Vincent Lam's "The Headmaster's Wager"

Dr. Vincent Lam is from the expatriate Chinese community of Vietnam, and was born in Canada. Dr. Lam did his medical training in Toronto, and is an emergency physician in Toronto. He is a Lecturer with the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Toronto. He has also worked in international air evacuation and expedition medicine on Arctic and Antarctic ships.

Lam's first book, Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures, won the 2006 Scotiabank Giller Prize, and has recently been adapted for television and broadcast on HBO Canada. Dr. Lam co-authored The Flu Pandemic And You, a non-fiction guide to influenza pandemics.

Here he dreamcasts an adaptation of The Headmaster’s Wager, his first novel:

The Headmaster’s Wager is set in the Chinese community of Cholon, which was once a sister city to Saigon. Percival Chen is an English school headmaster and a compulsive gambler. We follow his adventures, loves, and losses over a period that spans from the Second World War, through the end of the French colonial era in Vietnam, into the closing chapters of the Vietnam War.

With various armies coming and going, political leaders shuffled like cards in a deck, and disaster or immense wealth often potentially just around the corner, people who lived through that era in Vietnam experienced the kinds of plot twists that most of us only witness in feature film. Vietnamese and Chinese, French and Americans were all torn between the forces of colonialism and independence, tradition and modernity, east and west, and finally capitalism and communism. This was the volatile mix of that era. The actors in the film adaptation of The Headmaster’s Wager should be able to portray these tensions. Many of the best actors now working in Asia will come to this intuitively – because the Asian cultural scene is actively grappling with these issues both in what it represents, and how it represents it.

Tony Leung will play my protagonist, Percival Chen. Tony will portray the kind of cool self-regard that allows a man to accept both his own temptations – and their fulfillment – with total equanimity, as does Percival Chen. The on-screen vibe is "Buddhist calm meets the moral vacuum of lust and hedonism."

Maggie Cheung will play Percival’s wife, Cecilia, the heiress to a shipping empire which is lost to the Japanese Imperial Army after the fall of Hong Kong in World War Two. Maggie will perfectly embody Cecilia’s brittle and yet self-assured beauty. Cecilia later becomes a successful black market money trader, which is a role I know Maggie will pull off in a cinch. Tony and Maggie have tangled on-screen before and I can’t wait to see this riff continue.

Han Han, a Chinese novelist, intermittent magazine publisher, and professional race-car driver for Volkswagen, will play Dai Jai, the son of Percival and Cecilia. Han Han’s only acting experience is that he played himself in a film called, I Wish I Knew. That’s fine. He can basically play himself as Dai Jai, because Dai Jai is an irreverent, intelligent, and unpredictable young man who attracts attention even as he scorns it, just like Han Han. Also, Dai Jai becomes embroiled in the Cultural Revolution in China. I bet Han Han has a few thoughts on this that he might like to share. (I’m also pretty sure that Han Han would deny that suggestion, so why not channel it through film?)

Percival’s best friend, Mak, is a teacher in Percival’s profitable English school. Mak will be played by Byron Mann. Byron plays a bad dude opposite Russell Crowe in the upcoming film The Man With The Iron Fists. He also plays a naïve, good-hearted doctor in the TV adaptation of Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures (I wrote that book, too!) The point is that Byron is able to dish out both martial arts and melting stares. He is ideal for playing, concealing, and revealing the many faces of Mak. Once you finish reading the novel, you’ll know exactly why this is so important.

What about Jacqueline, the mysteriously sexy, French-Vietnamese beauty who captures the heart of every reader of The Headmaster’s Wager? Obviously, this role must go to Tran Nu Yên-Khê. Her performances in The Scent of Green Papaya and The Vertical Ray of the Sun are stunning. We will watch, captive with admiration and desire in the quietly simmering portrayal of Jacqueline that she will deliver.

Learn more about the book and author at Vincent Lam's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

Stephen Leather's "False Friends"

Stephen Leather was a journalist for more than ten years on newspapers such as the (London) Times, the Daily Mail, and the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong. He began writing full-time in 1992. His bestsellers have been translated into more than ten languages.

Here Leather shares a suggestion for casting the lead in an adaptation of False Friends, the ninth book in the bestselling Dan "Spider" Shepherd series:

The actor I’d most like to play my hero Dan “Spider” Shepherd is Clive Owen, star of Sin City, Children of Men and Killer Elite. He’s brilliant and looks fit enough to have been a special forces soldier and an undercover cop. He’s got that brooding menacing presence that makes for a great hero, or a great villain.

