie Bibb might do. In this picture she certainly fits the bill.

So there you have it. The characters of the DIY series according to me, the person whose head they inhabit. If a movie was made, these actors would be able to play the parts. Doesn’t mean they’re an exact match to the pictures in my head, but they’re close enough. I’m always open to suggestions, though, so if you know someone who might make a great Kate or Wayne, or for that matter a better Avery, Derek or Melissa, drop me a line at my Facebook page!

Read more about the books and author at Jennie Bentley's website and Facebook page.

--Marshal Zeringue

Sharon Potts' "In Their Blood"

Sharon Potts is a former business executive, entrepreneur, CPA, and soccer mom. She is a former officer of Mystery Writers of America and served as co-chair of SleuthFest, its annual writers conference. In Their Blood is her debut novel.

Publishers Weekly called In Their Blood a “red-hot suspense novel” and gave it a starred review.

New York Times best-selling author Michael Connelly said, “In Their Blood starts with a bang and never lets up. This is thriller writing the way it is supposed to be.”

Here is Potts’ unusual take on the casting an adaptation of In Their Blood:

An Interview with Alfred Hitchcock

I: Mr. Hitchcock, welcome. I understand you have agreed to produce and direct In Their Blood, based on the novel by the same name by Sharon Potts. After your long absence from the movie industry, what made you decide to return, and why did you choose In Their Blood for your long awaited reprise?

AH: Good evening. It feels like decades since a psychological suspense thriller has come to my attention, knocking on heaven’s gate, so to speak. I was intrigued by In Their Blood because it captured so many elements that I consider hallmarks of my own work—a seemingly ordinary family that, without warning, is swept into a nightmare, the psychological battle between perception and reality, and a relentless sense of impending doom.

I: Can you give us a thumbnail sketch of the plot?

AH: Certainly. Set in steamy, seductive, scam-ridden Miami, In Their Blood is the story of a brother and sister who are determined to find their parents’ murderer. In the process, they discover their mother and father are not the people they had believed them to be.

I: I realize that the parents don’t actually have a lot of screen time, but Rachel and D.C. Stroeb represent an important presence throughout the story. Who are you considering for their roles?

AH: Coming as I do from a place that knows no boundaries, I have the luxury of working with actors who transcend the inconvenience of the here and now. For the ill-fated Rachel and D.C. Stroeb, I am considering James Stewart and Grace Kelly. Jimmy has the boyish, all-American bearing of Professor Stroeb. I believe with direction, Jimmy can show a bit of the self-centered arrogance that made D.C. a possible murder target. And the lovely, cool Grace Kelly should do well with the Rachel character, a successful, respected CPA-firm partner who appears incapable of compromise.

I: And have you cast the young protagonist, Jeremy Stroeb, and his kid sister Elise?

AH: Jeremy is a restless, irresponsible twenty-two year old, who’s dropped out of college to backpack around Europe. He’s forced to grow up fast when he assumes guardianship for his sister and makes the decision to find his parents’ murderer. I’ve come under pressure to consider Shia LaBeouf or Zac Efron, but I’m afraid I’m leaning toward Leonardo DiCaprio from around the time of his role in Titanic. And for sixteen-year old Elise, so fragile and yet determined—it will have to be the young Elizabeth Taylor as she appeared in Little Women.

I: Jeremy has liaisons with two young women, each claiming she can help him find his parents’ murderer.

AH: Ahhh, yes. Professor Stroeb’s sensuous French-Peruvian graduate assistant, Marina, must be played by Penélope Cruz. And Alexis Bledel is under consideration for the smart, analytical Robbie Ivy.

I: What’s next for you, Mr. Hitchcock?

AH: I have acquired the rights to the sequel to In Their Blood, yet another psychological thriller. Author Potts returns to the dark glitter of South Beach, a city filled with angels and devils. Coming from where I am, that should be far easier for me to cast.

Read the prologue to In Their Blood, and learn more about the book and author at Sharon Potts' website.