I didn’t have an actor in mind when I started writing the first Spider Shepherd book – Hard Landing – almost ten years ago. I don’t know how most writers work but when I’m writing a scene I tend to picture myself as the hero. That’s not to say that I see myself as a thirty-something action hero who can jump out of a plane with guns blazing. It’s just that the dialogue comes from me and as I write I imagine I am in the scene relating to the characters. Also I tend to keep the description of my heroes as brief as possible. That’s an old writer’s trick – the less you describe the hero, the more likely the reader is to identify with him.

Shepherd was in his early thirties when I started writing Hard Landing, and now that the ninth, False Friends, is on the shelves he’s in his forties. During that time he has progressed from being an undercover cop, working for SOCA (the British FBI) and lately as an MI5 agent. Clive is 47 but looks younger. I know because I’ve seen him in the flesh. I had dinner with him and a group of pals in London and within minutes I realised he’d be perfect for the part. He’s a lovely man and signed autographs for anyone who came up to him, always with a smile and a friendly word. In person he’s much softer and gentler than his screen persona, and I could see him easily playing the action man parts but also portraying the softer side to Shepherd’s character. Shepherd is a single parent as well as a Government agent and has a teenage son to deal with in between missions.

I didn’t mention the Shepherd books during the dinner. It wasn’t the time or the place. In fact he was more interested in my previous career as a journalist. I had fish and chips. I can’t remember what he ordered. I did mention to my agent that he’d be the perfect actor to play Spider Shepherd, but nothing ever came of it. Maybe one day…

Learn more about the book and author at Stephen Leather's website and blog.

--Marshal Zeringue

Cyn Balog's "Touched"

Cyn Balog is the author of the young adult paranormal novels Fairy Tale, Sleepless, Starstruck, Touched, and Dead River. She lives outside Allentown, Pennsylvania with her husband and daughters.

Here she shares some suggestions for casting the leads in an adaptation of Touched:

I know of authors who cut out pictures of famous actors and actresses so they can better understand what their characters look like. I'm not one of those people, as I've slowly come to learn that readers care less about the color of one's hair and eyes than what makes a character tick. In selecting characters for my movie, I'd love to find characters who are actually young, since the two main characters are 16 and 17. The viewpoint character, Nick, has led a very sheltered life, so there is a lot of innocence there. I see him looking like the young actor David Lambert. The main female character, Taryn, who has a little more worldly experience, would be Chloë Grace Moretz. Neither are household names yet, but they're young, give them time!

Nick's mother would be Zooey Deschanel. The expression she wore during all of The Happening is the exact expression I'd imagined Nick's immature, bed-ridden, guilt-ridden mother would have. And Frances McDormand would make a great grandmother-- she's caring, but fair, and not overly emotional.

Learn more about the book and author at Cyn Balog's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

Charity Shumway's "Ten Girls to Watch"

Charity Shumway received an MFA in Creative Writing from Oregon State University and a BA in English from Harvard University. After graduate school, she spent nine months reporting on the 50th anniversary of Glamour’s "Top Ten College Women" contest. Her writing has appeared in Glamour, Ladies Home Journal, Fitness, and Garden Design, and her short fiction has been honored by Glimmer Train and Slice magazine, among others. She lives with her husband in Brooklyn, New York.

Here Shumway dreamcasts an adaptation of her new, debut novel, Ten Girls to Watch:

Long before Ten Girls to Watch was a book, back when it was just a few chapters on my computer, I indulged in regular daydreams about the movie premier—publishing a book already felt like an outlandish fantasy. Why stop there?—so I’ve been thinking about who I’d cast in the fantasy film version for years. Funnily enough, the leads weren’t the first people I thought of.

In the novel, Dawn interviews hundreds of women who’ve won Charm Magazine’s “Ten Girls to Watch” contest over the past 50 years (That sounds exhausting, but don’t worry -- the book isn’t an endless stream of interviews). Those women are my favorites to dream-cast.

Here are a few ideas:

Helen Thomas is a 1975 winner who also happens to have been Dawn’s college thesis advisor. She’s a scholar, an artist, and wildly stylish. Helen Mirren will do quite nicely. I’ll take Diane Keaton too!

Gerri Vans, 1984 winner, is a media mogul. Sort of like fake Oprah. Who better to play her than Maya Rudolph? (I thought of this even before Up All Night, I swear).

Jessica Winston, 1987 winner and opera diva has to be played by Renée Fleming. So what if she doesn’t really do movies? She can do this one!

Meryl Streep, Susan Sarandon, Jodie Foster, Jane Fonda, Angela Basset,  Emma Thompson, Shirley MacClaine, Michelle Yeoh, Phylicia Rashad, Tilda Swinton, Lily Tomlin... I’ve got parts for all of them.

For the rest of the characters, I’ve done some dreaming as well. Dawn, the novel’s narrator, is 23, trying to pretend she’s more confident than she is, and pretty goofy when you wipe away her thin layer of faux-sophistication. I say Emma Stone!

Lily, who is Dawn’s ex-boyfriend’s new girlfriend (got all that?), is a sort of lovably brazen well-to-do Texan. Dawn wants to hate her, but can’t ever get there. Rooney Mara, would you like to play her?

Dawn’s ex-boyfriend needs to be played by Andrew Garfield (Don’t you want to see him and Emma in more movies together? I do!)

The charming-but-can-you-trust-him journalist Dawn starts dating just has to be James Franco.

I’m casting Nicole Kidman as Dawn’s Mary-Kay-Saleslady Mom.

And of course there is the part of Charm’s Editor in Chief, Regina Greene. Tina Fey or Kristen Wiig, will one of you ladies please do it?

Last but not least, I obviously cast myself as an extra...in every scene.

Learn more about the book and author at Charity Shumway's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

Padgett Powell's "You & Me"

In Padgett Powell's You & Me "two loquacious gents on a porch discuss all manner of subjects, from the mundane to the spiritual to the downright ridiculous."

Gary Shteyngart, bestselling author of Absurdistan and Super Sad True Love Story, claims that "You & Me, mixed with 750 ml of fine bourbon, is the most fun you can have in many states without getting arrested.”

Here Powell shares some suggestions for the above-the-line talent should the novel be adapted for the big screen:

I feel fairly sure that I want my book to be done by unknown actors, of whom there are so many who are so good. We won’t make money if we go good before hot, but who cares. Probably Warren Oates and Fred Ward could have done it well, but aren’t they gone?

Director: Louis C.K. would be a good rogue choice-–he could be one of the guys, come to think of it–-and since I have bought one of his $5 CD downloads he owes me.

Learn more about You & Me at the HarperCollins website.

--Marshal Zeringue

Tabish Khair's "The Thing About Thugs"

Tabish Khair is an award-winning poet, journalist, critic, educator and novelist. A citizen of India, he lives in Denmark and teaches literature at Aarhus University.

Here he shares some ideas about casting a big screen adaptation of his novel, The Thing about Thugs:

The Thing About Thugs is a novel about how we construct our identities and see others, wrapped in the colours of a crime mystery located in early Victorian London. It sets out, however, to narrate the crime from the perspectives of the underclass of London – tinkers, gypsies, Indian ayahs, Asian sailors, ex-slaves. As such, it does not see crime as an intellectual game – a mystery to be solved – but as the source of disruption, threat and punishment. The real mystery in The Thing About Thugs revolves around who will pay for the crime and how. That, obviously, is all I can say without spoiling the fun.

I have been asked who I could see filling the main roles if The Thing About Thugs were turned into a film. Being brought up as much on films as on books, I cannot resist the experiment. Here is my list:

Qui Hy is an Indian ayah (nurse: many were taken to England to look after returning children and then abandoned there) married to an Irish ex-soldier-sailor. She is from Punjab, and as such quite fair. A feisty, thickset woman, she is the ‘detective’ of the novel. I could see her being played by someone like Kathy Bates, who can exude the right mix of trust, authority and latent threat.

Paddyji is Qui Hy’s natural law husband; we never learn his name. The derogatory ‘Paddy’ was what the English called him, to which Qui Hy attached the Indian honorific ‘ji’. He is an opium addict, but capable of decisive action when required. Older than Qui Hy, he needs to speak with a slight Irish accent. I would like to see Sean Connery, with stubbles and lanky hair, play Paddyji.

Amir Ali is the closest we come to a hero in this novel. He has been brought to London by Captain Meadows, who wants to write down Ali’s account of his past as a dreaded thug in India. But when the riffraff of London start being killed by someone, suspicion centres on Amir Ali. The only real option in Hollywood appears to be Dev Patel, who played in Slumdog Millionaire. He is the right age and build.