--Marshal Zeringue

Susanne Alleyn's "The Cavalier of the Apocalypse"

Susanne Alleyn was born in Munich, Germany, and grew up in western Massachusetts and New York City, earning a bachelor's of fine arts in theater from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. She has been researching and writing about the French Revolution since her teens and is currently working on her fourth Aristide Ravel historical mystery.

Although The Cavalier of the Apocalypse is the newest installment in the series and each novel may be read as a stand-alone, it is a prequel to Game of Patience and A Treasury of Regrets, and readers new to the series will ideally read it first.

Here Alleyn shares her thoughts on the cast of a film (or BBC television) adaptation of The Cavalier of the Apocalypse:

Oh goody! I’ve been indulging myself with fantasy casting ever since I began writing the Aristide Ravel historical mysteries back in 2002. So, the dream cast of the movie (or, more likely, the classy BBC TV adaptation--they do costume stuff so well) of the latest novel in the series, The Cavalier of the Apocalypse:

My absolute, only choice for 18th-century Parisian sleuth Aristide Ravel is Adrien Brody. I’d never actually heard of him until I was halfway through writing Game of Patience, the first published novel in the series. I’d finally found a DVD of The Affair of the Necklace, which is the (mostly) true story of an elaborate scam that made headlines in 1785 and didn’t help the reputation of the French royals as history lurched its way toward the Revolution. (The mystery in The Cavalier of the Apocalypse, by the way, happens to have a good deal to do with the historical Diamond Necklace Affair.) Halfway through the movie, Brody turns up (in 18th-century costume, of course) as a sleazy but dashing adventurer. I nearly shouted “That’s Aristide!” And then, “Who is this guy?”

A few months later, of course, Adrien Brody became much more famous with The Pianist and his subsequent Academy Award. But he has always been my first choice for playing Ravel. Tall, lanky, dark, with one of those wonderful aquiline noses that are so ubiquitous among the French, and with a distinctly European look to him, he is, physically, exactly right, and he could also carry off Ravel’s somberness, sensitivity, sharp intelligence, and occasional dry wit impeccably.

OK, if Adrien Brody weren’t available, I could live with Johnny Depp in the role, though he’s a little too beautiful for Ravel. But sometimes we have to make sacrifices...

Ravel’s employer/mentor/sidekick, Inspector Brasseur? Hmm. I keep seeing Robbie Coltrane in the part, though he’d have to drop about 20 years if he were cast--Brasseur’s about 37 in Cavalier. Or maybe Brian Dennehy (same caveat applies). Someone big, solidly built, forceful but essentially good-humored, and deceptively stolid-looking.

I hadn’t had any casting ideas about Olivier Derville, Ravel’s old school friend who both helps and hinders him during the case, until someone mentioned Paul Bettany. Bingo! Not conventionally handsome, but undoubtedly good-looking, lean and rangy, and able to carry off Derville’s style, polish, and shrewdness, with a hint of arrogance.
Orlando Bloom is looking more and more like a good choice for what I think should be a dual role: the elusive Marquis de Beaupréau and also Beaupréau’s devoted servant, Moreau. Beaupréau and Moreau are unacknowledged half-brothers (the late marquis played around), and strongly resemble each other. Moreau (the much larger role) is rather like Bloom’s role in Pirates of the Caribbean: he’s sincere, instantly likeable, a little naïve. Beaupréau, on the other hand, is a perfect 18th-century French aristocrat--debonair, polished, completely self-assured, a bit high-handed--with one twist: he’s a passionate liberal and is working for a revolution. An actor could have a lot of fun contrasting the two characters.

Sophie and Eugénie, the dead man’s sister and widow, could be played, respectively, by the French actresses Audrey Tautou (adorable, lively, with a hint of mischief) and Julie Delpy (pallid, fragile, ethereal), if each were ten years younger. Sigh. But no doubt there are plenty of up-and-coming young French actors who could fill these roles!

Got to go email a friend who might have some connections at the BBC...

Read the first chapters of The Cavalier of the Apocalypse, and learn more about the book and author at Susanne Alleyn's website.

--Marshal Zeringue