Jenny is a charwoman who falls in love with Amir, who reciprocates. She is older than Amir, independent-minded, attractive (but not supermodel-like) and strong. It is important for the story that she has long dark brown hair, which she cares for despite the nature of her work. Keira Knightly, if she could be made to look less upper class and beautiful, would be a possibility. I can also think of Gemma Arterton (Prince of Persia), provided she undergoes a similar downgrading.

Captain Meadows is older than Amir Ali, and a person who comes across better than the reader might expect to begin with. Fixed in his own ways, very serious, he grows with the narrative and learns to give people a chance. Ryan Reynolds might be able to do him justice: it would be a very different sort of role from the one he played in Green Lantern!

James May is working class and desperate to escape his origins. He is both vulnerable and devious. This would need a complex actor, who can pass for someone in his early 40s. Hugh Laurie from Pilot perhaps?

Lord Batterstone is large, blue-blooded and very sure of his opinions. He lives life by his fixed ideas of life. He can bluster. It might be fun to see Roger Moore do him, if he can put on a few kilos and manage to make himself look a bit less likeable!

Gunga is a tough older Indian lascar (sailor), who befriends Amir Ali. He has to be played by someone who can suggest vast reserves of control, perception and understanding, and I think Ben Kingsley would be perfect for the role.

Learn more about the book and author at Tabish Khair's website.

The Page 69 Test: The Thing about Thugs.

--Marshal Zeringue

Suzanne Desrochers's "Bride of New France"

Suzanne Desrochers grew up in the French-Canadian village of Lafontaine on the shores of Georgian Bay, Ontario. Now based in Toronto, she is currently writing a Ph.D. thesis at King's College, London, comparing the migration of French and British women to North America in the early modern period. She has lived in Paris and Tokyo and traveled extensively throughout Asia. Her travel writing has appeared in Toronto's Now Magazine, and she has presented her history papers at academic conferences and seminars.

Here Desrochers dreamcasts an adaptation of Bride of New France, her first novel:

Bride of New France has actually been optioned for film in Canada so hopefully I will have the opportunity to see actors playing my characters soon enough!

I'm not sure who I would specifically cast, but Laure would need to be played by a young actress (like Scarlett Johansson in Lost in Translation only dark haired and preferably French). I think it should be a French/CanAm co-production to ensure authenticity in the Salpêtrière scenes in Paris, French language, etc. Again, the role of Deskaheh would be best played by an up and coming young First Nations actor (preferably Canadian). I would love to see the midwife, Madame Rouillard, played by Jodie Foster who said she will play roles of older women rather than be a "botoxed weirdo". She's tough enough to carry the role and is fluent in French. She even has a husky voice like the midwife. Heck, Jodie Foster could direct the whole thing. Except, like me, she has two kids who have eclipsed all else in her life! And she would cost a fortune!

Visit Suzanne Desrochers' webpage, and learn more about Bride of New France at the publisher's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

Tracey Garvis Graves's "On the Island"

Tracey Garvis Graves lives in a suburb of Des Moines, Iowa, with her husband, two children, and hyper dog Chloe.

In On the Island, her first novel, two people stranded on an island struggle to survive—and slowly fall in love. Here the author shares some ideas for casting an adaptation of the story:

Upon hearing the news that MGM has optioned On the Island for a feature film, the first thing people often ask me is, “Do you get to help cast the movie?” Sadly, the answer is no. But that doesn’t mean I can’t have a little fun thinking about who would play my characters (and I want to be ready if for some reason MGM just happens to ask me for my opinion).

One of my friends sent me a picture of a very handsome actor. I didn’t recognize him because I don’t watch a lot of television. It turns out he’s on a show called Friday Night Lights. His name is Taylor Kitsch and I thought he’d make a perfect T.J. considering he already plays a high school student on FNL. In the name of research I watched an episode of FNL on Netflix and it pains me to say that although Taylor is absolutely swoon-worthy, I think he’s a smidge too old to play T.J. But, while I was watching that episode I came across the perfect Anna: Minka Kelly. She is absolutely adorable. She doesn’t have blue eyes but perhaps she can wear special contacts like the vampires do in the Twilight films (to be clear – the ones that make her eyes blue, not red). I am open to suggestions for the perfect T.J. He’ll have to be young enough to portray 16-17, yet still have the ability to look like he’s aging accordingly. This could be a really tricky role to cast. I also think pairing an unknown actor with an established actress (the way they did with Christopher Atkins and Brooke Shields in The Blue Lagoon) might be the way to go. One last casting suggestion: I think John Goodman would be excellent as seaplane pilot Mick. I can just see him sitting in the cockpit eating that cheeseburger.

This will be a challenging movie to make and the right director is absolutely crucial. I have a friend in the movie business and he told me the ideal director will have a distinctive creative vision that s/he can articulate up front and who will fight, yell and scream for that vision without being certifiably crazy. That sounds about right to me.

Learn more about the book and author at Tracey Garvis Graves's blog and Facebook page.

--Marshal Zeringue

Stephen Miller's "The Messenger"

North Carolina born and raised, Stephen Miller is an actor on stage, film, and television as well as the author of plays, screenplays, and novels. Unforgettable moments in his acting career include swimming with Hume Cronyn, improvising for a day with Robert De Niro, carrying Bette Davis down a flight of concrete stairs, stunt-driving with Burt Reynolds, and delivering Laura Dern’s child, as well as three appearances on The X-Files.

Here he dreamcasts an adaptation of his latest novel, The Messenger:

Without spoiling anything, all through the action of The Messenger, Daria, the protagonist, thinks of herself in reference to a certain well-known Hollywood actress. So, if they made a film of The Messenger, it would be very cool to have this actor in the part. The second major character is Sam Watterman, a scientist with expertise in biological warfare. Sam Waterston is an alliterative choice, and would be just fine. I'd be happy with him. When I wrote it I often thought of Walter Matthau. I think a lot of well known character actors could inhabit Sam's shoes.

Learn more about the book and author at Stephen Miller's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

David Cristofano's "The Exceptions"

David Cristofano has earned degrees in Government & Politics and Computer Science from the University of Maryland at College Park and has worked for different branches of the Federal Government for over a decade. He currently works in the Washington, D.C. area where he lives with his wife, son and daughter.

Here Cristofano shares some ideas for cast and director of an adaptation of his new novel, The Exceptions:

The movie rights to my first novel, The Girl She Used to Be, a story about a woman lost in the Federal Witness Protection Program, were sold to Mark Johnson's Gran Via Productions (The Notebook, My Sister’s Keeper) and Julie Lynn's Mockingbird Pictures (Albert Nobbs, The Jane Austen Book Club) with Laeta Kalogridis (Shutter Island, Avatar) adapting the story. Since my new novel, The Exceptions, retells the story from the point of view of the young mafioso assigned to gun her down, the discussion of who would play the lead roles in both stories has come up with great regularity in my household over the last few years.

For Melody Grace McCartney, the witness, there are some wonderful choices in the film world. The actress needs to be able to pull off feistiness, a quick wit, and -- oddly enough -- an ability to look good with increasingly shorter hair as the movie progresses. Rachel McAdams would be on my short list, as would Jessica Chastain. Others have suggested Ellen Page could pull it off, and I agree. But I think the ultimate choice, if the decision could be made today, would be to tap Carey Mulligan for the role. Her performances in An Education, Drive, and Never Let Me Go were simply outstanding.

Jonathan Bovaro, the mafioso, is a tougher slot to fill, for "mob roles" in general lean to a certain look, and indeed I had hoped a new "undiscovered" actor might be selected to play the part. That said, there are few A-listers that come to mind. James Franco has come up before, and I agree he could pull off the mafia-related scenes with ease. Matthew Goode of Leap Year fame could also do the role justice. And though he doesn't closely resemble a mafioso in any way, who wouldn't love to see Ryan Gosling pound some thug into submission and get away with the girl? But overall, my top pick would be Chris Evans. He fits the bill: taller than average (over six feet), gravelly smoker-type voice, and capable of both onscreen violence and tenderness. Best known for his role as Captain America, I much prefer his performances in Puncture, Push, Cellular, and What's Your Number?

And then there's the direction. While my favorite directors include David Fincher and Christopher Nolan -- I am a guy, after all - I'm not sure either would be spot on for directing The Exceptions. On the other hand, Andrew Niccol (you had me at Gattaca) would be a top choice, a director who knows how to encapsulate a couple on the run with the urgent intimacy that can arise, as he did so well with In Time. The ideal director would be one who could capture the emotional tension of people on the run (Luc Besson's masterwork, The Professional, comes to mind), with the beauty that can be found in the strangest, darkest places (like with Brad Silberling's direction of City of Angels).

Put those pieces together and there's a movie to be proud of!

Learn more about the book and author at David Cristofano's website.

The Page 69 Test: The Girl She Used to Be.

--Marshal Zeringue